Philosophy Collections

Collecting Goals	General Collections	Web Sites
Reference Collections	Microform Collections	Contacts
Electronic Collections	Related Collections	Request a Title

Collecting Goals:

The Library's rich philosophy collections support teaching and research in the graduate and undergraduate programs of the Department of Philosophy and in other departments and programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They also serve as a resource for the people of the State. The collections are particularly strong in the fields the Department emphasizes: epistemology, history of philosophy, metaphysics, moral theory and political philosophy, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind.

Reference Collections:

The Library has extensive reference materials to support the study of philosophy. Access to many of the major indexing and abstracting tools is available online, including Philosopher's Index and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Printed materials are available primarily in the Reference Department of Davis Library. E-Reference links are a good place to begin the study of philosophy, while research guides and tutorials facilitate exploration in depth in selected areas. For further information about reference materials or help using them, please consult the Reference staff.

Electronic Collections:

The Library provides online access to the publications of many major British, American, and western European philosophers through Past Masters, the largest collection of philosophy texts in electronic format in the world. Poiesis, also published by InteLex, makes it possible to search a database of over 30 important scholarly philosophy journals. Information about dozens of electronic journals in philosophy is available on a collected list. However, the best way to find information about individual electronic serials is to enter a title search on the Library's "E-Journal Finder" web page. A list of CD-ROMS related to philosophy is also available. For further information about these titles, please consult the Reference staff. To request a title, please contact the Humanities Bibliographer.

General Collections:

The Library's holdings of the major philosophical texts written by classical, British, and American philosophers are extensive. The Library acquires virtually all of the current books in philosophy published by university and trade publishers and many specialized titles, as well. The library collections are somewhat less strong for continental philosophers. The journal collections are relatively strong for serials printed in English in North America, the British Isles, and western Europe; less so for serials published in the other languages of Europe. The Philosophy Department does not emphasize—and the Library collections offer minimal support for—the study of philosophy from other geographic areas of the world. Lists of new books and current print subscriptions in the discipline are available. For further information about these titles, please consult the Reference staff. To request a title, please contact the Humanities Bibliographer.

Microform Collections:

The Library holds the papers of Charles Sanders Peirce in the Microforms Collection. For further information about this title or help using it, please consult the Reference staff. To request a title, please contact the Humanities Bibliographer.

Related Collections:

Collections in linguistics, English literature, history and mathematics extend library holdings related to philosophy, as do the philosophy collections in Duke University Libraries. Users should therefore be able to find most of the titles they need in the area. The Center for Research Libraries supplements local library holdings with the papers and manuscripts of Ludwig Wittgenstein in microform. UNC faculty and students can request unlimited amounts of materials from CRL via the web and keep them indefinitely, or until another person needs them. For further information, please consult the Reference staff or the Humanities Bibliographer.

Web Sites:

UNC-Chapel Hill Web Sites
Other Recommended Web Sites

Contacts:

Primary Library Selector(s) and Reference Librarian(s)
Faculty Library Liaison
Ask a Librarian

Request a Title:

Request Acquisition of a Title
Request a Title from Storage
Borrow a Title in Person from Affiliated Libraries
Request a Title from other Libraries (UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty/Staff Only)