UQ ERA rating in 2010: 4

UQ ERA rating in 2012: 4

Preamble

The University of Queensland (UQ) Library is committed to supporting the University's research, and teaching and learning agenda. UQ librarians maintain subject assessments based on the Commonwealth Government Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative's Field of Research codes. The assessments reflect current trends at UQ, and respond to changes in direction through regular updating.

Purpose of the collection

UQ Library's collection in this area supports the teaching and research activities of staff and students in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, Centre for Pesticide Application and Research, and the Honey Research Unit. All Schools and Centres are part of the Faculty of Science.

Description of the collection

The Library's collection may be searched via the Web.

The Library holds print and electronic book titles in the area. Experienced librarians develop the collection, and welcome input from academic staff. Relevant print collections are grouped under these classification numbers: GB, QH, QK, QL, S, SB. The following specialist book collections are available:

• CAB eBook collection
• CSIRO eBook collection
• ScienceDirect - collection
• SpringerLink - Life Sciences (Agriculture)

The Library subscribes to journals in the area. Many are available in electronic format. 72% of titles in the ERA 2012 journal list are held by UQ Library.

Key titles accessible at UQ are:

• Advances in Agronomy
• Annual Review of Phytopathology
• Crop and Pasture Science
• Crop Science
• Euphytica: international journal on plant breeding
• European Journal of Agronomy
• Field Crops Research
• Journal of Cereal Science
• Pest Management Science
• Postharvest Biology and Technology
• Weed Science

Other titles:

• Molecular Plant Pathology
• Plant and Soil: international journal on plant-soil relationships
• Plant Disease: an international journal of applied plant pathology

UQ Library offers online databases in this subject area. These include:

• Web of Knowledge
• Science Direct
• CSIRO
• Scopus

Additional formats relevant to the area:

• Dried specimens (weeds, grasses, legumes, shrubs etc)
• Maps

Scope of current collecting

1. Languages collected or excluded

Primarily English language material.

2. Geographical areas collected or excluded

No exclusions. Retention is focused on items published in or about Queensland as first priority, then Australia especially if particularly relevant to cropping (e.g. irrigation areas such as Murray-Darling)

3. Chronological periods collected or excluded

No chronological periods are specifically excluded.

4. Types (formats) of material collected

Print and electronic material is collected. There are important image collections relating to pests, weeds and diseases, and also a physical collection of dried plants.

5. Publication dates

The focus for the collection is on recent material (past 5-10 years), however older material is purchased where there is a specific need - e.g. academic staff request, research area requires it.

6. Special considerations

There is a significant cohort of external and remote students. Additional material is sometimes required to support this group.

Updated: January 2013