Subject Librarian: Scott McLaren
Policy Written by: Tiit Kõdar

Description of Current Collection and Programmes Supported

The Libraries support for religious studies is not limited to the interdisciplinary undergraduate Religious Studies Programmes courses on Judaism Judaism, Christianity, the Bible, theology, textual studies, history, philosophy and sociology of religion, religious ethics and values, religions of the world, religious iconography, and the phenomenon of religion itself. Much of the material used in these offerings is bought for the needs of other disciplines–such as anthropology, art history, economics, ethics, history, literature and language, music, psychology and sociology. Courses on religion and religious history mounted in other departments and divisions, such as those in Arts and Atkinson History, Humanities, Philosophy, and in the Faculty of Education, are supported, as are college tutorials on the subject.

Related Collections at York

Iconography of religion is normally bought by the Fine Arts Bibliographer.

Material on the history of the Western Church since the Protestant Reformation (or religion and the state) is bought if it has to do with the theological and religious controversies of the time. Studies concerned primarily with the role of religion in politics are usually the responsibility of the Bibliographers responsible for history and political science.

Languages

Works in the English language make up the bulk of the purchases. French language materials are bought selectively, and are largely limited to Canadian topics. A few representative examples of Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin texts are acquired. Polyglot versions are preferred.

Geographical Coverage

The collection focuses primarily Europe (including the United Kingdom), Ireland, Russia, India, the Middle and Far East, Africa, Australasia, North and South America.

Chronological Coverage

All periods are included in the collection.

Date of Publications

Selection is made primarily from the current production. Retrospective buying is done as needed.

Duplication

An attempt is made to purchase duplicates of titles much in demand or in need of replacement. Books put on Reserve are duplicated if demand or importance warrant.

Relegation and Weeding

Rare editions found in the open stacks are regularly transferred to Archives and Special Collections. Weeding is limited to the discarding of physically unusable material.

Types of Materials

• Books — Paperbacks are generally purchased unless a book is available only in hard cover.
• Journals — Subscriptions are maintained for the important serials, mostly in English. The Libraries generally rely on other Metropolitan Toronto and Ontario resources for non-English language materials, as well as for those in the English language not held by the Libraries.
• Microforms — Micrforms are used to supplement or replace the first two categories of material, such as those printed on acidic and deteriorating paper for which an archival reprint is not available.
• Theses and Dissertations — Theses are bought when required for courses or graduate studies, and few exceptions, limited to doctoral work.
• Ephemera — Ephemera, such as published public lectures and pamphlets of Canadian interest, are purchased or solicited selectively.
• Electronic Data Files, CD-ROM, Microcomputer Software — These formats are becoming increasingly important.
• MSS and Archives — MSS and Archives are normally solicited or received as donations, though catalogues of other archival collections are collected, either through solicitation or purchase.
• Rare Books — Rare books generally acquired through donations, though Canadian church history as purchased as opportunity and funds permit.
• Films and Videos — Funds are sometimes contributed to the Sound and Moving Image Library to enable it to purchase a title on a cost sharing basis.

Resources Elsewhere in the Toronto Region

Students and researchers are referred to the University of Toronto, mostly for titles in other languages, such as the collections on Biblical literature, the Middle and Far East, Medieval Judaica.

Collecting Levels

Last updated 1994