Description
The collection is held in the Education and Social Science Library, Main Library Bookstacks and the Asian Library.
The social work collection supports the teaching and research requirements of the UIUC School of Social Work. To this end, comprehensive collections are maintained for child welfare, health care, community mental health, school social work, social welfare administration, social policy analysis and implementation, and social planning. The majority of the estimated 45,000 volumes which comprise the collection are housed in the Main Library Bookstacks. Approximately 5,000 contemporary English-language books and the recent years of more than 40 journals in social work are located in the Education and Social Science Library. Additionally, a unique collection of primary source material on social work in India is housed uncataloged in the Asian Library. Assembled by Mrs. Shuda Mazumdar who was involved in social work in India for more than 50 years, the items number nearly 1,000 and include diaries, journals, correspondence, and newspaper clippings.
Revised January 2007
Statements
I. Collection Description
Purpose:
To support the teaching and research requirements of the School of Social Work. The School’s M.S.W. curriculum includes concentrations in child advocacy, community mental health, school social work, health care, social policy, and planning and administration as well as a generic track which gives preparation for a variety of jobs. The Ph.D. program is interdisciplinary with a strong research emphasis, preparing candidates for teaching, research, and policy analysis, development, and implementation. In addition, undergraduate instruction is supported by the purchase of certain materials which supplement the collection in the Undergraduate Library.
History of Collection:
Social welfare emerged as an academic discipline at the turn of the century and the Library acquired the major works in the field from that time forward because of their relevancy to programs in education, psychology, and sociology. The in-depth collection began in the 1930s when the Depression made social welfare a national issue. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences began to offer graduate professional training during the middle years of the decade. The University Library expanded the collection to support the new program. The School of Social Work was established in 1948. Prior to 1964/65, when the present Education and Social Science Library was created, responsibility for the collection was divided between the Education, Psychology and Philosophy Library and the Commerce and Sociology Library. The Education and Social Science Library has subsequently been responsible for social work, physically unifying a collection of current materials and placing it with that of the closely related fields of sociology, psychology, and education.
Estimate of Holdings:
30,000 volumes.
State, Regional and National Importance:
A unique collection of primary source material on social work in India is housed uncatalogued in the Asian Library. Assembled by Mrs. Shuda Mazumdar who was involved in social work in India for more than 50 years, the items number nearly 1,000 and include diaries, journals, correspondence, and newspaper clippings. The general collection of materials in social work is one of the largest in the Midwest.
Unit Responsible for Collecting:
Education and Social Science Library.
Location of Materials:
Approximately 4,000 volumes constituted by the high demand English language monographs and the last ten years of most serial runs are located in the Education and Social Science Library. Other materials are housed in the Bookstacks.
Citations of Works Describing the Collection:
Downs, p. 211.
II. General Collection Guidelines
Languages:
Standard statement. English translations are normally preferred to original foreign language texts.
Chronological Guidelines:
No restrictions. Social work as it is currently practiced has largely developed in the twentieth century, as social welfare became a national concern and governments began to fund programs. The emphasis is on contemporary issues and developments.
Geographical Guidelines:
No restrictions. However, the emphasis is on the United States and Great Britain.
Treatment of Subject:
Standard statement. The varied and interdisciplinary nature of the social work profession makes library materials from fields of study other than social work itself basic to graduate level training. Works in psychology, education, and sociology as well as certain therapeutic and non-medical aspects of the health sciences are of particular importance. Materials from these related disciplines will normally be purchased on the appropriate fund, but in exceptional cases may be purchased from social work monies.
Types of Materials:
Standard statement. In addition, social welfare programs are highly dependent on government legislation, especially legislation enacted at the federal and state levels. Government documents from federal social service related agencies in the United States and state social service related agencies in Illinois are received as depository items in the Documents Library and, in some cases, in the Law Library as well. Government documents from national social service related agencies in Great Britain are collected extensively as are United Nations documents concerned with social welfare which are not received on U.N. depository. Government documents from states other than Illinois, federal governments of western Europe, and local governments are collected selectively.
Date of Publication:
Standard statement.
Place of Publication:
No restrictions.
III. Collection Responsibility by Subject Subdivisions with Qualifications, Levels of Collecting Intensity, and Assignments
Below is a table that lists specific subject subdivisions within the collection. Each row in the table lists a specific subject subdivision, followed by three columns noting: Collection Strength, Primary Assignments and Secondary Assignments. The Existing Collecting Strength column notes how well the existing collection covers that topic on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being very strong. The Primary Assignments column lists departmental libraries that have the greatest collection intensity of subject materials, respectively. In the case of 2 or more libraries listed, the collection intensity is comparable. The Secondary Assignments column list departmental libraries where additional materials may be found.
| Social Work Collection | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SUBJECT SUBDIVISIONS | EXISTING STRENGTH | PRIMARY ASSIGNMENTS | SECONDARY ASSIGNMENTS |
| Alcoholism and drug related problems | 4 | Social Work | Applied life |
| Child advocacy | 4 | Social Work | |
| Community services and welfare | 4 | Social Work | |
| Family services and welfare | 4 | Social Work | |
| Gerontology | 4 | Applied Life / Social Work | |
| Health care programs, medical and rehabilitation programs, and mental health services as they are practiced in the context of social work | 4 | Social Work | |
| Private social work practice | 4 | Social Work | |
| School social work | 4 | Social Work | |
| Services to older adults | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social casework | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social service policy analysis, planning, development, and implementation | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social problems and public welfare | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social service administration | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social service delivery | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social welfare related legislation as it pertains to applied social service programs | 4 | Documents | Social work |
| Social work profession | 4 | Social Work | |
| Social work theory and methods | 4 | Social Work | |
Version Date: November 2005