Collection Development for African and African Diaspora Studies in the Boston College Libraries

Format decisions follow the General Collection Development Policy and allow for considerations of requester preference, curricular needs, and other factors.

• Journals are purchased in electronic format when possible. 
• Books are chiefly purchased in print format.  Exceptions are edited volumes, Festschriften, conference proceedings, etc., where the expected use is a single chapter (rather than cover-to-cover), and authoritative critical editions of the works of major authors.  These are purchased in electronic format when possible.
• Databases for research in African and African Diaspora Studies include specialized resources in History, Political Science, Religion, and Literature among other disciplines.

The collection is chiefly in English, with additional material collected in other language (e.g., French or Spanish) as requested.

The geographic focus of the collection is Africa and the parts of the world included in the African diaspora with an emphasis on the United States.

The collection focuses on recent imprints. Retrospective purchasing of older materials is considered upon faculty request.