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Developing and Managing the Brown University Library Collections
Collection Policies by Subject:  MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY

  • Description of the Academic Program | HISTORY DEPARTMENT

    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:


  • 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.


  • 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:


  • Special Collections for Modern European History: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:

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


  • RELATED COLLECTIONS AT BROWN: