Germanic Collections

by Peter R. Frank, Curator Emeritus (1967-1990) of Germanic Collections at Stanford.

(rev. March 2000)

The tradition of Central European Studies (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) at Stanford stretches back to the founding of the University. Although the major study and research centers are the German Studies and History departments, most other Humanities and Social Sciences programs, from Art and Economics to Philosophy and Religious Studies, also deal with Central European topics. Since the end of World War II, Stanford has maintained a study center in Germany (Berlin), and exchange agreements with major universities. The University in turn has been honored by an endowed Visiting Professorship for Austrian Studies, a gift of the Republic of Austria, and an endowed chair for Comparative Western Studies, established by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk. The development of the library's German collection corresponds to the growth of Central European Studies on campus.

The first large collection acquired by the Stanford University Library was in fact a German collection: the private library of Professor Rudolf Hildebrand of Leipzig, purchased in 1895. The Hildebrand Collection, covering the period from Humanism and the Reformation up to the end of the 19th century, was especially strong in German linguistics and literature, and included incunabula, rare and valuable books and periodicals, and a wealth of other materials. The Hildebrand Collection became the solid foundation for the extensive German holdings built up in the following decades. When the Library Collection Development Program (CDP) was instituted and a Curator for German material appointed in 1963, library acquisitions were intensified and systematized. In the same year the new Germanic collections curator began to extensively acquire German Democratic Republic publications in support of courses in the German Department. In 1967/68 the curator acquired material from the famous library of Max von Portheim, Vienna, and from other Austriaca collectors. These acquisitions became the basis for an extensive Stanford Austriaca Collection. In 1973 a sizeable collection of Swiss material was purchased, and in 1977 the Stanford Collection of German, Austrian and Swiss Culture was established in the Department of Special Collections. Since 1989, special attention has been given to materials documenting the cultural history of the former German Democratic Republic and the unified Germany.

While Stanford maintains general collections in the Germanic language areas of Dutch and Scandinavian, the University of California, Berkeley, has long established programs in these fields and extensive library holdings. Since the material is available to Stanford researchers through the Berkeley/Stanford Cooperative Program, Stanford largely relies on Berkeley for Dutch and Scandinavian research material and, in turn, emphasizes Austrian and Swiss acquisitions.

The Germanic collections curator continues to develop the Germanic collections by acquiring both new and out-of-print items, in order to support ongoing research and teaching programs. Today, Stanford has one of the nations major Central European library collections.

Scope of the Germanic Collections

The core collection of works about Germany, Austria and Switzerland concern German language, literature, history, culture and other topics. The main holdings for the core collection are in the following libraries:

CECIL H. GREEN LIBRARY
Information Center and Resource Centers: An extensive Reference collection, dictionaries, lexica, bibliographies, biographical dictionaries, etc.
Main Stack:: Collections of Germanic material, mainly in the humanities and the social sciences in Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal classification.
Department of Special Collections:: Rare and unique materials, such as incunabula, early prints (Reformation, Baroque, 19th century), important first editions and works of later periods; private and press prints, and related material; valuable music scores and autographs; manuscripts and autographs; portraits, maps, etc. Book arts, art and recent literature of the German Democratic Republic time period.
Current Periodicals:: A selection of current newspapers and journals (older volumes are in the stacks).
Green Library, Lower Level: Film, Media, Visual Arts, Microfilms.

HOOVER INSTITUTION LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES: Material on 20th century history and politics, and extensive archival holdings; also newspapers and periodicals; maps; and poster collections.

ARCHIVE OF RECORDED SOUND: Sound recordings.

Special Features of Stanford's Germanic Collections

Stanford libraries' Germanic holdings represent the second largest collection after Anglo-American collection. There is special emphasis on: 1) German language and linguistics (from standard works to rather specialized ones, e.g., a fair collection on German dialects); 2) German literature and Austrian and Swiss/German literature (with many rare first editions, typescripts, manuscripts, letters, and the like, e.g., by G. Grass, P. Handke, and others); 3) German, Austrian, and Swiss History in the broadest sense (cultural, economic, political, social, material culture, religious history), and extensive holdings for regional and local history, and for the area of the former German and Austrian Empire.

Chronological Periods

Early and Medieval: Rich sources in all relevant fields.
Humanism and Reformation: A sizeable number of incunabula; early prints of works by Erasmus, Reuchlin, Kepler, Luther, Melanchthon, Sleidanus, and by many minor figures.
Baroque: In addition to the microfilm and catalog of the Faber du Faur-Collection there are many original works, including a collection of rare occasional prints.
Eighteenth century: A large collection of the very rare Josephinic BroschÙrenliteratur, and similar items of the Austrian Enlightenment; also strong holdings for this period from Germany and Switzerland. Microfilm collection of German and Austrian Drama (more than 3,000 items from the 18th century).
Nineteenth century: Extensive research collection in all important fields, with many rare items.
Twentieth Century: Special Collections and Collecting Projects: Cultural History of the German Democratic Republic; Counter-Culture in Germany; Film, Media, Visual Arts.

For all these periods original works are available, i.e., editions, collections, documentary sources, along with a wealth of secondary literature.

Formats

Audio-Visual Material: A collection of historically and artistically significant sound recordings, both for music and speech is in the Archive of Recorded Sound. There are also sound recordings and films located in the Green Library, Lower Level (M&M)
Broadsheets: Largest holdings are from Austria, from the Napoleonic Wars, and Wars of Liberation, and the Revolution 1848-1849; smaller collection of German broadsheets.
Manuscripts, autographs and other archival material: In the Manuscripts Division of the Department of Special Collections and in the Hoover Institution Archives.
Maps and Atlases: Early historical material and newer publications.
Musical scores: Rare autographs, first editions in the Memorial Library of Music in Special Collections (among them autographs by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Wagner, J. Strauss). Additional scores are in the music library.
Periodicals: Extensive collection of journals and newspapers, from the Acta Eruditorum to the most recent publications. Holdings are especially strong from the period of Enlightenment on, with many rare periodicals. There is a newspaper collection from the Austrian Revolution of 1848/49. Current newspapers available in Current Periodicals Room. Hoover has strong holdings, especially for the period from World War I to the present.
Portraits and Caricatures: Sizeable collection in Special Collections.
Press prints, private publications, fine bindings, artists' books etc.: A good selection in the Gunst Collection, Special Collections.

Noteworthy Collections in Special Fields or on Special Topics

Academies, universities, research institutions and schools: A wealth of publications and histories. Extensive collection of dissertations and Schulschriften.
Book Research: Histories of libraries, the book trade, with publishers' almanacs, Festschriften, and catalogs of book dealers. Cassirer Collection. Materials on East German book arts.
Children and Juvenile Books in the Mary Schofield Collection: Department of Special Collections.
Counter-Culture in Germany
Cultural History of the German Democratic Republic
History of Science: In the Barchas and the Newton Collections, located in the Department of Special Collections. German scholars are well represented, from works by Kepler to letters from Einstein.
Film, Media, Visual Arts
Judaica and Anti-Semitica: Extensive collection tracing Jewish life and culture in Central Europe.
Military Affairs: Aside from large holdings of regular works, numerous Regimentsgeschichten, Rang-und Quartierlisten, and books on military academies.
Peace Research and Peace Movements: The Green Library as well as Hoover have important holdings in this field; Hoover houses the Alfred A. Fried Collection.
Political, Social, and Economic Studies: Extensive holdings both of important original works and secondary literature. Hoover collection especially rich on World War I and II, the Third Reich, with important archival materials (e.g., original diaries of Goebbels, Himmler) .
Women Studies: Original works on women's education and emancipation from the 18th century on; sizeable collection of works by women writers.
Workers' Literature: Texts both in original editions, new editions, reprints and on microform.

Arrangement of and Access to the Collections

Arrangement

The Germanic holdings are classified either in Library of Congress (LC) classification or in Dewey (the latter mostly for the material acquired by the Library before 1967). Some special materials (manuscripts, etc.) have special classification.

Access

Information, Reference, and Bibliographic Instruction

Information assistance is provided by the Information Center and Resource Centers staff and for special questions by the Germanic Collections Curator and his assistant in the HASRC-Germanic Collections Office (Green Library West (Bing Wing), third floor.

The Curator offers a proseminar, "Methods and Materials for German Studies", most quarters, through the German Studies Department.

Suggestions, Gifts and Endowments

The library welcomes suggestions from its patrons to acquire works which are not at Stanford and which they believe should be added to the collections.

Gifts of books, journals, and other material as well as book fund gifts and endowments are vital to the continued strength of the Germanic collections acquisitions program. Please contact the Gifts & Exchange Department, the Development Office of the Stanford University Libraries or the Curator, if you are considering a gift or endowment.

Last modified: January 4, 2008