Abstract

To the uninitiated, academic philosophy can be intimidating. Its extensive history (over two millennia) and seemingly all-encompassing breadth and depth of study makes knowing everything about philosophy impossible. Philosophers are fortunate because they are expected to specialize in specific areas, but librarians are not as fortunate. Librarians often have collection development responsibilities for a variety of academic disciplines. Collection development in philosophy can seem like a world unto itself in part because philosophical inquiry reaches into other academic disciplines. Amongst academic philosophers, there are different approaches or methodologies for doing philosophy, including eastern and western philosophy, as well as a divide between analytic and continental philosophers. In addition to growing the collection, the philosophy subject librarian may be called upon by philosophers and aspiring philosophers (i.e., students) for research assistance. To make matters more intimidating, philosophers seem to think and speak differently than others. The complex ideas and esoteric terminology that rarely finds its way outside of the philosophy classroom can make collection development, research services, and even simple faculty-to-librarian communication difficult. To succeed as a librarian subject specialist, you should work hard to develop an adequate understanding of the types of materials that are most valuable to your community. Cultivating this knowledge is critical because budgets are limited. This volume will help librarians thrust into the position of philosophy subject specialist to get up to speed and begin excelling in their new roles. The goal of this guide is to simplify collection development and research assistance for philosophy. To accomplish this, I will provide a brief overview of philosophy as a field and share the information you need to succeed in your role as the new philosophy selector. This volume will help to alleviate some of the communication barriers between philosophers and librarians and will provide practical advice, recommendations, and resources for building a strong philosophy collection.