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Research Guides

Collection Guidelines: Sociology: Local & Regional Collections

Guidelines by which materials are purchased for the Sociology collection of the UW Libraries (Seattle Campus).

UW Libraries Locations

Sociology collections:

Suzzallo & Allen Libraries and Odegaard Library are the major locations for Sociology collections, with an emphasis on research books and journals in Suzzallo and popular and undergraduate-focused books in Odegaard Library. Video and audio sources are located in the Suzzallo Library  or stream online. Relevant electronic materials, including e-journals, are linked from the Sociology Research Guide. The primary search interface fro all UW sociology collections is UW Libraries Search.

Other related collections:

Materials related to urban planning can be found in the Built Environments Library. Material related to the history of the University of Washington, Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest may also be found in the Special Collections. Local, state, federal, and international documents may be found in Government Publications.

UW Bothell and UW Tacoma:

The UW Bothell and UW Tacoma libraries have sociology collections, as well.

Collaborative Collection Management

As members of the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST) and the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), the UW Libraries collaborates with other research libraries to ensure long-term access to microform and print serials whether or not a digital surrogate exists. Shared responsibility for maintaining retrospective print holdings enables the Libraries to better manage its own collections space.

Other Library Collections

The University of Washington Libraries is a member of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium of academic institutions in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Sociology materials can be borrowed across the consortium. Collaboration among members of this regional consortium expands the print resources available to UW students, faculty and staff through Summit, the Alliance joint catalog. The Orbis Cascade e-book program allows the UW community to view electronic books that are accessible to and jointly owned by all member libraries.

Local public libraries including the Seattle Public Library and the King County Library System have strong collections of more popular sociological works.

Cooperative Acquisitions

The Libraries actively participates in regional and national cooperative collection development efforts which enhance the range of resources available to UW students, faculty, and staff while conserving precious funds for local acquisitions.   These include:

Center for Research Libraries (CRL).  This organization acquires research material in print, microform, and electronic formats on behalf of its members, including foreign dissertations, newspaper archives, and other important but infrequently used resources.  In addition, the UW Libraries participates in several initiatives of CRL's Global Resources Program  that focus on international scholarly resources, such as news, government publications, and  technical reports.  Two other CRL programs offer UW scholars access to resources that are not owned by the UW Libraries or by CRL.  Requests should meet a specific research or teaching need and total no more than $2,000 annually.

  • Demand Purchase Program.  For purchase of foreign dissertations, newspaper issues, and published archives.  Requests are forwarded from the Libraries' Interlibrary Loan office.
  • Scholar's Access Program.  For limited-term access to a database, newspaper, or other electronic resource.  Requests should be made through your subject librarian