Political science is a diverse and engaging field of study. What types of resources are needed by scholars in this wide-ranging discipline? In this volume of the Sudden Selector’s Guide series, Emily Keller and Laura Wimberley share strategies, tools, and resources for developing user-centered collections that are responsive to the needs of faculty and students in political science. The major subdisciplines, types of research questions being asked, and the information cycle for political scientists are outlined to give librarians an introduction to the field. Key resources, from monographs, journals, and databases to primary sources like datasets and government documents, are detailed in the guide. Learn about how to get involved in the professional community to help you advance from “sudden selector” to political science librarian.

Emily Keller has been the Political Science and Public Policy Librarian at the University of Washington, Seattle campus, since 2007, where she provides reference, collection development, and instruction services to a number of social science programs, departments, and schools. She teaches introductory reference services for MLIS students in the iSchool at the University of Washington and is actively involved in the Washington Library Association. Laura Wimberley is the Assessment Librarian at California State University Northridge. She has worked at Lane Community College, the University of Oregon, and the University of Colorado. She holds a doctorate in political science from the University of California San Diego and an MLIS from San José State University.