Q:  As a philosophy subject contributor to the new Resources for College Libraries, what aspect of philosophy publishing do you feel has changed the most since 1988?

A:  The change of which I am most aware is an increased application of philosophy to such applied areas as the philosophy of law, political and social philosophy, cognitive science, evolutionary studies, and ethics (bioethics, animal welfare, environmental ethics, etc.).

Q:  There have been so many technology advances since 1988, how has this impacted the material published on philosophy?

A:  The main subject area of philosophy that has been influenced by technological advances is ethics. Technological advances have spawned ethical discussions in such subjects as genetic engineering, reproductive technologies, nanotechnologies, data mining, and so forth. Some of these discussions have been published by philosophers. Technological advances have also influenced the forms of philosophy publications, including ebooks, online papers, and open access materials.

Q:  Would you consider any one major advancement in the field of philosophy as standing out above the rest?

A:  I do not believe that philosophy makes “advances” in the same way the hard sciences do, but a lot of good recent work has been done in the philosophy of mind e.g. cognitive science and consciousness studies.

Q:  How many new subject categories, would you guess, have evolved under the heading of philosophy since 1988?

A:  The broad subject categories are roughly the same. A heading I introduced in RCL that was not present in BCL is “Philosophical Schools and Doctrines”. None of the 38 categories listed under this heading were present in BCL, but they might have been. I do not think the actual subjects studied in undergraduate philosophy curricula have changed all that much since 1988.

Q:  What are the challenges that you face tackling such a high-growth segment of academic literature?

A:  The major challenge has been deciding which of the myriad worthwhile philosophy publications to leave out. The RCL list is supposed to represent the best publications overall at the undergraduate level and yet the number of titles per discipline is supposed to be no more than 10% larger than was published in BCL3. This requirement meant leaving out many philosophy books that were favorably reviewed.

Q:  Can you give us 3 must-have titles that you feel every library should carry in this subject?

A:  No, but I can give you 1637 must-have titles!

Q:  What has this project brought to you, personally and/or professionally, that you did not anticipate?

A:  I don’t remember what I anticipated, but the project has made me more cognizant of appropriate material for undergraduates to study. It has also made me alert in my job as a selector to the suitability of materials for inclusion in the RCL database. Finally, it has been gratifying to be part of the RCL community of bibliographers and subject editors. I enjoyed the RCL discussion list and the interaction with other subject editors and the bibliographer I worked with, Robert Bland (who was responsible for the Ethics and Logic sections). The RCL editor, Marcus Elmore, has been particularly pleasant and helpful.

Q:  What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

A:  We have a home made ice cream store in town. I just tasted their passionfruit mango. That might now be my favorite flavor. Before that it was chocolate chip.

Q:  Where did you go to library school?

A:  Rutgers University

Q:  How many titles have been selected thus far for your subject area?

A:  1637 must-have titles!

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