PROGRAM & COURSES

In the Brooklyn College Program of Studies in Religion are involved twenty four faculty members including the Program Steering Committee Professors Sharon Flatto (Judaic Studies), Philip Gallagher (History), Maria Pérez y González (Puerto Rican and Latino Studies), Andrew Meyer (History), Russell Sharman (Anthropology), Saam Trivedi (Philosophy), Mervin Verbit (Sociology), the Program Director Professor Anthony Stevens-Arroyo (Puerto Rican and Latino Studies), Professors Arthur Bankoff (Anthropology), Moustafa Bayoumi (Comparative Literature), David Berger (History), Hardy Hansen (Classics), Sid Leiman (Judaic Studies), Donald Levy (Philosophy), Emily Michael (Philosophy), Eugene Moretta (Modern Languages), Sara Reguer (Judaic Studies), Timothy Shortell (Sociology), John Van Sickle (Classics), Donna Wilson (Classics), Liv Yarrow (Classics) and Emeritus Professors Donald Gerardi (History), Thomas Hartmann (English), Mel Scult (Judaic Studies). For changes see at http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/religionstudies/faculty.htm. Anthony Stevens-Arroyo serves as the library representative for the program.

The Program of Studies in Religion offers an undergraduate major and minor. There are eleven courses, offered to students: Religions of the West, Religions of the East, Job and Problem of Evil, Science and Religion, Greek and Roman Mythology, Mysticism, Magic, and Ritual in Ancient China, Jesus and Christian Tradition, Special Topics in Religion, Seminar in Studies in Religion, Independent Studies I and II. Special topics, seminars, and independent studies courses require advanced research.

FUNDING

The Religious Studies Collection is funded through state-leaved money that comes through the annual budget of the Library.
There are no gift funds devoted to Religious Studies.

GENERAL APPROACH TO MATERIALS SELECTION

A. ACQUISITIONS STRATEGY

Print and non-print resources are identified through review resources with broad subject area coverage including printed resources Choice, Library Journal, Booklist, online resources including Books in Print, Amazon, and specialized journals in the Brooklyn College Library collection that include book reviews. Publisher catalogs are checked for recent publications in the field. The online catalogs of other university and research libraries are checked for appropriate resources in specific areas. Books are also identified in the Strand Bookstore.
Electronic Web-based resources identified for subscription access will be recommended to the Program of Studies in Religion for consideration. Items that may be of interest to the entire City University of New York (CUNY) will be brought for consideration before that CUNY Electronic Resources Advisory Committee. Web resources that are available at no cost will be identified through their mention in other printed and electronic publications (including Web sites, listservs, and e-mail correspondences). These sites will be evaluated for appropriateness and, if accessible, added to the subject guide for Religious Studies on the Brooklyn College Library home page.

B. LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY

Materials will be collected on a college level to support undergraduate and to a lesser degree graduate course work through the master's level. Faculty research is supported as resources are available.

C. LANGUAGE

Most materials will be collected in English.

D. GEOGRAPHIC AREAS INCLUDED/EXCLUDED

Collection includes Western and Eastern Religions.

E. CURRENT PURCHASES

Current publications are of primary importance and account for most ordering activity. It is extremely important to locate out-of-print titles, because these titles may be the only materials available on various subjects, and often may be considered rare items.

F. FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED/EXCLUDED

Printed and non-printed resources will be collected. Videos will be ordered if requested by the program for classroom use. CD-ROMs may be ordered on a limited basis if they offer information not readily available in some other format. Electronic resources requiring a subscription for access as well as free electronic resources will be included.

G. REFERENCE POLICY

Bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, indexes and abstracts, standard reference tools, and materials that would normally circulate but are in "high" demand because of their importance should be included in the reference policy. All formats will be considered including paper, microform, CD-ROM and online.

H. DUPLICATION:

As is generally the policy of the Library, books will be not ordered in duplicate. Exceptions are made, however, for titles that will be in heavy demand.

I. WEEDING POLICY

Weeding should be done on a yearly basis to replace lost or stolen items and to remove popular materials that can be replaced by scholarly materials. Inventory should be made when organizations publish lists, or bibliographies are published, of core collections.

J. SELECTION ACTIVITY

The subject bibliographer for Religious Studies alerts the program library representative when funds become available for purchase and will encourage him/her to inform department colleagues of the availability of the money. The bibliographer's goal is to balance with faculty requests.

SELECTION ACTIVITY/PROBLEMS

At this time, there appears to be no problems with selection.

COMMENTS

A system for alerting library and classroom faculty of important new acquisitions in Religious Studies and all areas could be beneficial. An alerting system may be integral with the newer version of the library catalog, as well as the newly constructed database of its uncatalogued electronic subject resources.

Updated: December 17th, 2006
Prof. Paraskeva Dimova-Angelov