Collection Development Statement
Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
Principal Selector
Diane Zabel
Benzak Business Librarian
309 Paterno Library
Secondary Selectors
Gary White
Head, Schreyer Business Library
309 Paterno Library
Daniel Hickey
Business/IST Librarian
309 Paterno Library
Kevin Harwell
Business Librarian
309 Paterno Library
Fund
HRRM (a fund that also supports Hospitality Management).
General Statement
Recreation, park, and tourism management prepares students for careers in the commercial, public, and non-profit sectors of the recreation field. This includes careers in commercial and community recreation management, golf management, outdoor recreation, and therapeutic recreation.
Program Information
Penn State has offered courses in recreation education since 1919 and a fully developed recreation education curriculum was approved in 1946. While the major (and corresponding department) has changed names over the years, there has always been a tradition of integrating a broad educational foundation with field work, internships, and service learning. The Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management (RPTM) is based in the College of Health and Human Development.
Students may earn a B.S. in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. This degree program (which is only available at University Park) offers four options: 1) commercial and community recreation management; 2) professional golf management; 3) outdoor recreation and environmental interpretation; and 4) therapeutic recreation. There are approximately 500 undergraduates students enrolled in the program. There are currently 18 faculty members and an additional seven faculty members affiliated with Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, a center that serves as a laboratory for RPTM.
The department’s graduate program offers two options: 1) the M.S. in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, and 2) the Ph.D in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. There are currently 30 students enrolled in the graduate program.
Areas of Focus/Strengths
Collection strengths include tourism studies, leisure sciences, and golf management. Students pursuing the commercial recreation concentration make heavy use of the electronic resources providing company information, industry analysis, and marketing data.
Description of Materials Covered
Recreation, park and tourism management collections consists of resources relating to the following subjects: the psychological, social, and cultural aspects of leisure and recreation; commercial recreation; tourism studies; community recreation management; golf management; park management; outdoor recreation; nature/environmental education and interpretation; and therapeutic recreation. Types of material collected include encyclopedia, dictionaries, directories, handbooks, statistical compendiums, scholarly monographs, research journals, and trade periodicals. The following types of materials are collected selectively: textbooks, conference proceedings, general and popular works, travel essays, and travel guidebooks. Recreation, park and tourism management collections also include career-related materials and audio visual materials.
Overlap with Other Collections
Due to its highly interdisciplinary nature, there is a great deal of overlap with other collection areas, including, but not limited to the following:
• Anthropology
• Biobehavioral Health
• Economics
• Environmental Resource Management
• Forest Science
• Geography
• Health Policy and Administration
• History
• Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
• Human Development and Family Studies
• Kinesiology
• Landscape architecture
• Law
• Management
• Marketing
• Psychology
• Public Policy
• Sociology
• Special Education
• Turfgrass Science
• Wildlife and Fisheries Science
• Women’s Studies
Subject & Language Modifiers
Emphasis is placed on English language materials. However, occasional titles are purchased containing content in major European languages. No region or country is excluded. While emphasis is placed on contemporary topics, material is collected relating to all time periods.
Exclusions
Recreation, park and tourism management collections generally exclude dissertations and theses (except for those written by individuals who join the Penn State faculty in this department) and working papers.
Special Considerations
The information sources for this discipline are often specialized publications from diverse and scattered publishers and professional and trade associations.
Future Directions
New or expanding areas of interest include the following: ecotourism; the impact of tourism on developing countries; heritage tourism; sustainability issues in recreation and tourism; the impact of recreation, park and tourism participation on health and well being, especially across the life span; equity and disparities in provision and participation in recreation, park, and tourism; marketing of recreation services; relationship between leisure and disability; inclusive leisure services; human-wildlife interactions; managing protected areas; cross-cultural and international aspects of leisure; and natural and cultural history interpretation.
May 2009
