Collection Development Policy: History (Modern European)
  • Subject Librarian(s):
    William Monroe

  • Description of the Academic Program | Home Page
    The Department of History at Brown emphasizes comparative study of chronologically and culturally diverse societies, with the aim of giving students an appreciation of different approaches to the study of the past and encouraging them to develop an understanding of the way in which societies and cultures change through time. The Department has programs for the study of European history at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, offering the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. For European history, departmental teaching strengths include the following:

    • The History of Europe, 1492-1715
    • The History of Europe, 1715-1870
    • The History of Europe, 1870 to the present
    • The Intellectual and Cultural History of Early Modern Europe
    • Early Modern England, 1500-1783
    • Modern Britain, 1760 to the present
    • France under the Ancient Regime
    • Modern France, 1750 to the present
    • The History of Germany since 1806
    • The History of Russia 1689-1861
    • The History of Russia, 1861 to the present
    • Modern European Jewish History
    • The History of European Science
    • The Intellectual and Cultural History of Modern Europe
    • European Social History, 1700-1900
    • European Women's/Gender History,1750 to the present



  • Overview of the Collection
    While the Library’s collections for history are built primarily to support the teaching and research of the Department of History, they also support many other departments and programs whose scholarship has a historical aspects or takes a historical approach. As a result, even in areas where there is no one from the Department of History currently teaching or pursuing research, we may collect at the research level in order to support the work of scholars in such departments as History of Art and Architecture, English, Italian Studies, Music, and Political Science, just to name some possibilities. Moreover, the collections in History, in general, and European history, in particular, are not limited to those Library of Congress classes that are designated as history (D, E, and F) or its “auxiliary sciences” (C). Much of the material classed in BR or BX (history of Christianity), or in H or J (economics and political science), or K (law) has been acquired to support the work of historians, whether of Europe or other geographic places. History is by its nature an interdisciplinary field, and the collections supporting it range very widely indeed and can be found among all LC classes.

    The collections described here under the rubric of “European History” have been built over many decades, and in the service of diverse interests. Overall, we try to maintain collections that will support the teaching of history at the undergraduate level for any part of Europe. This usually means collecting important works published in English by British and American academic presses. For areas in which there is research interest, we attempt to collect at a much greater level, which means collecting works in the language of the country in question and sometimes in other languages important to the field. It will also mean collecting more specialized monographs, collections of primary sources, and research tools, as well as periodicals that have a more specialized or regional focus.

    Specific information on the collections for the various countries of Europe are described below and in this table:

    MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY

    CategoryLC ClassLevel*Volumes (as of Jan. 2005)
    General and World History
    -- GeneralD1-899Research20394
    -- Europe-GeneralD900-2009Research820
    Great Britain18414
    --General and British EmpireDA1-19Research-
    --EnglandDA20-690Research-
    --WalesDA700-745Study-
    --ScotlandDA750-890Study-
    --IrelandDA900-995Study-
    Austria & Former Austro-Hungarian Empire2320
    --AustriaDB1-168Basic-
    --Czecholosvakia/BohemiaDB191-217Basic-
    --Bosnia, Croatia, etc.DB236-879Basic-
    --HungaryDB901-989Basic-
    --Czech Republic/SlovakiaDB2001-2838Basic-
    France, Andorra, MonacoDCStudy/Research9867
    GermanyDDStudy/Research6638
    Mediterranean regionDEStudy1129
    GreeceDFStudy4472
    Italy (modern)DGStudy/Research22363
    Belgium, LuxemburgDHBasic/Study527
    NetherlandsDJStudy463
    Eastern Europe - GeneralDJKStudy373
    Russia and former USSRDKStudy11011
    Northern Europe, ScandinaviaDLBasic635
    SpainDP1-499Study3409
    PortugalDP501-899Research1130
    SwitzerlandDQBasic/Study277
    Balkan PeninsulaDRBasic/Study2841
    GypsiesDXStudy91



    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    CategoryLC ClassLevel*Volumes (as of Jan. 2005)
    National bibliographies by countryZ2000-2959Research2985
    History bibliographies – Special eventsZ5051-6209Research10471



    *See Collecting Levels for an explanation of the various terms used here.

  • General Collecting Guidelines
    The development of the European history collections varies by geographic area. For further information on specific areas, please follow one of the following links:



  • Detailed Subject Breakdown

  • Special Collections
    In its first two centuries, the Brown University Library has built strong collections of primary source materials for historical study. Although the Library’s holdings in Special Collections emphasize American history, literature and popular culture, European materials constitute a secondary strength. Among the collections which are of unique value for the study of European History are the following:

    • ANNE S. K. BROWN MILITARY COLLECTION
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy

    • NAPOLEON COLLECTIONS.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: France, Britain, Germany, Russia, Spain

    • ANNMARY BROWN MEMORIAL COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHICAL STRENGTHS: Germany, France, Italy

    • CHAMBERS DANTE COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Italy

    • MICHAEL J. CIARALDI COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain

    • S. FOSTER DAMON COLLECTION ON THE OCCULT.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Germany

    • DUPEE FIREWORKS COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands

    • GROTIUS COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Belgium, Netherlands

    • HITLER PERSONAL LIBRARY.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Germany

    • LOWNES HISTORY OF SCIENCE COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands

    • NIKITA S. KRUSHCHEV ARCHIVES.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Russia

    • NICCOLO MACCHIAVELLI COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Italy

    • H. ADRIAN SMITH COLLECTION OF CONJURING AND MAGICANA
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: France, Germany

    • MEL YOKEN COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France

    • JOSE RODRIGUES MIGUES ARCHIVES
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Portugal

    • MILLER COLLECTION OF WIT AND HUMOR.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain

    • ISABEL HARRIS METCALF PEACEANA COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain

    • ORKNEY COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, Scandinavia

    • SCOTT LIBRARY.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Scandinavia

    • STILLWELL PAPERS.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Germany, France, Italy

    • WANDERING JEW COLLECTION.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, Netherlands

    • WHEATON COLLECTION ON INTERNATIONAL LAW.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Netherlands, Belgium

    • HENRY WHEATON PAPERS.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Denmark, Germany

    • WAR POSTERS.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: Britain, France, Germany

    • EMILE ZOLA PAPERS.
      GEOGRAPHIC STRENGTHS: France


    (Further details of each of these collections can be found in Collections A to Z on the Library’s main webpage)

  • Related Collections
    The Virginia Baldwin Orwig Music Library. In addition to a large music collection in all formats, the Orwig Library includes the Koetting Archive, a significant collection on ethnomusicology from around the world.

    The John Carter Brown Library. Administered independently from the Brown University Library as an advanced center for research in history and the humanities, the JCBL collections document every aspect of European expansion into the Americas up to 1830, including voyages of discovery, natural history, colonization and the African slave trade. The JCB’s collections of original maps and prints is known throughout the scholarly world.