Brown University Library maintains, with great assistance from the Department, an excellent collection supporting the study of Egyptology. As we reported in the last review, only the collections of the University of Chicago and the Wilbour Library at the Brooklyn Museum might be considered better. Duane Davies, a Reference and Collection Development Librarian in the Rockefeller Library, has worked closely for many years with the Egyptology Department to build the collections. Much of the material comes in through standing orders to series, which are tracked on the serials budget. The present collection includes a large departmental library that was transferred to the Rockefeller and John Hay libraries after the arrival of Prof. Lesko.
The table below indicates the financial support for the collection for the past three years, and for five years ago:
| Library Support | 1993/94 | 1996/97 | 1997/98 | 1998/99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm Orders | $5,766 | $6,570 | $5,075 | $7,681 |
| Approvals | 400 | 1,118 | 935 | 995 |
| Serials | 5,218 | 5,104 | 5,008 | 5,962 |
| Total Support | $11,384 | $12,792 | $11,018 | $14,638 |
If we compare only last year and 1993/94, there would seem to be a 29% increase in expenditures over the five years. But actual expenditures fluctuate greatly from year to year, as we see by the 14% decrease from 1996/97 to 1997/98. We do seem to be getting more material through our approval plan in recent years. A significant portion of the funds expended are transferred to the Library from the Department itself. Egyptology has transferred some $15,000 to the library over the past five years, for the purchase of material.
It is difficult to estimate the number of titles or volumes in the collection, as the subject is spread throughout the Library of Congress Classification. The bulk of the collection falls in the history and archeology section (DT43-DT129), with some 3,300 titles, and in the language and literature section (the classification PJ1001-PJ2199), with some 2,400 titles,. There are many titles spread through other subjects (art, religion, astronomy, medicine, etc.) adding up to more than 3000. We would estimate, then, some 10,000 or more titles supporting Egyptology. I should note that, in the last report, we estimated more than 40,000 titles, and I do not know the reason for the difference. The method used then, estimating from a measurement of the shelf-list, can no longer be used today. The current estimate is made from call number ranges in the online catalog. Most likely, the true number lies somewhere between the two.
William S. Monroe, Head Collection Development
Department of Egyptology
Graduate Program Review Home |
Discipline Groups Home |
Library Home