Blegen Library Acquisitions Policy
Revised as of July 2024
Summary
The mission of the Blegen Library is to develop and maintain a first rank research collection in support of the academic programs, membership, and cooperating institutions of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
The collection supports research into the art, archaeology, philology, history, literature and philosophy of ancient Greece, including the area comprised by the modern state, as well as areas that formed part of the Greek world in ancient times. The periods covered include prehistoric through late Roman.
Collection Overview
The Blegen Library collects almost all scholarly books relating to the archaeology, art, culture, literature, society, thought, etc. of Greece and the Greeks, including those outside the boundaries of the modern state, from prehistory to late antiquity. The library endeavors, so far as is reasonably possible, to include all significant works of recorded knowledge in all applicable languages.
The Blegen Library collects many or most scholarly books relating to the archaeology, art, culture, literature, society, thought, etc. of Roman, pre-Roman, and Greco-Roman societies throughout the larger Mediterranean region from prehistory to late antiquity.
The Blegen Library collects all periodicals related to the art, archaeology, philology, history, literature and philosophy of ancient Greece, including the area comprised by the modern state, as well as areas that formed part of the Greek world in ancient times. The library also collects many periodicals related to ancient Rome and a limited number related to other regions and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world and its environs.
Guidelines for Acquisitions
The Blegen Library collects in all currently significant formats including print and electronic media. In the case of the same information being available in more than one format, print is given priority, unless a different format is deemed more appropriate for use by the majority of the School’s members.
The Blegen Library establishes and maintains subscription to journals and selected reference works in both print and electronic format whenever possible. Access to electronic versions of monographs, either previously acquired in print or not, is provided to expand the range of options available to the School’s members.
The Blegen Library also gathers and disseminates information on electronic open access resources in the research areas covered by its physical collection.
The Blegen Library’s Collection Development Librarian is responsible for the selection of materials. Suggestions from members and readers are welcome while ultimate responsibility for the content of the collection rests with the Head Librarian.
The Blegen Library pursues its acquisition policy independently of the collecting practices of other research libraries in Athens. However, in order to optimize the School’s resources, the library refrains from purchasing materials already available or expected to arrive at the Gennadius Library, with a few exceptions such as important reference works.
The Blegen Library seeks the least expensive means to acquire materials. We negotiate discounts with preferred vendors. We seek to reduce administrative costs by establishing notification or approval plans and by consolidating periodical subscriptions and standing orders with select vendors who can provide us with competitive pricing and value-added services such as the provision of MARC records.
The Blegen Library has never actively collected American doctoral dissertations. Copies of dissertations are often deposited in the Blegen if substantial parts of the research were conducted here.
The Blegen Library has made no effort to collect auction or other sale catalogues for any category of antiquities.
Donation Policy
The Blegen Library welcomes gifts of books, journals, or offprints which may be appropriate for its collection as defined by this policy. Gifts are accepted with the understanding that the library will make all decisions regarding their retention, location, cataloging, or any other consideration relating to their use. A letter from the library will be sent to acknowledge all gifts. Gifts may be added to the collection, donated to another library, or sold with the proceeds to benefit the Blegen Library.
Withdrawal Policy
The Blegen Library does not generally withdraw items, with the exception of clearly outdated and/or irrelevant resources. Scholarly materials that receive little or no use, as indicated by circulation statistics, are periodically reviewed for possible removal to the compact shelving section of the library.
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The presentation of the Acquisitions Policy follows the Library of Congress classification system, adopted by the Blegen Library in 2019. The level of acquisition is indicated in descending order by “all” or “almost all”, “most”, “many”, “limited” or “very limited”. All the entries refer to scholarly and reference works, unless otherwise specified.
Collected works of individual scholars, conference proceedings, and honorary collections of studies (Festschrift) are classified by subject and are acquired according to the policy for the respective LC classes. Periodicals are shelved separately from monographs and edited collections, but they are otherwise treated following the same principles.
The Blegen Library collects most dictionaries of ancient Greek and Latin, as well as a limited number of dictionaries of other ancient languages. The library also maintains a selection of dictionaries for the languages employed in scholarly research on the ancient world. Dictionaries are shelved in dedicated sections of the library, with copies of the most frequently used works made available on each floor of the building.
A – General works
AE – Encyclopedias
Very limited, except on specific subjects (see respective classes)
AM – Museums. Collectors and collecting
Limited within the subject parameters of this policy (see classes N-NK)
AS – Academies and learned societies (Publications from and about)
All within the subject parameters of this policy
AZ – History of scholarship and learning. The humanities
Limited within the subject parameters of this policy
B – Philosophy and religion
B-BJ – Philosophy and psychology (including magic)
Almost all on ancient Greek philosophy
Many on Latin philosophy
BL – Ancient religion (except Judaism and Christianity)
All on Greek religion and representation in art
Many on Roman religion
Very limited on other religions, except cults found in ancient Greece or comparative religion
BM – Judaism
Many on Jewish society and culture within the wider Greco-Roman world
BR – Christianity
Limited on Christianity within the wider Greco-Roman world (see also Gennadius Library)
BS – The Bible
Limited on the Bible within ancient Mediterranean culture
BT-BV – Theology
Limited on Christian theology in relation to Greco-Roman culture (see also Gennadius Library)
BX – Christian denominations
Very limited within the subject parameters of this policy
C – Disciplines related to the study of the past (except History)
CB – History of civilization and cultural evolution
Very limited within the subject parameters of this policy
CC – Archaeology
Limited on history of archaeology
Many on archaeological theory and method
Very limited on archaeological science (see Wiener Laboratory)
CD – Seals and sealing
All on ancient Greek seals and sealing
Many on ancient Roman seals and sealing
Very limited to limited on seals and sealing in other ancient cultures
CE – Chronology
All on ancient Greek chronology
Many on ancient Roman chronology
CJ – Numismatics
All on Greek and Roman coins of Greece, Italy and Asia Minor
Limited on coins of other civilizations, if pertaining to material from Greece
CN – Epigraphy
All on Greek epigraphy
Many on Latin epigraphy
Very limited to many on epigraphy in other ancient languages
CS – Prosopography and genealogy
All Greek prosopography
Most Roman prosopography
D – History (except History of the Americas)
D – History (General). Theory and history of historiography
All within the subject parameters of this policy
DA – History of Great Britain
Very limited on Roman Britain
DB – History of Austria and former Austro-Hungarian territories
Very limited on Roman archaeology and culture in the area
DC – History of France
All on Greek archaeology and culture in the area
Very limited on Gaul and on Roman archaeology and culture in the area
DD – History of Germany
Very limited on Roman archaeology and culture in the area
DE-DF-DG – History of Greco-Roman world. History of Greece. History of Italy
All on the history of ancient Greece, Magna Graecia and related areas
All excavation reports on ancient Greek sites
Many on the history of ancient Rome and Italy
Many to most excavation reports on ancient Roman, Etruscan, Italic and Phoenician sites
DJK-DK – History of Eastern Europe. History of Russia
All on Greek archaeology and culture in the Black Sea area
Limited on the history and archaeology of related areas and populations
DP – History of Spain. History of Portugal
Limited on Phoenician and Roman archaeology and culture in the area
DQ – History of Switzerland
Very limited on Roman archaeology and culture in the area
DR – History of Balkan Peninsula (including Thrace and European Turkey)
All on Greek archaeology and culture in the region
Limited to many on Roman archaeology and culture in the region
Limited on the history and archaeology of related populations
DS – History of Asia (including Cyprus)
Most on the history and archaeology of Cyprus and Asia Minor
Many on the history and archaeology of the Levant, Syria-Palestine, and ancient Persia
Very limited on the history and archaeology of ancient Mesopotamia, central Asia, and India, except Alexander the Great, Asiatic Hellenism, and the Hellenistic kingdoms
DT – History of Africa
Most on the history and archaeology of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt
Very limited to limited on Egyptian history and culture in other periods
All on Greek archaeology and culture in North Africa
Limited to many on Phoenician and Roman archaeology and culture in North Africa
Very limited on the history and archaeology of related areas
E-F – History of the Americas
Very limited within the subject parameters of this policy
G – Geography and anthropology
GN – Anthropology, ethnology, ethnography, prehistoric archaeology
All on the prehistoric culture of Greece (see also class DF)
Limited on other prehistoric cultures in relation to Greek archaeology
Limited on anthropological theory (see also class CC)
Very limited on ethnology and ethnography
GT – Manners and customs
All on ancient Greek manners and customs
Many on Roman manners and customs
Very limited to limited on manners and customs in related cultures
GV – Recreation and leisure (including games, dance, sports and festivals)
All on ancient Greek games, sports and festivals
Many on Roman games, sports and festivals
Very limited to limited on games, sports and festivals in related cultures
H – Social sciences
HB-HC – Economics and demography
All on ancient Greek economic history
Many on Roman economic history
Very limited to limited on economic history of related cultures
HD – Agriculture and industry. Labor management
All on ancient Greek agriculture and industry
Many on Roman agriculture and industry
Very limited to limited on agriculture and industry in related cultures
HE-HF – Transportation and communication. Commerce
All on ancient Greek transportation and commerce
Many on Roman transportation and commerce
Very limited to limited on transportation and commerce in related cultures
HG-HJ – Private and public finance
All on ancient Greek private and public finance
Many on Roman private and public finance
Very limited to limited on private and public finance in related cultures
HQ – Gender. Age. Sexuality. Personal and family relationships
All on gender, age, sexuality, and relationships in ancient Greece
Many on gender, age, sexuality, and relationships in Roman culture
Very limited to limited on gender, age, sexuality, and relationships in related cultures
HT – Communities and settlements. Social classes
All on ancient Greek urbanism, settlement patterns, and social classes
Many on Roman urbanism, settlement patterns, and social classes
Very limited to limited on urbanism, settlement patterns, and social classes in related cultures
HV – Social welfare. Crimes and punishments
All on social welfare, crimes, and punishments in ancient Greece
Many on social welfare, crimes, and punishments in Roman culture
Very limited to limited on social welfare, crimes, and punishments in related cultures
J – Political science
JC – Political theory. Theories of the state
All on theoretical and practical state organization in ancient Greece
Many on theoretical and practical state organization in Roman culture
Very limited to limited on theoretical and practical state organization in related cultures
K – Law
KJA – Roman law
Many within the subject parameters of this policy
KL – Ancient law (except Roman law)
All on ancient Greek law and legal history
Very limited to limited on law and legal history of related cultures
L – Education
All within the subject parameters of this policy
M – Music
ML – History of music
All on music in ancient Greek culture
Many on music in Roman culture
Very limited to limited on music in related cultures
N – Fine arts
N – Visual arts (General). Special subjects of art
Most on ancient Greek and Roman art and iconography
All museum catalogues and guides dealing primarily with Greek and/or Roman art
NA – Architecture. Architectural decoration (including mosaics)
All on ancient Greek architecture and architectural decoration
Most on Roman architecture and architectural decoration
Limited on architecture and architectural decoration in related cultures
NB – Sculpture (including terracottas)
All on Greek sculpture
Most on Roman sculpture related to ancient Greek art
Limited on other Roman sculpture and sculpture of related cultures
ND – Painting
All on ancient Greek painting (see also class NK for painted pottery)
Most on Roman wall painting in Italy and Greece
Limited on other Roman wall painting and painting of related cultures
NK – Decorative arts (including pottery, lamps, glass, glyptic, ivories, metalwork, textiles)
All on Greek painted pottery
All on Greek and Roman pottery found in Greece, Italy and Asia Minor
Limited on Greek and Roman pottery found in other areas
All on ancient Greek metalwork and other decorative arts
Many on Roman metalwork and other decorative arts
Limited on metalwork and other decorative arts of related cultures
P – Language and literature
P – Philology and linguistics (General). Indo-European philology. Ancient languages and scripts (including Minoan and Mycenaean)
Very limited on general linguistics
Limited on Indo-European philology as it pertains to Greek and Latin
All on Aegean scripts
Limited on other ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern scripts
PA – Classical philology and literature
Most on ancient Greek grammar and etymology
All texts and commentaries on ancient Greek authors
Almost all on ancient Greek philology
Many on Latin grammar and etymology
Many texts and commentaries on Latin authors
Many on Latin philology
PJ – Near Eastern philology and literature
Very limited to limited within the subject parameters of this policy
PN – Literature (General). Literary genres
Almost all on ancient Greek literature
Many on Latin literature
Very limited to limited on literature of related cultures
Q – Science
Almost all on ancient Greek and Roman science and its history
Very limited on history of science in related cultures
R – Medicine
Almost all on ancient Greek and Roman medicine and its history
Very limited on history of medicine in related cultures
S – Agricultural science. Animal handling and breeding. Fishing and hunting
All within the subject parameters of this policy
T – Technology
Almost all on ancient Greek and Roman technology
Very limited to limited on technology in related cultures
U-V – Military and naval science
Almost all on ancient Greek and Roman military and naval science
Very limited to limited on military and naval science in related cultures
Z – Bibliography. Library science
Many to most on books and libraries in the Greco-Roman world
Most bibliographies on the subjects covered by this policy
Other LC classes
All within the subject parameters of this policy