Written by: Brian W. Williams, Business Librarian
Date: 31 October 1995
The Economics collection supports the curricular and research needs of a variety of users with widely varied interests, backgrounds, and levels of expertise. Students who simply desire a greater knowledge of the world around them may take an economics class. Students pursuing work towards a B.B.A., especially those majoring in Economics, will be heavy users of the collection. Perhaps most heavily, the collection will be utilized by graduate students pursuing an M.A. in Economics degree or an MBA. And as the economics aspects of topics and economics in general continue to grow in importance, those pursuing degrees or conducting research in any field may fine themselves relaying on the resources provided in the economics collection. The collection also supports at a limited level faculty research.
The Department of Economics offers courses in nine general subject areas within
economics. These areas and the courses offered are as follows. See the Undergraduate
Catalogue or the Graduate Catalogue for course titles. For a description of each course's
library component and related information see the "Economics Collection Development
Policy" dated 31 January 1993.
1) Economic Principles and Theory: Econ. 101G, 102Q, 201Q, 202Q, 203H, 204H, 301, 302,
304, 605, 800, 801, 802, 803, and 804.
2) Industrial Organization and Regulated Industries: Econ. 614, 615, 616, 617, and 814.
3) Economic History and Comparative Systems: Econ. 622, 625, and 627.
4) Statistics and Econometrics: Econ. 231, 602, 631, 702, 731, 830, and 831.
5) Monetary and Financial Economics, Money and Banking: Econ. 340, 640, 740, 840, 841,
and 847.
6) Public Finance: Econ. 653, 760, and 853.
7) Labor and Manpower Economics: Econ. 660, 661, 662, 663, and 861.
8) Economic Growth and Development, International Economics: Econ. 671, 672, 674, and
870.
9) Urban, Environmental, and Regional Economics: Econ. 680, 688, and 885.
The monographic collection of over 28,000 volumes (growing by approximately 250 volumes annually), and journal holding currently including subscriptions to approximately 70 titles form the bulk of the Library's holdings in economics. Standing orders for both narrative and statistical publications of the O.E.C.D., the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund continue to add depth to the collection. Electronic resources are becoming a major strength. EconLit, the CD-ROM equivalent to both the Index to Economic Articles and the Journal of Economic Literature, is available at a microcomputer workstation. ABI/INFORM, a CD-ROM based indexing system to business periodicals, is available on an eight station LAN and is applicable to research in economics, particularly labor economics.
The Library's adoption of document delivery as an adjunct to traditional ILL services
will lessen the need to have little used material on site. Access to material via the WWW, or
more traditional Internet functions (telnet, ftp) or navigators (gopher) will also expand the
"collection" beyond the physical confines of the campus. The Library's Business Home Page
provides a link to the University of Michigan's Economics Bulletin Board, which makes
available hundreds of continuously updated economic data sets. Access to ICPSR data sets
will be made available primarily through ftp beginning 1 July 1996.
1. On Campus.
Statistical data from a number of sources support research in Economics. The Library, as a partial (60%) depository of U.S. Government documents, contains the majority of statistical publications produced by the federal government. Of special interest are those items produced by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Treasury Department, the Labor Department, and the Department of Commerce.
2. Regional/National.
Interlibrary Loan provides access to two collections of special interest to
Economics. The University of Kansas Library, as a full (100%) depository of
Government Documents, provides virtually complete access to government
documents. The State Library of Kansas maintains a collection of ASI (American
Statistics Index) microfiche, which contains federal government documents and many
federal publications not released through the Superintendent of Documents. In
addition, ILL's services in obtaining books and copies of journal articles greatly
assists users in the research process, and should not be overlooked in any
consideration of a local collection.
The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research maintains
many collections applicable to research in Economics. The University is a Category
B Affiliate of the Consortium. And as such, the Library provides access to all data
set made available by the ICPSR.
Other major segments of the Library's collection may prove valuable in economic
research. These include, but are not limited to, the collections in finance, management, and
mathematics. For each, a separate collection development policy has been prepared. The
collection development policy for Urban Studies should be consulted for additional
information dealing with Public Finance and Urban Economics. A separate collection
development policy has also been prepared for government documents.
Emphasis is given to works dealing with the 20th century, and secondarily to works treating the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Material is collected only in the English language.
Major emphasis is placed on material dealing with the United States (with particular
interest in Wichita and Kansas), and other developed economics, focusing on Western Europe
and Pacific Rim Countries. Information on developing economies and Third World countries
is collected selectively.
Traditional formats will continue to be collected. These include monographic works,
journals, and continuations. Proceedings and conference papers will occasionally be added.
In addition, CD-ROM based sources will be collected and will continue to increase in
importance. Micro format sources may be collected, but only in very rare instances.
Emphasis in on currently available works, with retrospective material purchased
selectively.