Specific Collecting Guidelines
- Language:
Primary and secondary materials in French and English language form the core of the collection. Emphasis has been traditionally on works published in France and in the U.S. with some acquisitions of French-Canadian works. In recent years, we have been expanding the scope of the collections to include works from francophone countries in North Africa, West Africa, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Caribbean. Secondary materials in German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish are acquired selectively.
- Chronological Span:
Primarily current imprints. Highly selective purchase of pre-1900 imprints which relate to academic programs, research interests, or build upon existing strengths of the collection.
- Imprint Date:
Covers from the early modern to contemporary France: the Bourbon Dynasty, the Grand Siècle, the Revolution, the Napoleonic Era, the 1st Republic, Second Republic, Second Empire, Third Republic, Fourth Republic and Fifth Republic. (Medieval history and Renaissance are covered by the subject specialist for these time periods). An extensive collection of monographs on early modern and modern France in English, French, and other languages cover both literary and historical works. Until recently, there was a considerable interest in collecting materials for the 18th century, especially the period of the French Revolution; this interest is now extending to, and focusing more on the 19th century and early 20th century. There is less emphasis on the 17th century. Rare and pre-1850 imprints are housed at the John Hay Library.
- Geographical Range: Covers France, francophone Belgium, Monaco, and French colonies and territories. Selective coverage of the various regions of France; local history focuses primarily on Paris and, to a lesser extent, on major cities.
- Types of Material Included: The Library acquires materials in all print and audiovisual formats, with the exception of 8mm films. The majority of the collection is print-based, with some occasional purchases of microforms to support specific research needs. The preferred film format is DVD; English language films are housed at Media Services while non-English language films are housed at the Language Resource Center. Recordings are to be found at the Orwig Music Library.
- Excluded: Introductory general-purpose textbooks whose primary function is instruction are outside the scope of this collection.
There is a fair number of periodicals in English and French in the collection; some cover general history:
while several other are specialized in a time period or a specific topic. The following periodical subscriptions provide regional coverage:
The Library owns a complete run of the newspaper Le Monde on microfilm
and a partial run of Le Figaro. Other newspaper subscriptions include
Libération and
Le canard enchainé.
Other important journals are available such as the
There is a good representation of 18th century newspapers, especially for the revolutionary period (some in reprint) such as
The 19th century
Journaux de la période de la Commune and
La Caricature
are available in microform while runs of a few other titles are available in their original format.
Major biographical works include the
Legal history up to the French Revolution is covered in
Recueil général des anciennes lois françaises, depuis l'an 420 jusqu'à la révolution de 1789.
The colonial past of France is a growing interest among faculty members and the Francophonie is represented in journal subscriptions such as
Two collaborative web-based projects related to francophone research have been designed on campus:
Primary sources are key to historical research. The Library owns a few major sets in print or microform:
Other primary resources are available online:
-
The Gerritsen Collection which provides online access to the greatest single source for the study of women's history in the world, includes 17th , 18th and 19th century French books and periodicals.
- The digital project Paris, Capital of the 19th century, designed and developed by Brown Library staff, showcases the Library’s political and cultural texts and iconography of 19th century France while another project
-
Napoleonic satires features a collection of satirical prints produced between 1792 and 1829 from Germany, Britain, France, Holland and Russia.
Historical abstracts which covers from 1450 to the present is the online database of choice for secondary literature searching by scholars of European history. Francis, which presents an international perspective on materials for the humanities and the social sciences, provides citations to interdisciplinary French language materials.
Histoire de France, a multimedia encyclopedia of the history of France, offers an index of texts and other media, with a search index by theme, type of media and time period, and is available at the Language Resource Center.
As the digital projects described above demonstrate, the John Hay Library offers many unique and valuable research materials. For more information, refer to the section on Special Collections. Finally, the collections of the
John Carter Brown Library offer excellent primary resources for the study and research in the literature of European exploration and travel in the Western Hemisphere, with many contemporary narratives of French discovery, exploration, and settlement. Rich holdings on the history of Saint-Domingue and Haiti, 1735-1834, illustrate the relations of France with the Caribbean and offer unique opportunities for research.
Illustration: Paris et ses environs : 1858. Grand album représentant les vues et les monuments les plus curieux de Paris et les sites les plus remarquables des environs. Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, John Hay Library.
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