Collection Policies

 The Department of Physics offers a program of study offering three optional tracks, each of which leads to the Bachelor of Science with a major in physics: (l) preparation for graduate school in physics or for professional physicists, (2) preparation for career requiring a strong foundation in physics and instruction in specialized subject matter (e.g. engineering, advanced computing, communications, optical systems, laser development, etc.) or (3) preparation for high school physics teachers. The graduate programs (Master of Science, Physics major, and Doctor of Philosophy, Physics major) cover the general areas of mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermal physics, modern physics, plus the more advanced areas of classical mechanics, classical electrodynamics, and quantum mechanics.

The purpose of the collection in the area of Physics and Astronomy is to support teaching and research through the doctoral level in the following fields: practical and spherical astronomy, geodesy, theoretical astronomy and celestial mechanics, astrophysics, non-optical methods of astronomy, descriptive astronomy, stellar spectroscopy, cosmogony, descriptive and experimental mechanics, atomic physics, constitution and properties of matter, quantum theory, solid state physics, acoustics, sound, heat, optics, light, spectroscopy, radiation physics, electricity and magnetism, nuclear and particle physics, atomic energy, radioactivity, geophysics, cosmic physics, geomagnetism, meteorology, and climatology.
 

Chrono1ogica1 guidelines: No limitations. Materials relevant to the study of the progression of physics and astronomy from their ancient beginnings to the present will be collected in order to foster an historical background necessary to understanding how scholars have arrived at the discipline’s current philosophical conception of the world. Due to the nature of the discipline and due to the university’s curriculum, however, especial emphasis will be on the latest, most recent works.

Geographica1 guidelines: No limitations. Physics research is being done worldwide, especially in Russia and Japan.

Treatment of subject: A broad based collection illustrating all of the concepts of physics and astronomy will be collected with especial emphasis on those areas relating to particle and nuclear physics. Works that are ostensibly classified under other subjects with heavy physics content, e.g. engineering, mathematics, will be especially significant for the special emphasis on physics at Old Dominion University.

Types of materials: Supplementing standard monographic and serial publications will be the following: encyclopedias and dictionaries of mathematics, reports of physics institutes, proceedings and transactions of physics congresses and conferences, symposia, working papers, directories of mathematicians, indices, abstracts, and bibliographies. Publications in non-paper formats (e.g. microform, electronic, etc.) will be considered using the same criteria as is used for publications in paper formats.

Date of publication: Emphasis will be on current publications except when need and funding dictates otherwise.

Other General Considerations:

• Related Subject Policy Statements:
• Mathematics, engineering, and chemistry are all areas related to physics. Physics, like all of the sciences, utilizes mathematics extensively. All of the areas of engineering are necessarily related to physics in some way but aerospace, mechanical and civil are especially so due to the nature of the work done in these areas. Chemistry is going to be concerned especially with nuclear and atomic physics.

• Other resources:
• The Center for Research Libraries with which Old Dominion University Library is now affiliated has extensive holdings from which items are available on extended loan to Old Dominion University Library users.
• CEBAF Library -- For work with a focus on problems from nuclear and particle or atomic physics, the CEBAF Library is available. For work with an astronomical focus, NASA Langley Library is available. Government publications are also a vital resource, especially those from NASA, Atomic Energy Commission, and other like federal agencies.

 
Date: 21 Feb. 1995—
Bibliographer: Ed Summers
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