Collection Policies

The Department of Economics offers both a Bachelor of Arts degree and Bachelor of Science degree in economics. Undergraduates seeking the B.S. degree must meet existing Bachelor of Science in Business Administration core requirements. The Department of Economics also offers a minor for undergraduates pursuing a B.A. or B.S. in another academic discipline. At the Graduate level, the Department of Economics offers a Master of Arts - Economics Major. This program allows students to pursue a traditional approach as preparation for entry into a doctoral program or an applied approach geared toward policy analysis in a specialized area. Near the completion of formal course work, candidates for the Master of Arts - Economics Major conduct independent research projects with thesis or nonthesis options.

The economics collection also supports a variety of other undergraduate and graduate level programs at ODU. At the undergraduate level, economics courses are integrated into the "Perspectives - Social Sciences" area of the general education program. Courses in macroeconomics, microeconomics, and economics, business and public policy are part of the College of Business and Public Administration's Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) requirements for students seeking Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) degrees. Upper level economics courses in international economics, economic development, comparative economics, public finance, economic forecasting, urban economics and econometrics are required or elective offerings for students seeking the B.S.B.A. - International Business Major, B.S.B.A. - Accounting Major, B.S.B.A - Finance Major, B.S.B.A. Decision Sciences, and B.S.B.A - Management Information Systems degrees. Additionally, students pursuing the B.A. or B.S. in political science or the B.A. in International studies have several required or elective economics course options. At the graduate level, the economics collection supports teaching and research related to the College of Business and Public Administration's MBA, MPA, DBA, and M.A. in Urban Studies degrees. Other graduate programs supported by the economics collection include the M.A. and Ph.D in International Studies, M.A. in Applied Sociology, and Ph.D in Urban Services.

The College of Business and Public Administration also maintains the Bureau of Research, the Center for Economic Education, the Center for Governmental Financial Management, and the International Maritime, Ports and Logistics Management Institute. The Bureau of Research is "an administrative and research agency through which the college can relate to the community in the areas of business, economics, and public administration." It aims to provide research opportunities for students and faculty through a variety of special projects and continuing programs. The Center for Economic Education "seeks to enhance the level of economic awareness and understanding among citizens of Eastern Virginia" by working with area school systems. The Center for Governmental Financial Management "…is dedicated to research and projects in the field of governmental financial management." The International Maritime, Ports and Logistics Management Institute "serves as a positive link with the port-related business and public administration communities and provides a catalyst for the delivery of education, training, research and service programs in both the credit and non-credit areas."

To support these program offerings and research centers the library must collect a broad base of economics materials at the undergraduate level, and a narrower range of material at the graduate and research levels. The areas of heaviest faculty and student research are international economics, international trade, urban economics and transportation economics.
 

Language Guidelines:
English will be the primary language of the collection. English language translations of foreign works will be collected on a selective basis. Non-English language materials will generally not be collected, although exceptions are possible in special circumstances.

Chronological/Treatment of Subject Guidelines:
The collection development emphasis will be on current topics in both applied and theoretical areas.

Geographical Guidelines:
The University's growing emphasis on internationalization dictates that the Library collects materials pertaining to a wide variety of geographic areas including both developed and emerging economies. The School of Business and Public Administration's B.S.B.A. - International Business degree offers concentrations in East Asian, European and Latin American regions, therefore these are of particular importance. Economics materials related to specific states and regions within the U.S. will be collected selectively. Materials related to economic conditions in Virginia will be collected extensively.

Treatment of Subject:
Historical works and scholarly biographies will be collected selectively. Works in radical economics will only be collected on a highly selective basis. ODU Library will not purchase textbooks.

Types of Material:
ODU Library will collect scholarly monographs including bibliographies, conference proceedings, and reference works. It will maintain on-site access to core economics periodicals and to bibliographic databases designed to facilitate access to economics literature. In addition, the library will offer access points to economic related information that is not available on-site including online database services and Internet accessible resources. The Library may selectively acquire audio-visual materials and digital resources such as numeric data files.

Date of Publication:
Current materials published within the past five years will receive priority. Older materials may be selectively acquired in order to fill in weak areas of the collection or as the research emphasis of the department changes.

Other General Considerations:

1. Interdisciplinary Relationships: Related collection development statements are finance, accounting, management, political science, ports management, marketing and urban studies/public administration.

 
2. Local/Regional/Consortia Resources: Hampton University's School of Business offers the B.A. and B.S. in economics, and a graduate MBA program; Regent University's School of Business offers an MBA program; Christopher Newport College offers a B.A. in economics and a B.S.B.A with concentrations in economics and finance. The College of William & Mary offers a number of MBA programs. Area economic research centers include Christopher Newport's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, and William and Mary's Bureau of Business Research. The Hampton Roads District Planning Commission also serves as an important resource for local economic information.

 
3. Center For Research Libraries: The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) offers a variety of economics resources. This collection is especially useful for historical materials, foreign monographs and periodicals, and doctoral dissertations.

4. Virtual Library of Virginia: The library offers VIVA supported web-based access to a number of economics related databases including EconLit, Dow Jones News Service, IAC InfoTrac Searchbank, and the U.S. Commerce Department's STAT-USA system. A significant number of economics journals are also included in fulltext on Academic Press IDEAL.

 
5. Government Publications: Government publications received through ODU Library's participation in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) are particularly useful in economics. Essential materials include those produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, and Federal Reserve Bank system.

 
6. Distance Education: Although no economics degrees are currently offered through the University's distance education program, a number of economics course have be offered through TELETECHNET over the last few years.

 
7. Additional Considerations: Materials produced by various intergovernmental organizations are crucial to the economics collection. Important publishers in this area include the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

 
A considerable amount of economics related material is available on the Internet. A good starting point is Bill Goffe's "Resources for Economists on the Internet," (http://econwpa.wustl.edu/EconFAQ/EconFAQ.html)