COLLECTIONS:

Special Collections

University Archives

Collection Preservation

Research Collections:
Sociology Collection

Collection Overview
The sociology collection supports  teaching and undergraduate and graduate research needs of both faculty and students in the Sociology Department and the entire university community. The collection is strong in social theory, methodology, social organization, social structure and data and social psychology. The collection mirrors the development and transformation of American sociology from the dominance of the Chicago School of  Sociology to a broader, changing discipline today.  Areas of collection strength include social policy, social economy, and social justice. The collection is rich in material on political sociology and social movements, social change and policy planning, criminology, deviance and social control, race and ethnic relations, social psychology, community and family, social stratification, religion and society, medical sociology, complex organizations, and social problems of the economy.  The library still collects very broadly to keep current with research trends and demands. The collection includes broad areas such as gender, race, class, health care and medical sociology, development sociology of emerging nations, globalization, social movements,  inequality in society such as labor, race and ethnicity.  The library acquires material on major institutional and organizational settings such as professions, jobs and work, environment and organizations, political sociology, trends in family sociology, sociology of education, sociology of religion, sociology of science, sport, mass media institutions, social process and change, which includes spatial processes, deviance and social control. A strong philosophy collection further expands the resources available for sociology study and research.

Shari Taylor Grove
Sociology Bibliographer
1-617-552-4481
E-Mail: grove@bc.edu

Selected Resources

In the O'Neill Library:

• Collected works and critical editions of  major sociologists: A. Comte, H. Spenser, Emile Durkheim, among others.  Twentieth century sociologists include: C.W. Mills and Talcott Parsons; more contemporary figures are Jeffrey C. Alexander, Randall Collins, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault, Jürgen Habermas, and Anthony Giddens.

• Important set: Routledge Critical Assessments.

• Extensive holdings in sociological journal literature including L'Année Sociologique, British Journal of Sociology,  A.S.A. publications, among others. Many journals are held from the first volume through the current issue.

• Reference works: London Bibliography of the Social Sciences, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

• Full text databases on CD-ROM:  The World Bank's World Development Indicators on CD-ROM, and UrbaDisk

On the Web (Restricted to the BC Community):

• Subject index to the literature: Sociological Abstracts.

• General indexes: Anthropological Literature, Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science), Expanded Academic Index ASAP (InfoTrac), FRANCIS Bulletin Signalétique, Hispanic American Periodicals Index, Sport Discus, PAIS International, PCI-Periodical Contents Index, Current Contents Connect, Dissertation Abstracts Online, Contents1st.

• Social science data: ICPSR (Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research).

• Full text databases:  CIAO Columbia International Affairs Online, Congressional Universe, Statistical Universe on Lexis Nexis Academic Universe, Past Masters (covers political philosophy) and Roper Center for Public Opinion on Academic Universe.

• Reference, Gale's Ready Reference Shelf, Health and Psycho social Instruments.

• Full text electronic journals: Sociological Research Online.  Other electronic journals in sociology may be found at the following e-journal gateways: JSTOR and Project Muse.

• Other databases in the social sciences: Subject Indexes to Online Databases: Social Sciences. This web page also has links to databases outside the social sciences.

Research Collections in the Burns Library:
The papers of prominent sociologists Benedict S. Alper, Lewis A.Coser, Everett Cherrington Hughes, Howard Belding Gill and urbanologist Jane Jacobs are in the Burns Library. Along with the Nicholas M. Williams Ethnological Collection assembled by the Jesuit missionary and ethnologist, Joseph J. Williams, S.J., and named in honor of his father, this collection includes more than 10,000 volumes documenting the history, life, and culture of the people of Jamaica and their African antecedents. It also includes the largest manuscript collection of Anansi folk tales in existence.

Research Guides
More information about available resources can be found in the following resource guides: Research Guide: Sociology.

Interdisciplinary Elements of the Subject Area
Frequently the subject areas of this collection relate to history (social history, popular culture), philosophy, psychology, political science, economics, business management, nursing and health sciences, education, gender and women's studies, international and cross cultural studies.

Formats and Types of Materials
Although the bulk of the collection is in print format, materials are collected in other formats such as electronic, CD-ROMs, microforms, audiovisuals, films and datafiles.  Since Boston College is a member of  ICPSR (Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research), it is in the position to provide numerous datafiles at a patron's request. The library collects research level monographs and serials in print and microformats.  Reference sources (indexes and abstracts, dictionaries, handbooks, statistical sources, book catalogs, bibliographies ) in paper, electronic access, or microform format are purchased extensively.  The library strives to be current in computer technology. Since Boston College is a U.S. government depository library, it collects all relevant government documents, technical reports, and annual reports. Proceedings of symposia, international congresses, etc. are collected broadly. Theses and dissertations are purchased selectively, only upon request and when a need is clearly demonstrated. For the most part, the library does not acquire textbooks for any given courses.  Yet some textbooks are valuable as reference and research works.  In such cases, the library will acquire these selectively upon request. The collection has been strengthened by faculty gifts from prominent sociologists: Lewis A. Coser, Everett C. Hughes, and Benedict S. Alper. Manuscripts and rare items are housed in the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections and for the most part the donor's books are housed in the O'Neill Library circulating collection.

Languages
English is the primary language of the collection although some material is acquired in other languages including French, German and Spanish.

Geographic Areas (Subject Approach)
The primary focus is on the United States.  Since the beginning of this century, the Chicago School has dominated American sociology.  Sociology materials on social conditions will be covered in the policies of history and political science.  Interest in European (French, British and German) schools of thought and research centers has emerged in the theoretical areas of sociology.  In addition, Latin American, African, and Asian sources are collected.

Time Periods (Subject Approach)
The primary emphasis of the collection is twentieth century materials, with purchases of significant nineteenth century works made whenever possible as the budget permits.

Date of Publication
Emphasis is on acquiring current material published after 1960. Selective retrospective purchasing is carried out and may involve reprints, microform or electronic access rather than the original format.

Subject Areas Collected by Library of Congress Classification Number
BCAT, the online catalog, can be searched by LC classification number to get a better idea of what specific title the sociology collection contains. For example, the command c= HM will produce the beginning of a list of works on sociology as a branch of learning. This list can be browsed by pressing the F8 key or typing f and pressing the Enter/Return key.