GENERAL STATEMENT

1. Description of Department and Programs

The Department provides a high quality, multidisciplinary critical perspective on community health, foods, & nutrition. Students are prepared through academic courses, internships, and research experiences to contribute as health professionals to the local, national, and international communities. Members conduct research and advance knowledge relevant to health and nutrition and provide health promotion resources and programs for the professional community, the college community, & the community-at-large.

Health Concentration

The Departmental Health concentration is designed to provide the student with various academic and career options within the health field. In the Health Concentration, the student is provided with a conceptual foundation and factual knowledge necessary to understand, interpret and implement current information concerning health promotion. This academic option allows the students to expand their understanding of the health care systems, its historical development, administrative functioning, and philosophical bases, as well as providing information regarding the most topical health issues and concerns. The goal of the Health Concentration curriculum is to develop health professionals who have been trained to promote health by helping consumers minimize risk factors associated with illness and disease. Successful completion of the BS/BA degree program could lead to positions as health educators within the public or corporate sector of the health industry. Additional training within one of the many professional areas within the field can lead to careers as a Physician, Nurse, Physical Therapist, or Public Health Advisor.

The graduate program with a concentration in Health offers: Master of Arts in Community Health Concentration in Thanatology, Master of Public Health in Community Health, Master of Science in Education for Health Teachers.

Nutrition Concentration

The CUNY Baccalaureate Program in Nutrition provides a challenging alternative for students who are pursuing non-traditional programs of study. It allows for greater flexibility and creativity by giving students the opportunity to take courses in various campuses throughout the CUNY system.

The practice of dietetics and nutrition requires competency in three core areas:

1) Assessing nutrition needs and food patterns of individuals and groups

2) Planning for and directing the provision of food appropriate for physical and nutritional needs

3) Providing nutritional counseling

The qualified practitioner needs a thorough understanding of the principles of nutrition in health and disease throughout the lifespan; evaluation of nutritional status; nutrient composition of foods; modification of diets; food service management; and the counseling, education and communication skills necessary to interpret nutrition information and assist individuals in making dietary changes. In New York State, students graduating from this program can become registered or certified dietitians, dietetic technicians, or nutritionists. The department's foods and nutrition concentration trains students for careers in the field of dietetics and nutrition, (dietetics being the applied aspect of nutrition), health promotion training, and translating research findings into dietary recommendations.

Undergraduate

The Bachelor of Science Degree with a concentration in Foods and Nutrition prepares students for entry-level positions such as food writer for a magazine or newspaper or a consumer relations specialist in the food industry. After graduation, students can complete clinical training requirements with eligibility to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians. As registered dietitians they take positions in therapeutic or management dietetics in hospitals, nursing homes, community nutrition programs, businesses, and other types of agencies.

Nutrition - Graduate Program

Students must complete specified pre-requisites before they can be accepted into the degree program for the M.S. in Nutrition. They must complete courses in physiology (biology background required), chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, basic nutrition, diet therapy and statistics, along with the pre-requisites for these courses. The Brooklyn College courses required to meet these requirements include: Human Physiology, General Chemistry for the Health Professions, Organic Chemistry for the Health Professions, Human Nutrition, Nutritional Chemistry, Diet Therapy, and Statistics. The pre-requisites for each course must be completed prior to registration.

The degree program features a wide variety of courses for students seeking careers in clinical dietetics, research, community service, food service management, or nutrition counseling. An Approved Preprofessional Practice Program, required by The American Dietetics Association to become a Registered Dietitian, is available by separate application. The five required courses and the two required pre-requisites are offered once per academic year. Elective courses are offered less frequently on a rotating basis. Occasional electives are offered during the summer session. Course offerings are based on enrollment, budget, and faculty availability. Students with undergraduate degrees in other fields have specific requirements for admission to the M.S. in Nutrition Degree Program.

2. Library Resources in Health and Nutrition

The Life Sciences Bibliographer is responsible for collection development in Health and Nutrition Sciences. The bibliographer is in contact with faculty throughout the year discussing new resources and requesting their input regarding the relevancy of the materials for the collections. The bibliographer regularly scans review publications, publishers catalogues, web sites, newspapers and other sources to find resources for the library collection. Other resources come to the bibliographer's attention via interlibrary loan requests and patron requests.. The collection is strong in nutrition, basic medicine, alternative medicine and the social, ethical and political aspects of health and nutrition. These strengths are necessary to respond to the large volume of requests for information in these areas. Since Brooklyn College does not have a medical school, works in clinical medicine are acquired only when requested by faculty or considered relevant for a course.

GENERAL APPROACH TO MATERIALS SELECTION

A. Acquisitions Strategy:

The extensive Health and Nutrition resources are available in print and electronic formats with rapid growth of the electronic resources that permit access to the library collection from home or office. Library resources in the respective areas strive to meet the needs of undergraduates with a wide range of books, periodicals, grey literature and online resources to supplement their course work and keep undergraduates up to date with relevant information. These scholarly materials provide both research and popular information to meet requirements for term papers, theses and dissertations, oral presentations and current awareness.

The extraordinary public awareness of health and nutrition issues is pervasive in all media of communication. On a daily basis we come in contact with information regarding about the illnesses that plague the human race. In the quest for answers to these illnesses, conventional theories of medicine and nutrition are giving way to alternative, complementary, and allied health practices which mesh the early knowledge and the techniques that have been in place for decades with newer methods of treatment. Courses in the Department reflect these changes and their applications to all aspects of human health and nutrition including environmental and occupational health.. The bibliographer selects materials that satisfy the demand for the newest innovations and breakthroughs regarding human health and nutrition. The result is a strong collection of health and nutrition materials serving students who will become practitioners and public advocates of modern health and nutrition.

At present, there are six databases that cover world literature in conventional, complementary, and alternative medicine. Other science databases offer additional access to related topics in general science, science, applied science and biomedicine, genetic engineering and many other concepts that play a role in health and nutrition. The scope of information in these databases serve the general interests of undergraduates and the scholarly and research interests of graduate students and faculty. The fast growing access to full text journal subscriptions enables users to link directly from citations in the databases to the cited articles thus enhancing access and providing the articles in a matter of minutes. This linking feature is of major importance in these disciplines in which new knowledge is generated rapidly. As the availability of online resources continues to expand, electronic books are entering the online world giving patrons the opportunity to read the text of a book from their own computer terminals. Currently, at Brooklyn College we offer Net Library, for e-book access. Textbooks and general books in health and nutrition can be found on the Net Library and the number of titles is expected to increase in the future.

B. Level of Difficulty

Materials acquired for the library range from the general materials used by undergraduates to the more scholarly technical and research publications used by graduate students and faculty. In all cases, the works should be well written, accurate, and suitable for the academic environment.

C. Languages:

Materials are collected primarily in English. Resources in other languages may be acquired based upon the bibliographers assessment of need and possible use.

D. Geographic Areas Included:

Resources in health and nutrition are produced worldwide in many countries. Geography is generally not a criterion for acquiring or rejecting a work. In fact, geographic and cultural differences often raise unique health and nutrition issues. Thus, a health science resource devoted specifically to a particular region or country may be acquired when it is deemed relevant to the needs of BC students and faculty.

E. Current and Retrospective:

The extensive research in Health and Nutrition brings new knowledge and new research findings to the science community on a regular basis. When a new findings are released to the public, former knowledge and older beliefs are rendered obsolete. As in all sciences, the key element is currency. With the exception of classical works that introduced major theories and practices that are now common knowledge, emphasis will be placed on acquisition of materials issued within the past five years.

F. Format of Materials Collected:

The library collects primarily monographs, conference proceedings, and periodicals in both print and electronic formats. Audiovisual and sound recordings related to Health and Nutrition are acquired when requested by a faculty member for use in courses.

G. Reference Policy:

Other reference materials in print and online include dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and other works that are generally used for looking up small amounts of information and not read or perused in entirety. The library has an extensive collection of reference materials to meet the needs of all areas of health and nutrition education. They cover scientific, social, ethical, political and economic aspects of the disciplines. These are heavily used by our students who find them essential for the facts and data they are seeking.

H. Duplication:

One copy of each resource is usually acquired. For heavily used materials that are checked out or consulted frequently, the bibliographer will make a decision regarding acquisition of additional copies if budgets allow.

I. Weeding Policy:

Outdated materials and earlier editions of revised works deemed obsolete or no longer applicable to course work or research will be withdrawn. As budgets permit, new editions will be acquired to ensure that users are receiving contemporary information.

Updated: March/2001
Prof. Irwin Weintraub