The communication collection supports the study and research needs of faculty and students in the Communication Department. The department is concerned with the study, criticism, research, teaching and application of the artistic, humanistic, and scientific principles of communication and offers courses in interpersonal communication, media and cultural studies, and rhetoric and public advocacy. The communication collection covers a variety of topics, many of which overlap with other subject areas such as psychology, sociology, political science, business, gender studies, and film studies. Monographs, serials and electronic resources are selected to support the study of communication in all forms.
The Library currently purchases in electronic format a growing number of books in Communication. Most of these purchases are reference works and edited books/essay collections. Users generally do not read such works from cover to cover. With respect to reference works users are usually looking for specific information that is rarely more than several pages in length and is easily read online. Edited books/essay collections are quite analogous to e-journals and most patrons are content to read individual chapters and essays online or to read them after having printed them out. Other e-monographs are acquired when the benefits of the electronic are greater than the print format or when there is added value in the e-book for the user. Users can always request that a monograph be purchased in e-format.
For more information on the Library’s e-book selection, see Selection Criteria and the E-Books at Boston College guide. The Library is conscious that the e-book industry is rapidly changing and, as a result, that our policies and selection criteria regarding e-books will inevitably evolve. The Library is interested in your views on e-books, and especially your usage of them.
For information about how the library collections at Boston College are being developed, go to the Collections page.
Please feel free to recommend items for the library collections by e-mailing a Subject Librarian.
