I.   General Collecting Guidelines

The growth of Princeton’s collections in Hellenic Studies parallels that of the Program in  Hellenic Studies.  Prior to 1979, the Library made limited purchases of modern Greek  materials, acquiring selected literary works (in the original Greek and in English translation) by major modern Greek writers, as well as publications on modern Greece (language, literature,  history, politics, economics, folklore) in major European languages (English, French, German,  Italian, Spanish, and Russian).  With the establishment of the Program in Hellenic Studies in  the academic year 1979-80, acquisitions gradually picked up to serve the needs of the undergraduate courses offered in modern Greek language and literature.  In the last ten years,  the level of acquisitions of monographs and serials has increased dramatically to meet the  needs of a flourishing Hellenic Studies Program that now spans Classical, Byzantine, and Modern Greek Studies at the graduate and post-doctoral levels.  In this connection, we are  also actively acquiring important collections of manuscripts and archives pertaining to modern  Greek literature, politics, and diplomatic relations with the United States.

A.     Purpose and Goals

To collect materials for teaching and research at the undergraduate, graduate and  faculty/research levels on all aspects of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies:  language,  literature, history, politics, anthropology, reference works, economics, sociology, international relations, women’s studies, film, theater, folklore, linguistics, church history, law, travel (including pictorial works), language instruction, geography, history of science and technology, archaeology, scholarly editions, art, photography, architecture, music, pictorial books, graphic arts.  To collect, preserve, and make available to the broader scholarly community unique and rare materials pertaining to Byzantine and modern Greek literature, history, politics, and culture.

In a typical year, the collection must serve approximately 150 undergraduates in Hellenic Studies courses; about 40 graduate students in Byzantine or Modern Greek Studies, and 25 faculty members and research staff in Hellenic Studies.  The collection must also support research by Hellenic Studies post-doctoral and visiting fellows from Greece (more than 50 per year).

The collection serves American scholars at other institutions via interlibrary loan and other cooperative borrowing arrangements.

The collection is particularly strong in Byzantine manuscripts:  Byzantine art, history, literature and culture; history of the Greek book; 20th-century modern Greek literature (in Greek); Anglo-American literary philhellenism; 19th- and 20th-century travel to Greece; Greeks in the Ottoman Empire; modern Greek enlightenment; United States-Greek relations in the 20th-century.

B.    Overlaps with Other Collections

The modern Greek collections build on the extraordinary strength of Princeton’s holdings in Classical and Byzantine Studies.  The special attraction of Princeton’s modern Greek collections for research scholars derives from the fact that they form an integral part of a major research library system with special strengths in European, Near Eastern, and Slavic materials, as well as in Art, Archaeology, Philosophy, Religion, Economics, Music, History, Politics, and International Relations.  Generally, the modern Greek collections expand in the areas of greatest strength, including rare books (incunabula, early editions of Greek Classics, travelers to Greece and the Levant), literary manuscripts, graphic arts, photographic collections, historic maps, and children’s books.

C.    Subjects Excluded

Mathematics and natural and applied sciences, with the exception of items which are of immediate relevance to Byzantine or Modern Greek history and culture.

Juvenile literature is not acquired, except for illustrated children’s books and materials to support the teaching of Modern Greek.  The Cotsen Children’s Library, however, does acquire juvenile literature in Modern Greek.

Translations of works of other literatures into Modern Greek (with the exception of annotated editions with original contributions and translations by significant Modern Greek authors).

D.    Languages Collected

Greek; major western European languages.  Works in Russian, Turkish and Arabic will be acquired in consultation with the bibliographers responsible for these areas.

E.   Geographical Limits

The Classical world; the Byzantine world; Greece; Cyprus; Greek diaspora communities; areas and cultures influenced by Greek civilization.

F.    Chronological Limits

 Pre-historic Antiquity – present.

G.    Retrospective Acquisitions

Because the Hellenic Studies Program is comparatively new (1979-) at Princeton, there is a need for significant retrospective acquisitions to fill gaps in the collection.  Pre-1900 imprints in travel literature are actively collected.

H.    Types of Materials Collected

Monographs; serials; government documents; newspapers; pamphlets; maps; microforms; photocopies; audiovisual materials; CDs; CD-ROMs; audio tapes; music scores; videos; DVDs; archives (literary, historical, photographic, political ephemera); rare books; limited editions; facsimiles; dissertations and manuscripts by faculty request.

I.     Other Factors

Current monographs and serials (published in Greece or Cyprus) are acquired through approval plans with Greek dealers.  Retrospective acquisitions are made through catalogues, auctions, and exchanges/purchases of duplicates of other libraries, as well as purchases or gifts of libraries of distinguished authors or scholars.  In addition to University Library funding, additional funds are provided by the Program in Hellenic Studies; gifts (monetary or in-kind) from foundations, alumni, and friends of the Program in Hellenic Studies.  The Program in Hellenic Studies has sometimes supported the processing of new acquisitions as well.

Byzantine and Modern Greek music is acquired by the Music Library. Byzantine art and architecture and Modern Greek art are acquired by the Marquand Library. Modern Greek architecture is acquired by the Architecture library. Theology is acquired by the Princeton Theological Seminary.

II.      SUBJECTS AND COLLECTING LEVELS

Subject                                                         Collecting Level

Literature                                                                4
History antiquity – 1453                                          4
Classics                                                                  4
History 1453 – 1821                                              4
History 1821 -                                                        4

Politics and International Relations 1821 -               4

Economics 1821 -                                                  3
Reference                                                               4

Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies:                     4
Anthropology                                                          4
Architecture                                                            4
Art and Archaeology                                               4
Education                                                                4
Geography                                                              4
Language instruction                                                4

Law                                                                        2
Linguistics                                                               4
Music                                                                     4
Sociology                                                               4
Theater and cinema                                                 4
Travel                                                                     4
 

Last updated: December 2004