General policies and principles for the Library's collections are stated in the General Collection Development Policy.  

Purpose of the Collection

Collection activity in physics is to support the instructional curriculum and research activity in the Physics Department.

Academic Department/Program Description

The Physics Department offers two undergraduate majors: the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics. Undergraduate minors are offered in Astronomy and Planetary Science and Physics.  At the graduate level, the department offers a Ph.D. program in Physics. The Physics Department works with several related research organizations including the California Nanosystems Institute, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, and the Las Cumbres, Lick, and Keck Observatories. 

Subject Parameters

Departmental research focuses on:

  • Astrophysics and cosmology
  • Biophysics
  • Condensed matter experimental physics
  • Condensed matter theory
  • High energy experimental physics
  • High energy theory
  • Gravity and relativity
  • Mathematical physics 

Scope

Materials purchased in physics support the research and curriculum needs of the department and are generally current English language resources. Preference is given to electronic formats due to space considerations in the library as well as convenience of access.

Because the budget for serials is fully committed, new subscriptions are considered only if an equivalent dollar amount of existing local subscriptions can be cancelled.

Systemwide and Other Resources

In order to maximize our purchasing power, the vast majority of materials selected for physics are purchased consortially with other UC campuses.  These include:

  • Databases, including ArXiv, Compendex Plus, IEEE Xplore, INSPEC, MathSciNet, and Web of Science.
  • Monographs, including titles from Elsevier, SPIE Digital Library, Springer, and Wiley.
  • Serials, including titles from the American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society, Elsevier, Institute of Physics, Optical Society of America, Springer, and Wiley.

Subject librarian: Andrea L. Duda
Policy Last Updated: March 2015