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A Guide to Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies

This guide brings together some the best resources on the topics of Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies.

Collection Development Policy

Washington University in St. Louis

Collection Development Policy

Library: Olin

Subject: Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

Collection: General

Date Revised: April 2014

Subject Librarian: AJ Robinson

1. General purpose:

  • The collection development policy for the subject area of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies emphasizes and reflects the teaching and research of applying a gendered analysis to a variety of disciplines. The program offers an undergraduate major or minor and a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
  • There are 8 core faculty members representing the departments of History and Education. There are over 40 affiliated WGSS faculty members representing a wide range of departments and schools.

 

 

2. Subjects excluded:

  • The nature of WomenGender, and Sexuality Studies requires a broad and inclusive approach to various subjects.
  • Generally, as a rule, we do not acquire resources related to:
    • Self-Help
    • Therapeutic
    • Practitioner Guides/Manuals, or those that are basic or supplemental in nature.


 

3. Overlap with other collections or subjects:
 

WGSS is multidisciplinary and its’ subject matter almost always intersects/overlaps with other collected subject areas like anthropology, philosophy, psychology, political science, history, education, law, architecture, art history and archeology, English, German, Romance, and Asian and Near Eastern languages and literatures.

 

4. Languages included and excluded:
 

We collect English language resources extensively. Some Western European languages and all other languages are acquired selectively.
 

 

5. Geographical limitations:

  • The collection reflects materials published worldwide. Publishers from the United States and the United Kingdom are preferred.
  • Since a gendered analysis can be applied to any part of the world and within any discipline, the content of the collection is geographically diverse.
     

 

6. Chronological limits:

The collection reflects materials related to all time periods.

 

 

7. Retrospective acquisition:

Priority is placed on acquiring current materials through our WGSS approval plan and subject librarian firm orders. However, materials that are retrospective will be purchased only at the request of faculty and graduate students to support their teaching and research.

 

8. Types of material collected and excluded:

  • Monographs
  • Periodicals
  • Reference Works
  • Electronic and audiovisual (videos) resources are collected
  • Works addressed to a popular, non-scholarly audience are collected on a highly selective basis. Textbooks are purchased only in special circumstances, such a demonstrated need for purchasing of overview sources on a particular subject, or for reference purposes.
     

 

9. Other factors to consider:

Collecting within the subject area of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is possible through the Helen Etta Park Endowment and the Gender Studies Approval Plan.

 

 

10. Subjects and Collecting Levels:

We collect at various levels which include Representative, Selective, and Comprehensive.

  • BF 692-696 Sexuality and gender
  • GN 479.65-479.7 Sex role
  • HQ 1-2044 Family. Marriage. Women
  • HQ 1-11 General
  • HQ 12-502 Sexual life
  • HQ 503-1072 The Family. Marriage
  • HQ 471-472 Pornography
  • HQ 1075-1087 Sex role
  • HQ 1088-1100 Men
  • HQ 1101-2034 Women. Feminism
  • LC 197 Feminism and education
  • QP 81.5-81.9 Sex differences. Sexual orientation