1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the Chemistry collection is to support the Department of Chemistry’s academic and research needs. Potential audience includes other departments offering courses or engaging in research related to Chemistry.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: No limitations are imposed on the collection’s geographical coverage.

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. Foreign language titles will be considered only upon request if (i) they are indispensable towards teaching or research, and (ii) no similar titles are available in English.

• Format: Both print and electronic formats are acquired, though the latter is preferred. Publication types primarily include books and journals; others will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Time Period: Emphasis is placed on titles published in the past five years. Latest editions are preferred.

3. Subject Scope

Focus is given to the following classification numbers in Library of Congress Classification System:

The following classification numbers may be considered when necessary:

1. Purpose of the Collection

The Chinese Studies Collection supports educational and research needs in the Department of Chinese Studies. It also extends to related areas like history, philosophy, sociology, and Southeast Asian studies.  The collection is designed to provide access to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary resources  and high-quality materials that support teaching and research.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: Priority is given to materials from China, but also focus on Singapore, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia.

• Languages: Most materials are in Chinese, but some are bilingual or translated into English.

• Format: Print and electronic formats should be acquired for content focused on Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia. For all other titles, the preference is electronic format, unless unavailable. DVDs and multimedia CDs are acquired on demand, provided they are essential for the courses conducted by the Department of Chinese Studies.

• Time Period: Primarily recent publications from the past five years, including reprints of early Chinese works, will be acquired. Retrospective acquisitions are made if the materials fall within the Chinese Studies collection scope or are required to replace important books or journals which have deteriorated or gone missing. Specific earlier publications, especially with historical and cultural significance, as well as heritage value to Singapore and Malaysia, will be procured for teaching, research, and preservation purposes.

3. Subject Scope

The Library of Congress Classification subject areas as follows:

1. Purpose of the Collection

The Economics Collection aims to support the learning and research endeavours in the Department of Economics, College of Humanities and Sciences, and other departments offering economics-related courses.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: No limitations are imposed on the collection’s geographical coverage. However, a larger emphasis is placed on contemporary publications and publications related to Singapore, Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia.

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. Foreign language titles will be considered only upon request if they are indispensable towards teaching or research, and no similar titles are available in English. 

• Format: Electronic formats, cost friendlier options, and items prioritised in the economics community are preferred e.g. top journals and go-to references. Statistical sources may be obtained from national statistical agencies, publications from research institutions, online resources or subscribed resources, of which the major ones include.

• Time Period: Recent publications in the past 5 years (latest editions) are prioritised unless the subject area of concern warrants the selection of older publications. Older publications (even out-of-print titles) are selected to fill specific needs (e.g. course requirements and emerging research areas).

3. Subject Scope

The Economics collection is aligned to the Economics Department’s teaching and research activities and are based on the Course Listings and Research pages on the Department/Programme website(s). The following classification numbers in Library of Congress Classification System (LOCCS) outlines the broad spectrum of economic subject areas of the collection:

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the collection is to build an exhaustive collection in both depth and breadth to support the teaching, learning, research, and reference needs of students and faculty of the Department of Food Science & Technology.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: No limitations are imposed on the collection’s geographical coverage.

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection unless advised by Faculty/researcher which it would be required for teaching and/or research.

• Format: Electronic publications are generally preferred over print as access is more readily available regardless of the location and number of copies held.

• Time Period: Publications of the most recent years (latest editions) are prioritised/generally preferred.

3. Subject Scope

1. Purpose of the Collection

The aim of the collection is to support teaching, learning and research activities pertaining to the Department of History at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and other departments offering history-related courses and facilitating research on histories

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: Priority is given to materials from Singapore and Malaysia, followed by Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East. Materials from other parts of the world are also considered.

• Languages: The collection covers materials mainly in English, Chinese, Malay, and Japanese. Works in other languages can be requested, if they are relevant to course readings and research, on a case-by-case basis.

• Format: Serials and monographs are collected chiefly in print or digital format. Streaming licences, DVDs and multi-media CDs are acquired on demand provided they are essential to the teaching of courses conducted by the Faculty (i.e. General Selection Criteria (a) or (b)). Due to budget constraints, books in paperback are generally preferred to those in hardback (except heavily-used materials, e.g. books designated for the RBR collection).

• Time Period: There is no time limit for materials covering Singapore, Malaysia, Southeast East Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. Only Contemporary and Modern period materials will be collected for those that pertain to the rest of the world.

3. Subject Scope

The History collection is aligned with the Faculty’s teaching and research activities, and is based on the Course Listings and Research pages on its website. Some of these include but is not limited to business history, military history, overseas Chinese, topics encompassing the Nusantara, Cold War in Asia, South Asia history, empire history, East Asia history, environmental history, and modern European history.

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the Japanese Studies collection is to address both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary educational and research needs for the Department of Japanese Studies, and Japanese language studies modules at the Centre for Language Studies.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: Confined to Japan in principle.

• Languages: Restricted to materials exclusively in the Japanese language.

• Format: All formats are acquired, with a primary focus on printed books and journals.

• Time Period: No limitations, but with emphasis on the current imprint.

3. Subject Scope

• No limitations, with a strong emphasis on the modern period (1868 to the present).

• Japanese linguistics, business studies, sociology, anthropology, history, literature, religion, politics, and international relations.

• Materials on Singapore, Chinese overseas, Southeast Asian Studies, and Chinese religions are also acquired.

Covers a broad spectrum within the Library of Congress Classification System, with a primary focus on the following classification numbers:

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the Law Library is to build an exhaustive collection in both depth and breadth in order to:

• support the curriculum and research needs of the NUS Faculty of Law. This responsibility includes providing material for current teaching and research, as well as anticipating future needs, taking into account the introduction and development of new teaching programmes and areas of research interest
• enable the Faculty to maintain its title of “Asia’s Global Law School” and ranking as one of the world’s top law schools
• attract eminent visiting scholars and new academics to the Faculty

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: With respect to domestic jurisdictions on specific areas of law, emphasis is placed on common law jurisdictions, both within the region and further afield, and on Asian civil law jurisdictions, particularly those within the region. With respect to interjurisdictional subjects, collections on public international law, comparative law, and European Union law are acquired. All Singapore primary and secondary legal materials are collected, except for ephemera and overpriced services that involve duplication. Other than Singapore, the jurisdictions that are of primary concern to the Law Library are Australia and the United Kingdom. Coverage of materials from Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United States is slightly less prioritised. There is limited coverage of materials from other jurisdictions.

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. Sources in other languages are generally not collected, apart from Malaysian legislation in Malay and selected materials in Chinese. Books in the vernacular may be purchased if they are core readings.

• Format: Materials are collected chiefly in print or digital format. Streaming licenses and DVDs are acquired on demand, provided they are essential to the teaching of courses conducted by the Faculty.

• Time Period: Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of current and recent publications i.e. published within the last 3 years. Retrospective acquisitions are made if the materials fall within the Law Library’s collection scope, have historical value or are required to replace important books or journals which have deteriorated or gone missing.

3. Subject Scope

The Law Library collection is aligned to the Faculty of Law’s teaching and research activities, and acquisitions are based on the Course Listings and Research pages on the Faculty’s website. In addition, books on novel and emerging areas of law are acquired in order to ensure that the Law Library collection is kept up-to-date and relevant. For non-law subjects, only the monographs that are essential for the interdisciplinary courses will be selected.

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the collection is to support the teaching, learning and research activities pertaining to the NUS Business School’s Department of Marketing’s undergraduate and graduate divisions. It also supports teaching, study and research in marketing courses and marketing related research outside of NUS Business School.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: Priority is given first to marketing materials on Singapore, followed by those on Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific, and lastly, global.

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. A small selection of Chinese publications is included to support the needs of Chinese-language Executive MBA programmes.

• Format: Electronic formats, cost friendlier options, and items prioritised in the discipline are preferred e.g. high-impact marketing journals. Market Research Reports, Opinion and Consumer polling data, and case studies on marketing will be acquired from subscribed sources only. Harvard and Ivey case studies are excluded as the publishers do not allow purchases of case studies by libraries. Case studies from the Case Studies Centre are excluded. Market research reports that are not from subscribed resources are excluded, due to prohibitive costs and the authoritativeness of the publisher cannot be ascertained. Databases that have already been subscribed by the Business School’s Financial Database are also excluded.

• Time Period: Aside from a small collection of classic marketing titles, publications in the past 5 years should be prioritised. Textbooks for marketing courses should be updated with the latest editions.

3. Subject Scope

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the collection is to support the teaching, learning and research activities pertaining to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and other departments offering medicine-related courses.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: No limitations are imposed on the collection’s geographical coverage. Selection is guided by the institution’s teaching, research, clinical partnerships and local healthcare context. 

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection.

• Format: Electronic formats are preferred for books, journals, point-of-care resources, textbooks, and other evidence-based content.

• Time Period: Publications in the most recent 10 years should be prioritised. However, topics such as Law, Legal and Ethical Issues in Medicine should not have any time limit, and it can be found under the Law collection.

3. Subject Scope

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal of the Music collection is to:

• support the teaching, learning, performing and research for the Faculty and Students of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) to maintain and sustain academic and performing excellence.
• support the ‘Arts for All’ (AFA) Framework to enhance the student life experience at NUS. See https://cfa.nus.edu.sg/get-involved/for-students/arts-for-all-at-nus/.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: The collection includes music compositions and works by composers and authors from Singapore, Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia (including China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea), the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. The scope is inclusive and does not exclude materials from other regions.

• Languages: English is the primary language for books.  Music scores for operas in languages such as Italian, German and French would be purchased as these support YSTCM’s Vocal Studies curriculum.  Musical works by local composers or regional composers in Malay and Chinese language would also be obtained for the Music collection.

• Format:

For music scores:

• Print music scores are purchased even if they are available online as these are necessary for orchestral and choral performances, student examinations, faculty and student performances and music competitions.
• "Duplicate” titles are necessary as multiple copies of the same title are required for multiple performers due to copyright reasons, for example, chamber or choral music.
• "Duplicate” titles from different publishers are necessary as editorial interpretations of musical works are critical to researchers’ understanding of composers’ inspirations and aspirations so as to perform the works as intended by the composers.
• Electronic formats of music scores, if available, should also be acquired for archival purposes.

For sound recordings and video recordings:

• Sound and video recordings are procured when requested by teaching staff for courses conducted by YSTCM or interdisciplinary courses.
• Excluded are LPs or long-playing vinyl records of classical music as such music is available online and the sound quality of the music may have deteriorated due to the age of the LPs, or if there are scratches or mould on the LPs.
• Time Period:
• Contemporary 21st and 20th century music compositions and music titles  Collected works of composers for researchers.
• Retrospective acquisitions are made if the materials fall within the Music collection scope or are required to replace important books or journals which have deteriorated or reported as missing from the collection.
• Publications with historical and cultural significance, as well as having heritage value to Singapore and Malaysia, will be procured for teaching, research, and preservation purposes.

 

3. Subject Scope

• Music in the western art music tradition.
• Contemporary music of the 21st and 20th centuries.
• Music scores and books on Methods, Pedagogy, Teaching, Music Composition, Research and Performance.

The Library of Congress (LC) Classification System in the table below shows the classification numbers used for the broad spectrum of music:

LC Classification	Subject
Subclass M	Music
M1-3.3	Collections
M5-1480	Instrumental Music
M1495-2199 ► M1495 ► M1497-1998 ► M1999-2199	Vocal Music Collections Secular vocal music Sacred vocal music
Subclass M	Literature on Music
ML1-3930	Literature on Music
ML159-3785	History and Criticism
ML3797-3799.5	Musical Research
ML3800-3923	Philosophical and societal aspects of music. Physics and acoustics of music. Physiological aspects of music
ML3928-3930	Literature for Children
Subclass MT	Instruction and Study
MT1-960	Instruction and Study
MT170-810	Instrumental Techniques
MT820-915	Singing and Vocal Technique
MT955-956	Musical Theater

 

1. Purpose of the Collection

The primary goal is to build the Social Work collection in both depth and breadth, to support the curriculum and research needs of Social Work-related courses and programmes at NUS. This responsibility includes primarily providing material for current teaching and research, considering the introduction and development of new teaching programmes and areas of research interest.

2. Collections Development Guidelines

• Geographical Coverage: As this academic discipline leads to a practice-based profession, emphasis will be placed on countries that share similar practice/practical nuances, such as Australia, Asia and UK. However, global evolvement of this discipline requires faculty and researchers to also be aware of the teaching and research content, and also practices of other countries as well, namely US and Europe. 

• Languages: English is the primary language of the collection. Sources in other languages are generally not collected, unless advised by faculty/researcher that it would be required for teaching and/or research.

• Format: Main format would be books, journals and databases. It is common for the faculty to screen videos to show how a certain action can be conducted (eg. counselling, family-based therapy, etc).

• Time Period: Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of current and recent publications i.e. published, in the last 5-10 years, especially post-pandemic. Where relevant, retrospective acquisitions may be considered.

3. Subject Scope