Germanic Collections
The five most frequently asked questions.
- What is the telephone number/fax
number/address for this professor/this publisher
?
- Which libraries/archives in
Germany/Austria ... have collections on this
topic?
- Where is this book? Who owns this
collection? Where is this person's papers?
- How do I track current/recent
publications on this topic. How do I generate a bibliography on
this topic for my dissertation, etc. ?
- I am doing a paper/dissertation on this
topic. What sources are available?
N.B. This section focuses on
printed reference sources.
* This information was
presented to the Information Resources Seminar, Green Library,
February 2000.
What is the telephone number/fax
number/address for this professor/publisher?
Kürschners
Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender (Z2230.K93 IC) provides
contact and basic biographical information
for Germans in academic fields.
The Taschenbuch
des öffentlichen Lebens ("Oeckl") (DD15.5.T38 IC)
provides basic and contact information for organizations
of almost every ilk, including governmental
offices.
The publisher's
index in the back of VLB
(Z2223 .V42 IC) provides the easiest single sources for
information. When using the Internet, keep in mind that German
Internet usually end in .de, which provides a quick way to find many
publishers' web .
Archives
and Libraries in a New Germany ("Welsch") (CD1223.W4 1994 IC)
provides contact information for these
institutions. It also describes some of the major
collections and lists catalogs
and guides. It is an excellent source for planning research
trips or grant proposals.
Which libraries/archives in Germany/Austria
... have collections on this topic?
Handbuch
der historischen Buchbestände in Deutschland
(Z674.5.G3.H362 1991f IC) provides excellent summaries of the
holdings, including special collections, in German
libraries. A huge number of libraries are included, ranging
from the national and university
libraries to small,
specialized libraries. There are also sets from this
project devoted to Austria and to Europe generally. The
descriptions of collections are in some cases quite detailed.
The articles conclude with bibliographic
information on each library's history and publications, including
published catalogs. Unfortunately, the subject
indexing is poor, although a Gesamtregister is apparently
still in the works.
Where is this book? Who owns this collection?
Where is this person's papers?
Die Nachlässe
in den deutschen Archiven ("Mommsen") (Z6616.A2.M6 Lane Room)
and Die
Nachlässe in den Bibliotheken der Bundesrepublik
Deutschland ("Denecke") (Z6620.G3.D4 1981 Lane Room) provide
venerable guides to personal papers. The information in these
guides has become somewhat dated, however, and coverage
is limited to the old Bundesrepublik. Cross-references
to papers held in other collections is very limited.
Denecke does provide an interesting index
by profession and area of activity. New projects along the
lines of the Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände are
in progress.
How do I track current recent publications
on this topic? How do I generate a bibliography on this topic
for my dissertation, etc.?
The two canonical disciplinary bibliographies in German
Studies:
Bibliographie
der deutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (Z2231.B5
Lane Room) is the largest annual bibliography of German Studies
focusing on language and literature. It is also known as
"Eppelsheimer" or "Eppelsheimer-Köttelwelsch." Typically
for an annual, classified bibliography, it is organized by large
general
and chronological rubrics, with subtopics
(often repeated in several rubrics as sub-categories). The author
entries provide access to bibliography; abbreviated periodical
titles refer forward to the extensive lists of journals and Sammelbände.
The author
index also catches references to authors spread throughout the
bibliography in various rubrics or categories.
Germanistik
(Z2235.A2.G4 Lane Room) is an annual, classified bibliography,
typical for disciplinary bibliography. The classification
schemes is a mix of general
subject and chronological
rubrics, with sections for major
authors in every chronological period. As the title
(Referatenorgan) indicates, it includes short
book reviews.
An example: Thomas
Mann.
Some good places to start for history:
* Jahresberichte
für deutsche Geschichte (Z2236.J26 Lane
Room). This is a classified
bibliography covering periods from antiquity to 1990.
The Systematik
(classification scheme) is nearly 40 pages long; typical for
historical classifications, the scheme comprises chronological
periods divided into topical
rubrics, which are further divided into sub-topics.
* Historische
Bibliographie (Z6201.H579 IC). A newer
bibliography. International in scope, covering periods from
antiquity
to the present.
Also classified,
though the scheme is less rich, but indexes (author, person, place)
are not particularly useful for topical searches. Not unusual
for historical bibliographies. Also typical: titles of journals
and collections of essays in citations
are abbreviated to save space, so that there is a list
of full titles (or journals consulted) as part of the front
matter.
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I am doing a paper/dissertation on this
topic. What sources are available?
All of the above are useful. Generally, this kind of
question ventures into specialized topical and personal bibliography
or involved a complex reference interview. Refer these
questions to Henry Lowood, Curator for Germanic Collections.
I will mention one important source in the Information Center: The
Bibliographie
der deutschen Zeitschriften-Litteratur (AI9.B5
IC). This is the forerunner of the IBZ and arguably the
earliest modern guide to periodical contents. The subject
indexing provides a remarkable resource for this literature,
beginning at the turn of the century. Even the list
of periodical titles provides interesting information.
Last modified:
June 27, 2005
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