The Literary Canon and Collection Building

Abstract

This paper presents a variety of views on what constitutes the literary canon and how it is formed. Several groups advocate expanding the canon to include not only additional authors and titles, but also other genres and works not usually regarded as of interest to literary scholars. Cultural studies, popular culture investigations, the new English literatures of the "Commonwealth" countries also challenge the traditional canon. For librarians to select materials reflecting changing canonical values, they must be aware of the debate both at the national/international level and locally within their own English Departments. The future role of the canon in effecting curricular changes and, as a consequence, collection development decisions is discussed.