Collection Policy: Languages

1. Introduction

The Library supports the instructional and research needs of students and faculty working within the Department of Languages. Since its inception as Lakehead Technical Institute in 1949, Lakehead has offered courses in French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German, Greek, Ukrainian, Finnish, Arabic, Cree, Ojibwe, Algonquin and Iroquoian. With the launch of Lakehead University in 1965 the Department of Languages was established under the Faculty of Arts, initially offering Bachelor of Arts degrees and later introducing Honours degrees. The Department then introduced language minors, along with an expanded offering of Native languages. Offerings in linguistics, philology, world literature, English as a Second Language (ESL) and French language proficiency have also been part of the Department through much of its history. Today, the Department of Languages offers the following:

Department of Languages Degrees:
  • Bachelor of Arts in French
  • Bachelor of Arts in French concurrent with Bachelor of Education
  • Honours Bachelor of Arts in French
  • Honours Bachelor of Arts in French and English
  • Honours Bachelor of Arts in French and English concurrent with Bachelor of Education
  • Honours Bachelor of Arts in French and Philosophy
  • Honours Bachelor of Arts in French concurrent with a Bachelor of Education
Department of Languages Minors:
  • Minor in German
  • Minor in Finnish
  • Minor in French
  • Minor in Spanish
  • Minor in Native Languages (Ojibwe, Cree)
  • Minor in Classics (Greek, Latin)
Department of Languages Certificates:
  • Certificate of French Proficiency for Non-French Majors
  • Aboriginal Languages Specialist’s Certificate
The Department of Languages also participates in the Native Language Instructors Program (NLIP) in cooperation with the Faculty of Education, offering the following:
  • Native Language Instructors’ Diploma
  • Native Language Teacher’s Certification

The Chancellor Paterson Library is the main location for languages material. Monograph titles for languages are primarily located on the fourth floor of the Library. The Library’s Northern Studies Resource Centre (NSRC) houses some materials in Native languages while the Library’s Archive and Special Collections houses materials in Finnish. Additionally, within the Education Library collection there is a concentration of materials from the perspective of teacher training.

2. History of the Collection

The Department of Languages has always had a strong emphasis on French and this continues to the present. The majority of courses offered by the Department are in support of the various French degree programs. The offerings in French move well beyond language training and into studies of French literature and civilization. The Department’s library collecting reflects this focus, as selections have primarily consisted of French language materials to adequately support the Bachelor of Arts degree programs.

Much of the minor and certificate offerings are strictly from the perspective of language training, with exceptions in Classics and to a lesser extent Finnish which offer component(s) in history, philosophy and/or civilization. There are also courses offered in Italian, some of which deal with culture and civilization in addition to language training. Regardless, monograph purchasing in these areas has come largely from the language training perspective and has been limited due to the relatively light demands of the minor and certificate programs.

Over the years the Department has purchased materials outside of its subject sphere of Language and Literature, collecting materials in a wide array of subject areas so long as they are in a language other than English (predominately French). Hence, it is not uncommon to find selections made by the Department in areas such as history, political science, philosophy, or geography.

3. Languages

Acquisitions are primarily in French. Materials can also be collected in a wide array of other languages depending on course offerings and the research interests of faculty.

4. Chronological Guidelines

Current works are of primary interest. Historical material will be collected where appropriate.

5. Geographical Guidelines

There are no geographical restrictions.

6. Types of Material

The Chancellor Paterson Library actively collects monographs, journals and reference materials. Also, the Library has been a depository for federal government publications since 1967 and for Ontario government publications since 1972. Conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, annual reports and other serial publications are acquired selectively.

The predominant format for monographs is print, although the Library is progressively building the electronic book collection. The predominant format for journals and government documents is electronic. Audio/visual materials have been collected for the purpose of language training. Resources in other formats are purchased when relevant.

7. Subject Areas/Levels

The chart below reflects library monograph holdings in both print and electronic format, as organized by the Library of Congress Classification. Collection areas are ranked by a collection level: basic, initial study, advanced study or research.

# / Subjects / LC Class / Current Level / Target Level
Language and Literature / (Class P)
1 / Philology. Linguistics / P1-1091 / Initial / Advanced
2 / Classical Philology / PA1-199 / Basic / Basic
3 / Greek philology and language / PA227-895 / Basic / Basic
4 / Medieval and modern Greek language / PA1000-1177 / Basic / Basic
5 / Latin philology and language / PA2001-2915 / Basic / Basic
6 / Classical literature / PA3001-3045 / Basic / Basic
7 / Greek literature / PA3051-4505 / Initial / Initial
8 / Byzantine and modern Greek literature / PA5000-5660 / Basic / Basic
9 / Roman Literature / PA6001-6971 / Initial / Initial
10 / Medieval and modern Latin literature / PA8001-8595 / Basic / Basic
11 / Modern languages. Celtic languages / PB1-3029 / Basic / Basic
12 / Romanic / PC1-5498 / Initial / Initial
13 / Italian / PC1001-1977 / Basic / Basic
14 / French / PC2001-3761 / Initial / Advanced
15 / Spanish / PC4001-4977 / Initial / Initial
16 / Germanic / PD1-7159 / Basic / Basic
17 / West Germanic / PF1-5999 / Basic / Basic
18 / German / PF3001-5999 / Initial / Initial
19 / Slavic. Baltic. Albanian / PG1-9665 / Basic / Basic
20 / Uralic. Basque / PH1-5490 / Basic / Basic
21 / Finnish / PH101-405 / Initial / Initial
22 / Oriental philology and literature / PJ1-9348 / Basic / Basic
23 / Indo-Iranian philology and literature / PK1-9201 / Basic / Basic
24 / Languages of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania / PL1-8844 / Basic / Basic
25 / Hyperborean, Indian, and artificial languages / PM1-9021 / Initial / Initial
26 / American languages (Aboriginal) / PM101-2711 / Initial / Advanced
27 / French literature – 18th Century / PQ1947-2147 / Initial / Initial
28 / French literature – 19th Century / PQ 2149-2551 / Initial / Initial
29 / French literature – 20th Century / PQ 2600-2686 / Initial / Initial
30 / Colonial - Quebec / PQ3900-3919 / Advanced / Advanced
31 / Colonial - Africa / PQ 3980-3989 / Basic / Initial
32 / Colonial – West Indies (Carribean) / PQ 3940-3949 / Basic / Initial
33 / Italian literature / PQ4001-5999 / Initial / Initial
34 / Spanish literature / PQ6001-8929 / Initial / Initial
35 / German literature / PT1-4897 / Initial / Initial

Note: A portion of the library collection not necessarily reflected in this chart is the availability of non-English material in many other areas beyond the Class P Language and Literature designation. French languages materials, for example, are relatively abundant in the government documents collection as well as the history collection.

8. Interdisciplinary Activities

There are cross-disciplinary Honours Bachelor of Arts degrees offered in French and English and French and Philosophy. Also, the Bachelor of Arts in French and the Honours Bachelor of Arts in French and English are both offered concurrent with the Bachelor of Education degree. Some courses in Languages are cross listed with English, Philosophy, History, Women’s Studies, Education and Indigenous Learning. The Faculty of Education offers the Native Language Instructors Program (Native Language Instructors’ Diploma and Native Language Teacher’s Certification) in cooperation with the Department of Languages.

9. Strengths/Weaknesses

The monograph collection for languages is particularly strong and abundant in the area of French literature. Emphasis on French Canadian literature has been sustained but could be further strengthened. The collection is also abundant in the area of linguistics, but further materials in this area could be collected in support of the research interests of faculty. Monograph collecting in the area of Aboriginal language is adequate but could be further augmented. Further collecting should be focussed on colonial literature in Africa and the Carribean to support newer courses and may also be desired in support of some of the minor programs. Overall, the languages collection contains a healthy mix of historic and contemporary material.

Although the print monograph collection remains of central importance to the languages collection, the electronic book collection is growing. The electronic journal collection is also steadily increasing in importance and abundance. The Department of Languages benefits from the Library’s consortial electronic journal subscriptions as part of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).

10. Internet Resources

The Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) collection contains materials in a variety of languages including French, Finnish, German, and Spanish. TBPL also possesses a range of audio-visual materials relating to languages, such as foreign films and language training resources. The Paterson Library Commons at Confederation College provides some support, particularly in the area ESL training, as does the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association to a lesser extent.

11. Internet Resources

The Library maintains links to languages resources on its website via an electronic subject guide (libguides.lakeheadu.ca/languages). Additional subject guides with useful content links are available for related studies such as classics, education, literature, English literature, history, Indigenous learning and philosophy.

12. Liaison

The Department of Languages is responsible for selecting appropriate library resources. A library representative from the Department liaises with a designated Collections Development Librarian with respect to the Department’s library budget, the acquisition process, consortia projects, and serials management. It is the responsibility of the Collections Development Librarian to ensure that relevant information regarding new publications is forwarded to the Department’s library representative for consideration. The Library welcomes donations of books and journals which fall within its collection scope.

13. Weeding

Weeding will be done on an ongoing basis to preserve the quality, currency and strength of the collection.

July 2014

Dr. Beatrice Vernier______Tracy Zurich______

Library RepresentativeCollection Development Librarian

Department of LanguagesChancellor Paterson Library

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