This includes the chemical processes and phenomena of atoms, compounds, and substances including biological substances. Chemistry is a foundation science. It has several subfields and is very interdisciplinary in nature. Addendum describing the research fields of Department of Chemistry faculty provide an in depth look at the varied research a strong chemistry collection can support. Following is a basic outline of our collection development efforts in the Physical Sciences Library.
Current purchases focus on new or innovating methods and instrumentation, currently used practices.
Weeding of this collection is routine, but care is taken to preserve materials on historical but not currently used techniques. Less intensely collected are radiochemistry, radiation chemistry, and solution chemistry. E Crystallography - including crystallographic data on all classes of compounds and materials as well as analytical and research use of crystallographic instrumentation. Compendiums, collections, and databases of physical properties of compounds and materials are of equal importance both as a foundation for intensive research in the chemical sciences as a tool to aid non-chemical researchers in their use of materials. These materials are received on standing order and must also be individually collected.