Collection Development Policy: Public Humanities
  • Subject Librarian(s):
    Holly Snyder
    Rosemary Cullen

  • Departmental Library Representative (DLR):
    Steve Lubar

  • Description of the Academic Program
    The graduate program in the Public Humanities is a new initiative that forms part of Brown’s overall plan for Academic Enrichment. Established by the Department of American Civilization in conjunction with the John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization at Brown University, the program seeks to broaden and enhance an existing concentration in Museum Studies. See the following links for further information on the program:


    Faculty:


    Recent Courses:



  • Overview of the Collection
    General Collections: The Public Humanities collection currently consists of more than 30,000 titles, of which many are periodicals, some received in both electronic format and hardcopy. These materials are housed in the John D. Rockefeller Library, and can be readily accessed through JOSIAH. A list of pertinent e-journals in public history and museum studies, with links to the journals themselves, is provided on the Library’s Resource Guide to Public Humanities. General works pertaining to the Public Humanities are typically found in the following call number ranges:

    SUBJECT AREALC CLASSES NO. OF TITLES
    Museums, Collectors and Collecting AM274
    Historical archaeology CC72 - CC81 326
    General history and historiography D1 - D25 1,160
    United States history, in general E151 - E181 2,752
    Material culture GN 4,476
    Business history HD, HF 14,098
    Social history and conditions HM, HN 5,844
    Decorative Arts NK2,819
    Technology expositions T391 - T995 101


    These categories, however, are not precise. Some of the above classes include materials un-related to the study of public humanities. Inaddition, works pertaining to public history and museums can be found interfiled throughout all LC classifications, especially those pertaining to archaeology (C), history (D, E, F), geography (G), the social sciences (H), art (N), technology (T) and information sciences (Z).

    Special Collections: In its first two centuries, the Brown University Library has built strong collections in American history, American literature, and American popular culture, particularly in its rare book, manuscript, and archival holdings housed in the John Hay Library. The Library’s specialized collections have particular strengths in magic and the occult, the history of science and mathematics, genre fiction, children’s literature, gay and lesbian literature, the history of medicine, alcoholism and temperance, and legal and diplomatic history. A number of these collections include sets of material objects which have previously been underutilized for scholarly study. Among the collections which have object value for the study of the Public Humanities are the following:


    (Further details of each of these collections can be found in Collections A to Z on the Library’s main webpage)

  • General Collecting Guidelines
    The primary purpose of the Public Humanities collection is to support the needs of graduate students and faculty in the John Nicholas Brown Center’s Public Humanities program. A secondary purpose is to meet the needs of all students and faculty at Brown and, through Brown/RISD collaborative programs, at the Rhode Island School of Design, for information resources pertaining to museum studies, public history and related disciplines in the humanities.

  • Detailed Subject Breakdown

  • Special Collections
    Acquisitions in Public Humanities for the John Hay Library are aimed at building on the existing strengths of the Library’s special collections. These materials complement the general and special collections in American history and literature, but focus on topics of particular interest to the goals of the Public Humanities program and the study of the public humanities more broadly. Acquisition targets for special collections in public humanities include museum objects as well as manuscripts and books, and cover a range of topics including collectors and collecting, early technologies, American diplomacy, museums and memorials.

  • Related Collections
    The Virginia Baldwin Orwig Music Library. In addition to a large music collection in all formats, the Orwig Library includes a significant collection on ethnomusicology from the United States and around the world. See “Guide to the Loraine Wyman Collection 1859-1952”.

    The John Nicholas Brown Center. Although the papers of the Brown family will soon be transferred to the John Hay Library, the JNBC maintains a sizeable collection of family photographs that document a wide range of early photographic technologies and techniques, as well as materials documenting the restoration of the Nightingale-Brown house.

    The John Carter Brown Library. Administered independently from the Brown University Library as an advanced center for research in history and the humanities, the JCBL collections document every aspect of the Americas up to 1830, including voyages of discovery, natural history, colonization and the African slave trade. The JCB’s collections of original maps and prints is known throughout the scholarly world. The JCB’s holdings also include a significant portion of the archives of the Brown family as well as other manuscript materials on the history of early Rhode Island.

    The Rhode Island School of Design Library. Founded in 1878, the RISD Library is one of the oldest art college libraries in the country, with more than 115,000 volumes and 400 periodical subscriptions. The collection provides strong historical and contemporary perspectives, and the areas of architecture, art, design and photography are particularly well covered. Additional materials in landscape architecture, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry support upper-level research. Among its signature collections are artist’s books, rare books and visual resources; it also offers some unique electronic resources, such as the Design and Applied Art Index -- a useful tool for research in the decorative arts.

    The Rhode Island School of Design Archives. The RISD Archives collect and provide access to the historic materials related to RISD’s academic programs and the RISD Museum, documenting their development since RISD’s founding in 1877. The Archives collections are a unique and valuable resource for understanding and appreciating the significant role that RISD has played in teaching and advancing the disciplines of art, design, and art education--regionally, nationally, and worldwide, and illuminate the contributions of individuals and organizations associated with RISD, as well as shedding light on Museum techniques.