Collection Development Policy: Modern Greek Studies
- Subject Librarian(s):
Dominique Coulombe
- Description of the Academic Program
Brown has a long history of contact with Greece, going at least as far back as Samuel Gridley Howe (Class of 1821), who took part in the Greek War of Independence. Courses in modern Greek were offered in the Classics Department from 1881 until 1995, when Modern Greek Studies was officially launched as a program through a generous bequest from the estate of Mrs. Ethel Goltsos, a prominent Greek-American Rhode Islander. This bequest established an endowment to support the Program in Modern Greek Studies and the Goltsos Visiting Professorship, a one-semester position that rotates between the departments of History and Comparative Literature. The Goltsos Endowment also funds a scholarship for a student of Greek origin from Greece or the United States. Courses are offered in the modern Greek language (a fifth-semester course was added in the fall of 2000) and in various aspects of modern Greek history and literature.
Report of the Committee of Modern Greek Studies
"Reflections on the Current State and Future Prospects of the Program", Anthony Molho, 1995 - Overview of the Collection
The library has had a basic Modern Greek collection for a long time, including several books from the estate of Theodore Francis Green, collected by his father, Arnold Green (Class of 1858). The library has recently expanded the collection considerably i n order to support the expanded course offerings of the Modern Greek Studies Program. - General Collecting Guidelines
The principal areas of collecting are language and literature (including works by and about individual literary authors) and history (including cultural, social, economic, and political history); areas collected less intensively are anthropology, f olklore, education, film, theater, art and architecture, city planning, and music history. Reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopedias, and bibliographies) are acquired selectively. - Detailed Subject Breakdown
- Specific Collecting Guidelines
- Language: English The principal languages collected are Greek and English; important works in western European languages are acquired if they have not been translated into Greek or English.
- Chronological Span: The emphasis in both literature and history is on the period beginning with the eighteenth century; material on earlier periods is acquired selectively.
- Imprint Date: No absolute restrictions on imprint date; because the library has only recently begun to collect actively in this area, retrospective collecting is as important as collecting current imprints. Very early imprints are normally not collected.
- Geographical Range: Greece, the Byzantine Empire, parts of the Ottoman Empire (the Balkans, Asia Minor, Egypt). Literature written by Greek authors in other countries is also collected.
- Types of Material Included: Monographs, journals, microforms, facsimiles, conference proceedings, electronic resources, occasional textbooks. Excluded: Most textbooks; most translations of literary works from other languages into modern Greek.
- Language: English The principal languages collected are Greek and English; important works in western European languages are acquired if they have not been translated into Greek or English.
- Areas of Distinction
The library has microfilms of several nineteenth-century Greek periodicals, and a collection of facsimile reprints of nineteenth-century pamphlets dealing with the Greek War of Independence. - Special Collections
Books in modern Greek published before 1925 are housed in Special Collections. - Related Collections
Classics
Image: "Greek Corsair", Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection