Nonfiction Collections

Special Collection: SPEC E 51-SPEC SD 427

This is a small, non-circulating collection consisting of rare or old materials, including U.S. Department of Interior publications, anthropological papers and U.S. Bureau of American Ethnology reports dating back to and before the early 1900's. The bulk of the collection is comprised of non-Crow Native American - related materials. Though this collection is not a primary area of collection development for the Library, new materials will be selectively added on occasion. In addition to the general and format specific criteria, which apply broadly across the collection, age, rarity, and value are additional considerations for this small collection.

Crow Special Collection: CROW BF 697-CROW Z 8522

This is an extensive, non-circulating collection of materials concerning Crow history, culture, language, and tradition. This collection includes materials on other Native American groups, as well as materials relating to the history of the local geographic region and Montana, all of which contain some information on the Crows. The purpose of this collection is to preserve materials that are of particular significance to the Crow community. Single items regarding the Crow nation, which are rare or particularly valuable, are kept here and do not circulate. A copy of each item in the Crow General Collection is included here. The preservation of materials dealing with the Crow Tribe’s history and culture is a valuable service to the community. Because this is an area of significance to the Crow population, the Library will continue to focus on selecting new materials to be added to this collection.

Crow Circulating Collection: CROW BF 697-CROW UA 31.1

This collection is one of the most developed within the Library and includes materials on the law, politics, history, traditions, myths, arts, and general culture of the Crow people. Crow literature, Crow language teaching materials, information on water rights and natural resources, as well as materials on the history of Montana, the Battle of Little Big Horn, and the Western United States are also included in this collection, again which contain some information on the Crows. Because this collection is particularly important to the Crow community and strongly supports the Crow and Native American Studies curriculum offered at the College, it will continue to be a major area of collection development, particularly recently published materials.

Native American Collection: E 51-NA E 99

This collection includes materials on diverse topics pertaining to Native Americans, including books on the legends, history, religion, government, arts and languages of various tribes, as well as materials on the pre-Columbian tribes and Native Americans in United States military history. Future collection development will emphasize the addition of recent scholarly research on Native Americans, particularly those pertaining to the Native American experience in the Twentieth Century.

Reference: REF AE-REF Z

The reference collection is a vital resource for the College and the Crow community, evidence of which is provided in a recent survey of faculty and students at the College. Given the importance of this collection and the frequent updates of reference publications, the Library will pursue providing reference materials in varying formats, with the currency of materials being of greatest concern. The reference collection will always be an important concern for overall collection development. The Library is also building a website to provide online reference materials.

General Works: AC-AZ

This collection makes up a very small portion of the library’s entire holdings. Items in this portion of the collection include encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, almanacs, directories, and other collections or series not included in the reference collection. Though not a major for collection development, when materials are added, currency will be the most important criterion.

Philosophy: B 29-BD 581

This small collection of texts deals primarily with Western philosophical thought. Though these materials are important, there is no significant curriculum to correlate to this collection and so only minimal amounts of materials will be added. Any collection development will focus on acquiring materials concerning non-Western thought.

Psychology and Ethics: BF-BJ

This collection directly supports the Psychology and Elementary Education curriculums within the General Studies degree program, a popular program at the College. This collection also includes self-help materials that are important to community members outside the College. Currency will be the guiding criterion for collection development in this area.

Mythology and Religion: BL-BX

Materials in this range cover the major religions of the world and general myths, which materials do not directly support any current curriculum at the College, though they are of interest to the community at large. Given this potential interest, the Library will maintain the current collection and where resources exist, add primary religious texts, recent popular religious works, and other comparative or scholarly religion material when appropriate to the needs of the community.

History of Civilization, Archaeology, Biography: CB-CT

This small collection does not support the coursework at the College and therefore is not a major area of collection development. The Library will, however, add limited materials on subjects such as genealogy, family stories, and cultural property, which are of potential interest to the Crow community.

History: D-F

Materials in this collection cover general history, American history, local American regional history, and Latin American history. Though the College does not offer a specific history degree, history is an important element of the curriculum. It is also of interest to the community, which interest is reflected by the circulation records. Future collection development will focus on adding recently published materials, particularly regarding late Twentieth Century history and recent American history.

Geology, Anthropology, Folklore, Recreation, Sports and Games: G-GV

Circulation reports show limited interest in these subjects, though recreational activities are popular locally. The Library will continue with collection development in this area, focusing on anthropology materials, which could serve to support related future curricula at the College. Adding current materials about recreational activities will also be considered, in conjunction with possibly creating a more visible section promoting such materials.

Social Sciences, Business (Economics, Commerce, Finance): H-HJ

This collection corresponds with a significant portion of the curricula at the College, particularly within the Business, Information Systems, and General Studies programs; therefore, it will be an important consideration for future development. The materials within this collection on career and job search are of particular interest to the Crow community. Future development in this area will focus on acquiring recently published materials in varying formats, and possibly creating a more visible space for recent job search materials.

Social Studies and Sociology: HM-HX

This collection is frequently used because it supports a number of degrees offered at the College, as well as offering materials on alcoholism, drugs, childcare and child development, minority issues, and law enforcement, which subjects are of interest to the community. Future development will focus on obtaining recent materials in these areas.

Political Science and Law: J-KNQ

This section is rarely used and so future development will be only minimal. Materials regarding law include Indian Law, which is of interest to the Crow community. The Library will focus on weeding outdated political science materials and adding more recent materials to both political science and law.

Education: L-LJ

This collection directly supports the Education department at the College and is of significant interest to the students. Collection development in this area will concern weeding outdated materials and adding recent materials on all areas of education, particularly diversity issues. The collection will also build toward the support of a four year curriculum for the recent bachelor’s programs in education begun in conjunction with outside four year institutions.

Music and Art: M-NX

Though this collection supports the Humanities curriculum at the College, receives only moderate use, and so limited collection development will focus on adding recent materials in varying formats, such as performance videos and music CDs. The Library will also consider alternative means of displaying these materials and programming possibilities to capitalize on community interest.

Communication, Grammar, Language, and Literature: P -PZ

This collection supports many of the required courses at the College and contains materials of general interest to the community. Recent circulation records reflect this frequent use. Future collection development will focus on acquiring recently published materials, particularly literature materials by minority writers, including but not limited to Native Americans.

General Science: Q-QA

This small collection includes materials on scientific experimentation and terminology. Though it will not be a focus of future collection development, adding a few recently published materials will be considered as possible.

Math and Computer Science: QA

These subject areas are currently small but are a valuable resource to the College because they directly support current curriculum. Future development will focus on adding recently published materials in varying formats, particularly study guides. The Library will also consider new options to display these materials because they may be of community interest. The collection will also build toward the support of a four year curriculum for the recent bachelor’s program in Information Systems begun in conjunction with Rocky Mountain College.

Physics: QB-QC

Future development will focus on adding current materials in so far as they directly support curriculum at the College.

Meteorology: QC

Although this is not a significant area of collection development, recently published materials relevant to the collection and/or College curriculum will be considered.

Chemistry: QD

The science and medically related degrees offered by the College generate strong interest among students, which programs this collection directly supports. Therefore, future development will focus on adding recent texts and study guides to additionally support College coursework.

Geology: QE

This collection contains a number of materials of interest to the Crow community, such as geological information on Montana and the Black Hills. Although significant collection development in this area is not planned, the Library will consider adding recent materials where possible.

Natural History: QH

Materials in this collection cover evolution, environmental science, ecology, and books about naturalists. This collection corresponds to the curriculum in the natural sciences at the College and general interest within in the community. Future development will focus on adding recently published materials.

Biology, Zoology, and Botany: QH-QL

This collection receives frequent use and supports a number of academic programs offered at the College. Future development will include adding recently published materials and study guides, as well as consideration of resources in non-print formats. The Library will also work on generating greater awareness of this collection, which is of potential interest to community members and younger students.

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Microbiology: QL-QR

This collection supports many academic programs at the College, including core requirements of microbiology for the Science and Nursing programs. Future development will focus on adding study guides and recently published materials when they become available.

Medicine: R-RX

This collection directly supports degrees within the Science, Community Health, and Pre-Nursing programs at the College, which programs are popular among the students. Circulation also reflects high interest among the community in this area, second only to the Crow and General Reading collections. Future development will include adding recently published materials, particularly concerning medical reference, men’s health, and materials on alcoholism and diabetes, which are often requested through interlibrary loan.

Agriculture: S-SF

Though this collection could be of high community interest, circulation records show only minimal use. The Library is considering participating in a grant-funded program affiliated with the College and sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. The focus would be agricultural and natural resources subjects of interest to the community.

Technology: SK-TX

Although circulation is minimal, this collection includes materials such as nutrition, woodworking and home repair, which may be of interest to the community. Other topics include acid rain, motor vehicles, energy sources and old computer software programs. Limited collection development will focus on acquiring recently published materials and weeding outdated items, as well as considering ways to increase interest in this collection.

Military: U 21-VM 9150

The military plays an important historical role in Native American experience and remains significant. However, materials dealing with Native Americans and the military are generally placed in the Crow and Native American collections. This accounts for the limited use of this section. Recent materials will be considered for acquisition, though will not be a major collection development focus.

Library Science: Z

Circulation records show this collection receives almost no use. Since most information useful to library staff can be obtained online or through various professional journals, collection development within this area will not be significant.