Michigan State University

Collection Development Policy Statement: English and American Literature

Levels of Collecting Intensity

As recommended by the American Library Association in its Guide for Written Collection Policy Statements (Chicago, ALA, 1996), the system used to describe the collecting levels in this document is based on a five-point whole-number scale devised by RLG.

Subject LC Class Collecting Level
English and American Literature
English Literature PR
Anglo-Saxon Linguistics
Middle English Linguistics
Renaissance 3
Seventeenth century 3
Eighteenth century 4
Nineteenth century 4
Twentieth century 4
Provincial and Local (i.e., Scotland, Ireland,Wales) 2
Canada PR 9100-9199 2
Africa PR 9340-9408 Area Studies
India PR 9480-9499 Area Studies
Australia PR 9551-9619 Area Studies
New Zealand PR 9620-9664 Area Studies
West Indies PR 9210-9230.9, PR 9272-9275 Area Studies
American Literature PS
Colonial PS 700-893 2
Nineteenth century PS 991-3390 3
Twentieth century PS 3500-3576 4
Genres and Types
Afro-American PS Ethnic Studies
American Indian PS Ethnic Studies
Detective and Mystery Stories PN, PR, PS 2
Historical Fiction PR, PS 2
Modern Poetry PR, PS 4
Science Fiction PR, PS 2
Westerns PS 2
Women's Literature PR 111-116,
PS 147-152
3
[Comics in Special Collections.]
General and Comparative Literature
General (theory, philosophy, etc.) PN 1-72 3
Literary criticism PN 80-99 3
Authorship PN 100-253 3
Literary history PN 365-1009 4
Poetry PN 1010-1599 3
[Drama, Theater, Broadcasting, Cinema, PN 1600-3299, are covered elsewhere]
Prose PN 3311-3503 3