Whipple Library

Library information

Collection development policy

1. Purpose and scope of policy

1.1 To provide library and academic staff engaged in book and journal selection with a clear framework for the development of the Library's collections enabling the most efficient use of budget, space and staff time.

1.2 To take account of the integral relationships that exist between the Whipple Library, the Whipple Museum, and the teaching and research activities of the Department.

1.3 To work towards an integrated relationship between print-based collections in the Whipple and elsewhere in Cambridge as well as with centrally financed electronic resources.

2. Context: Library, Museum and Department

2.1 The Department is the largest of its kind in the World and has an outstanding international reputation. In this the Whipple Library plays a central part as the pre-eminent specialist library for HPS in the UK. HPS as studied in this Department views science broadly, as encompassing all areas of history, philosophy and sociology of science, technology and medicine.

At the Department's heart is the Whipple Museum, a world-class collection of scientific instruments, open to the public and integral to the Department's teaching and research. The Museum and Library are named after Robert Whipple, who presented his unique collection of scientific instruments to the University in 1944.

In addition to his instruments, Whipple donated a significant collection of around 1300 rare books relating to specific aspects of the history of science and scientific instruments. Over the past 65 years a fundamental principal underlying collection development at the Whipple has been to build on the component subject strengths of this foundation collection (as evidenced in, for example, the Library's comprehensive acquisition of core HPS texts and collected editions throughout its period of existence). Informed collecting in support of teaching and research by academics of the Department has also built on Whipple's foundation, resulting in the most comprehensive specialist HPS collection in the world. Moreover, the integration of Library services within the Department has resulted in collections and services highly responsive to the teaching and research activities of the Department, and assisted in drawing a community of advanced scholars to the Department. As a teaching and research resource unrivalled in its field, the Whipple Library thus contributes to the pre-eminence of Cambridge as a world centre for the study of history and philosophy of science.

Associated with the Department are 10 university teaching officers as well as over 100 college research fellows, affiliated scholars and visitors. The Department teaches around 150 Natural Sciences Tripos undergraduates through its Part IB HPS, Part II (HPS and BBS) and Part III HPS courses. The Department's courses are offered in other Triposes in the University. An MPhil in History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science, Technology and Medicine is also offered, for which there are approximately 25 students per year. There are around 45 PhD students.

3. Collection development principles

3.1 The Library supports departmental teaching and research undertaken by the Department's postgraduate students and staff. However, whilst teaching requirements are fully supported and fundamental to the Library's remit, support for research is provided primarily in areas relating to the Library's specific collection strengths. These strengths stem principally from the Library's foundation collections, its historic connection to the Museum, and acquisitions based on advice by the permanent teaching staff of the Department over the past 65 years.

3.2 Whipple library collection development focuses on the following three areas:

  • 3.2.1 Primary and secondary sources in support of research undertaken on Museum holdings.
    • 3.2.1.1 Displayable books (such as atlases).
  • 3.2.2 The purchase of material on undergraduate reading lists and basic introductory texts for postgraduates with the aim of providing a coherent working collection to support departmental teaching and research.
    • 3.2.2.1 Books which link to the Department's diverse range of workshops, research seminars and reading groups.
    • 3.2.2.2 Areas which become part of departmental teaching as it develops, in particular in relation to the areas of expertise of new members of staff.
  • 3.2.3 The building up of particular subject strengths established over the past 65 years, as set out under 12.
    • 3.2.3.1 Core, classic and canonic HPS texts.
    • 3.2.3.2 Collected editions in the history of science and philosophy.
    • 3.2.3.3 Strengthening of key subject areas relating to new research directions explored by academic staff in the Department.
    • 3.2.3.4 Retention of important primary source materials disposed of by science departments and not held by the UL (taking into account the Whipple Library's severe space constraints).

3.3 The UL (as the principal research library in the University) plays a central role in provision of HPS materials not provided for under 3.2 above. The Department's expertise is deployed in referring suggestions to the UL for HPS-related books and resources not acquired by the Whipple. Other specialist Cambridge research libraries also play a lesser role in provision of HPS materials. Where possible, the Whipple seeks to avoid duplicating the holdings of other libraries in Cambridge (see 9).

4. Recommendations and selections

4.1 Most book selection is undertaken by the Librarian in conjunction with other members of the Library Committee. The Library Committee (comprising the Departmental Administrator, University Teaching Officers and Whipple Librarian) reports to the Board of History and Philosophy of Science. Recommendations from staff and students in the Department are encouraged. These are normally purchased, except where subject scope is inconsistent with the Collection Development Policy, or if the cost is excessive, in which case the purchase is referred to the Library Committee. Rejected recommendations may be passed to the UL for consideration.

4.2 All items costing over £100 are considered by the Library Committee who assess level of priority, taking into account other competing needs and available budget.

5. Language

5.1 The major part of the Library's holdings is in the English language.

5.2 Works in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Danish and Latin relating to the subject areas covered by the Library are collected.

6. Categories of material

6.1 Translations
If a work has been acquired in its original language, then the English translation is usually acquired as well. Translations from English to other languages are not normally collected.

6.2 Editions
Not every new edition of an academic work is acquired. If a new edition contains substantial revisions, or the previous edition is heavily used, then the new edition may be acquired.

6.3 Reprints and facsimiles
Reprints are not normally acquired if the Library holds the original edition, but facsimiles of rare works are sometimes acquired to prevent wear and tear on the original edition.

6.4 Hardbacks and paperbacks
If a book has been published in hardback and paperback, the paperback edition is preferred, especially when purchasing additional copies. Reference works are purchased in hardback.

6.5 Pamphlets
Pamphlets are usually only acquired if the material is of particular importance, relates directly to an area in which the Library's collections are very strong or is relevant to a particular teaching need.

6.6 Theses
The Library collects all PhD theses produced by students of the Department. Other unpublished theses are considered when requested by members of the Department.

7. Reference works

7.1 Encyclopaedias, dictionaries, bibliographies and other reference works are acquired where consistent with the Library's Collection Development Policy.

7.2 Due to expense, the Whipple Library does not normally subscribe to online reference works. Requests for these are referred by the Library Committee to University Library Accessions Committee.

7.3 The decision on whether or not to buy print copy of a reference resource is influenced by whether or not the University Library subscribes to it online.

7.4 Where available and affordable, print and electronic access to reference works is currently favoured. However, see 11.2.

8. Multiple copies / replacement copies

8.1 The Library acquires multiple copies of essential books on undergraduate reading lists, or as the need arises.

8.2 Replacements for books missing at the Library's annual stock take are not usually reordered unless the item is considered to be of particular importance or has been requested by a reader.

9. Relationship to the printed book holdings of other Cambridge libraries

9.1 University Library
There is not at present any official arrangement between the Whipple and the University Library concerning coordination of HPS related book purchases.The Whipple does, however, routinely refer HPS related books not covered by 3.2 or which it cannot afford to the UL. Moreover, the Whipple will only acquire a book already held in the UL under any of the following circumstances:

  • 9.1.1 It is required for teaching.
  • 9.1.2 It enhances an existing collection strength.
  • 9.1.3 Is a classic in the field of HPS.
  • 9.1.4 It is displayable.
  • 9.1.5 It is an important work in a key research area in our field.
  • 9.1.6 It is an important reference work in our field.

9.2 Departmental Libraries
The interdisciplinary nature of HPS ensures that the subject area of the Library overlaps with Classics, Philosophy, PPSIS, History as well as the special collections of science libraries. Many of the Library's users are registered for degrees in other departments. For this reason the Whipple inevitably duplicates some of the holdings of these libraries. Where possible, however, it seeks to minimise this, especially in the case of expensive items.

9.3 College Libraries
For Natural Sciences Tripos IB teaching, College Libraries should acquire all relevant works assigned in general reading lists issued by teaching staff. Additional works recommended by individual supervisors should, if needs be, be recommended by those supervisors to the Libraries of the Colleges whose students they are teaching.

9.4 Cambridge Research Libraries
The Whipple avoids duplicating the holdings of other research libraries in Cambridge such as the Needham Research Institute.

10. Periodicals

10.1 The Whipple Library along with all other departmental and faculty libraries in the SHSS is a member of the Cambridge University Journals Coordination Scheme. 14 Whipple library periodicals are paid for annually through this scheme, to which the Library pays an amount agreed between the Library Committee and the School's Journal Coordination Consultative Committee. The remaining Whipple journals are not in the scheme and are paid for out of the Whipple Library budget.

10.2 New titles recommended by staff and students are considered individually by the Library Committee who take into account relevance to the Collection Development Policy, academic importance, depth of coverage, language, cost and format.

10.3 The Library Committee decides whether a proposed new journal title should be a Whipple subscription or whether it should be referred to the Journals Coordination Scheme. Urgently required and/or inexpensive titles are usually subscribed to by the Whipple.

10.4 Duplication of print journals with other libraries is generally avoided, except where a journal is central to the Department's teaching and/or research activities.

10.5 The Whipple does not open new print subscriptions to journals already fully available to the University online.

10.6 Where available and affordable, subscriptions bundled in print and electronic format are preferred.

10.7 Donations to fill gaps in existing series are accepted, as are full runs if they are consistent with the Collection Development Policy, not held elsewhere in Cambridge, and unavailable online.

10.8 The Whipple does not accept the transfer of runs of old science journals from other departmental/faculty libraries, but relies on the University Library and the Scientific Periodicals Library to ensure that a copy of every periodical unavailable in electronic form is kept in Cambridge. The Department has a formal role in advising the University Library on the disposal and transfer of science journals and other holdings in scientific departmental/faculty libraries (see General Board Committee on Libraries minutes, 28 October 1999).

11. Electronic resources

11.1 The Library promotes and seeks to educate its users in the use of HPS relevant eresources available across the University.

11.2 The Library Committee takes account of the fact that subscribed and free internet resources may well, in the long-term, further diminish the need to buy books, print periodicals and reference works.

11.3 The Library contributes financially each year to the University's Ebooks@Cambridge scheme and actively assists university-wide initiatives to improve the availability of subscribed electronic resources.

12. Collection range and subject strengths

12.1 The full range of the collection is indicated by the Whipple Library classification system.

12.2 Over the past 65 years the Library's collections have been carefully built up by the Department's academics in support of their teaching and research. Books have also been acquired to enhance the inherent strengths of Whipple's foundation collection (in particular core, classic and canonic HPS texts and collected editions in the history of science and philosophy). Moreover, new strengths have been established and built on following receipt of transfers from science departments and gifts to the Library (e.g. from the early 1970s until the late 1990s the Whipple received ca. £8,000 per annum from the Wellcome Trust for the purchase of history of medicine books). These gifts and transfers have been accepted where consistent with the Department's research and teaching activities. The collection is now the largest of its kind in the UK.

12.3 Whipple Library's principal collection strengths lie in the following areas (arranged here in accordance with the Whipple Library classification system). Asterisks signify areas in which the Library collects comprehensively:

  • History of history and history of philosophy of science (primary and secondary sources)
  • History of philosophy (primary and secondary sources)
    • *Kant (built on the Gerd Buchdahl collection)
    • Enlightenment philosophy
    • Collected editions relating to philosophers of all periods
  • *Philosophy of science
  • Sociology of science
  • General history of science (primary and secondary sources)
    • *16th-17th century editions of practical mathematics, early modern mathematics, surveying and navigation
    • *Early editions of works by, and on, Isaac Newton and William Gilbert
    • *Almost all first and early editions of Robert Boyle's works in English and in Latin
    • *History of Cambridge science
    • Collected editions relating to figures of all periods
  • Books on institutions of science and learning
  • History of astrology, alchemy, witchcraft and demonology (secondary sources)
  • *Books on instruments, in particular models and demonstration devices (primary and secondary sources)
    • 17th-20th century editions on microscopy and optics
  • History of astronomy (early editions, primary and secondary sources)
  • 19th and early 20th century physics and chemistry text books (many with annotations by Larmor and other eminent scientists of the period, including Pierre Duhem's library books and titles given by Maxwell to the Cavendish laboratory)
  • History of medicine (primary and secondary sources)
    • General history of medicine from antiquity to the present, including clinical medicine, surgery, public health and the medical and biomedical sciences
    • 19th and early 20th century anatomy and physiology (Michael Foster collection)
    • Art and medicine
    • History of medical institutions
    • History of the medical profession, medical education, medical scientists and paramedical occupations
    • History of medical and biological sciences
  • History of biology (primary and secondary sources)
    • Natural history
    • Laboratory biology
    • Darwin and Darwinism
    • 19th century works in popular life sciences and secondary works relating to them
  • History of earth sciences (secondary sources)
  • History and philosophy of psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis (primary and secondary sources)
    • *Early editions on Phrenology (from the British Phrenological Association library)

12.4 The Library seeks to build on its existing strengths and fill significant gaps as and when relevant items become available.

13. Donations and transfers

13.1 The Library and Department plays an official role in advising libraries in Science departments and faculties seeking to dispose of older material. The Whipple Library accepts limited quantities of such material if it matches the following criteria, and is not already held:

  • 13.1.1 The item is a secondary work on the history and/or philosophy of science.
  • 13.1.2 The item is an important primary work in the history of science.
  • 13.1.3 The item is related to the Library's special collections.
  • 13.1.4 When accepting an item for transfer, the Library takes into consideration the location of copies of the item elsewhere in Cambridge and the physical condition of the item.
  • 13.1.5 For donations and transfers of periodicals, please see 10.8.

13.2 Whipple library cannot act as a repository of last resort for all unwanted holdings of science departments and faculties and looks to the UL to perform this function.

14. Retention and disposal

14.1 The Librarian reviews the collection annually, identifying areas containing books eligible for disposal. After consultation with members of the Department in whose subject area a particular section falls (and with reference to the Collection Development Policy), items are selected for disposal and withdrawn.

14.2 Books to be disposed typically fall into the following areas:

  • 14.2.1 Out-of-date material in areas not central to the Library's collections, for example general historical books, general philosophy books, old biographies that the UL already has.
  • 14.2.2 Older editions of general reference works, once the new edition has been acquired (e.g. The World of Learning).
  • 14.2.3 Duplicate copies of books no longer used for teaching.
  • 14.2.4 Secondary works in HPS which are no longer used and are in the UL.

14.3 Books recommended for disposal will be offered to the University Library in accordance with University rules (Ordinances, p 581).

15. Review

15.1 This document will be periodically reviewed by the Librarian and Library Committee and revised if necessary.

February 2009