GENERAL STATEMENT

DEPARTMENT & SERVICES

The Department of Theater offers B.A., B.F.A, M.A. and M..F.A. programs; in addition, the department offers first year doctoral courses as part of the CUNY Ph.D. program. Courses in the B.F.A. and B.A. degree programs encompass all aspects of the theater: stage, costume, and scenic design; writing, acting, and directing; history of the theater; theater management. Areas of concentration for graduate study include: acting; design and technical production; directing; dramaturgy and theater criticism; performing arts management.

FUNDING

Regular funding for library materials is obtained through state-levied monies that are part of the library’s annual budget. State grants and interest on gift funds provide some supplemental funds.

GENERAL APPROACH TO MATERIALS SELECTION

A. Acquisitions Strategy:

The primary selection tools used include Choice, Library Journal, Booklist, the New York Times Book Review, publishers catalogs and announcements, and various scholarly journals in the field. Faculty suggestions are also an important source. Most of the material ordered is available from standard publishers or distributors. A small amount of small press material, however, has to be ordered direct. Replacement volumes are frequently obtained through out-of-print book services including Bibliofind, Bookfinder, and the Universal Serials and Book Exchange. Reviewers copies of needed materials are regularly purchased at a 50 per cent discount through a program with the Strand book store. A large desiderata file covering materials published in the last three years is kept to identify possible purchases. Materials that cost over $150 are flagged so that they can be quickly reviewed for times when the library receives large sums of money that have to be spent right away. Expensive web based subscription services are recommended and evaluated with the Associate Librarian for Collection Development for possible purchase by Brooklyn College and/or CUNY. Web resources that are free are evaluated and added to the subject guide for Theater whenever appropriate.

B. Level of Difficulty

The library collection is developed at the study level: to support undergraduate and graduate course work, and independent study, including an active performance and production program; to support the research of the faculty; to provide supplementary reading in dramatic literature for course work in theater and related departments, including English, and modern languages; and to provide a selection of recreational reading to the college community, primarily in the areas of theater memoirs, pictorial works, and books about local theater developments.

C. Languages:

The vast majority of titles is in English, reflecting the concentration on American and English language theater in the curriculum. Works about the theater in other languages are collected whenever possible in English translation.

D. Geographic Areas:

While there are no formal limits, first priority is given to current American publications. Emphasis is on contemporary American theater, although all periods, genres, and nations are represented in varying degrees. Because of faculty interest, works on Kabuki and Japanese theater are heavily collected.

E. Current and Retrospective Purchases:

Current publications are of primary importance and account for most ordering activity. However, with books going out of print more quickly nowadays, searching for o.p. materials has become more common. Fortunately, internet search engines like Bibliofind and Bookfinder make out-of-print book searching easier and more economical. The acquisitions unit is fairly successful in fulfilling most search requests at reasonable costs.

F. SUBJECTS COLLECTED: Level

Theater history, criticism, and design 3
Acting 3
Directing 3
Design/technical (stage and costume design, stage managing, lighting etc.) 3
Performing arts management 3
Playwriting 3
Dramatic literature 4
Popular theater (vaudeville, circus, musical theater) 4

G. Format of Materials Collected /Excluded:

1. Print and non-print materials are ordered in so far as budgetary constraints allow. VHS video and CD-ROM sound recordings are the preferred formats collected. Priority will be given for items required for classroom use. Electronic resources, including subscription based products, will be ordered as needed and as budgetary considerations allow. An effort will be made not to duplicate resources in more than one format, unless the additional costs are justified by heavy use, increased access, or archival considerations. Resources available through CUNY and other consortia will be taken into account as well before committing library funds to expensive items, particularly subscription services.

2. Serials are extremely important to current research in the field of Theater. The latest research is reported in the scholarly journals and indexes, including the IBT and the MLA International Bibliography . With humanities data bases and electronic journal collections like Project Muse and J-Store becoming ever more prevalent and -- ever more expensive - additional monies will have to be allocated to support these resources. Purchase of serials and electronic resources will be periodically evaluated against the holdings of CUNY libraries and other local libraries and consortia.

H. Reference Policy:

Bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, yearbooks, concordances, indexes and abstracts, digests, and anthologies will be purchased. All formats will be considered including paper, microform, CD-ROM and online.

I. DUPLICATION:

As a result of insufficient book budgets over the past twenty years, the library has adopted a general policy that only one copy of any new title is ordered. Exceptions are made, however, for titles that will be in heavy demand. With books going out of print more quickly now, it is important to attempt to evaluate the need for duplicate copies of a title at the time of publication. The library’s plan with the Strand Bookstore allows for duplicates to be purchased at a considerable discount (usually 50 per cent). Replacement copies for stolen or mutilated books are also being ordered more frequently. It is important that the bibliographer receive timely notification of lost or stolen items from the Circulation department, so that students continue to have access to materials that are in heavy demand.

J. Weeding Policy:

Due to time constraints on the bibliographer, weeding usually gets a low priority. Most weeding is a result of damaged books brought to the bibliographer’s attention by the shelvers. The ideal would be to set aside two or three hours a week for weeding, but this would take time away from more pressing activities such as reference desk, library instruction, and collection development. A recent inventory and the re-classification of older Dewey books have resulted in massive weeding, mostly of books in condition too poor to be saved.

K. SELECTION ACTIVITY PROBLEMS

There are no problems, except for insufficient resources. More money is needed to purchase additional books, journals, and audio-visual materials.

L. COMMENTS

The Theater department at Brooklyn College has an international reputation, particularly the graduate program. It’s location in New York City enables it to draw students from across the country and around the world. Graduate students in Theater Research and Bibliography (701X) are provided with an introductory lecture on research methods in Theater and are encouraged to consult the Bibliographer while they work on their thesis projects.

Updated: July/2001
Prof. William Gargan