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Department of Public Administration and Policy

R. Irving, Bibliographer
rirving@uamail.albany.edu

I. General Purpose

The University Libraries' public administration and policy collection supports teaching and research through the Ph.D. level, as well as individual faculty research. Graduate degree programs include the M.P.A. and Ph.D. in Public Administration; the M.A. in Public Affairs and Policy; a joint J.D./M.P.A. program in conjunction with Albany Law School: a dual degree program combining the M.A. in Public Policy and M.A. in History. The M.P.A. program is also offered in combination with three undergraduate degrees: a B.A. in Sociology, a B.A. in Political Science, and a B.A./B.S. in Economics. There is a B.A. degree in Public Policy. The department also participates in Certificate programs in Advanced Study in Planning and Policy Analysis, Women and Public Policy, Public Sector Management, and Non-Profit Management. Research institutes affiliated with the department include the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, the Center for Technology in Government, the Center for Legislative Development, the Center for Policy Research, the Intergovernmental Solution Program, as well as the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

While the academic program is closely connected to the other department within the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, i.e., Political Science, it draws its concepts and methods from a broad spectrum of the social and behavioral sciences including law, economics, and organizational studies. The Public Affairs program is multi disciplinary with a requirement for credit hours in a substantive policy area. The M.P.A. has concentrations in Comparative and Development Administration; Policy Analysis and Information Systems; Politics, Policy and Institutions; Public Economics and Finance; Public Management. The Ph.D. has six fields of study: Comparative and Development Administration, Organizational Behavior and Theory, Decision and Policy Sciences, Politics and Administration, Public Finance, and Public Administration.

II. Subject and Language Modifiers

Languages: Almost all of the materials selected are in English

Geographical Areas: The area of principal concern is the United States, though some materials are acquired regarding developing countries and developed countries for comparative analysis, particularly countries in Africa, the Asian subcontinent, Eastern and Central Europe, and Latin America.

Chronological Periods: Emphasis is on the acquisition of contemporary materials.

III. Description of Materials Collected

Types of Materials Collected: Monographs and serials comprise the bulk of acquisitions in support of public administration. Other important materials include government documents of the United States, and documents from selected local, state, and international entities, association and society publications, newspapers, maps, and atlases. Dissertations, newsletters, and audiovisual materials are acquired on a highly selective basis. Microform collections are added as appropriate. The SRI microfiche collection includes significant documents published by state governments and research organizations.

Major public administration or public policy reference works -- indexes, bibliographies, encyclopedias, atlases, handbooks, etc. -- are housed in the Reference area of the Dewey Library and are selected by the Reference Bibliographer for the Dewey Library. Many of the major indexing/abstracting services, such as ABI/INFORM, PAIS, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and GPO Monthly Catalog of Government Publications, are accessible electronically. More specialized reference works may be selected by the Bibliographer for Public Administration and Policy and are generally housed in the circulating collection.

The University Library subscribes to Westlaw Campus, LexisNexis Congressional, LexisNexis State Capital, and Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO), electronic databases which provide access to the full-text of primary and secondary materials of interest to students and researchers engaged in the study of public administration and policy.

Types of Materials Excluded:Textbooks, casebooks, case studies.

Interdisciplinary Factors: The Political Science subject statement has to be considered along with this statement in order to provide an adequate picture of the collection development parameters for Public Administration. The statements for Criminal Justice, Social Welfare, Information Science and Policy, Dewey Law, as well as other subject statements should be considered relevant for supporting the substantive aspects of the Public Affairs and Policy program. The Economics statement, for its coverage of finance and management; the Sociology statement, for its coverage of organizational theory; and the area studies' statements should also be looked at for coverage relevant to aspects of public administration and policy.

IV. Subject and Collection Levels [Collection Level Descriptions]

V. Other Significant Collections and Resource Sharing

A portion of the Coordinated Collection Development fund, received by the University Libraries, is allocated for the acquisition of materials to support public policy research. Materials purchased with these funds support the research efforts of students and faculty within the Department of Public Administration and Policy. The New York State Library has extensive holdings in the areas of public administration and public policy, especially primary and secondary documents dealing with New York State government. Faculty and graduate students make extensive use of the collection at the New York State Library through cooperative borrowing agreements.

October 2003

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