Religious Studies Collections

Photo by Wojciech Zalewski

Stanford University Libraries
Special Collections and University Archives

The Religious Studies Collections in the Stanford University Libraries support research and instruction for the Department of Religious Studies.
Other useful links to Stanford programs:
Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies
Center for Buddhist Studies
Office for Religious Studies
Taube Center for Jewish Studies

National Organizations
The American Academy of Religion
Society of Biblical Literature

All institutions of higher learning including Divinity Schools have home pages which have different approch that the page below and therefore are useful to consult.

Within the Stanford University Libraries affiliated pages are:

Judaica and Hebraica Collections
Medieval Studies, including Biblia Latina

Scope of this Home Page

This guide is designed specifically for patrons of the Stanford University Libraries. It intends to 1. Identify major categories of reference materials at Stanford in Western languages; 2. List important titles within these categories, primarily recent publications (older materials can be identified through published guides, listed below); 3. Locate these materials at Stanford (default location is stacks); 4. By indicating locations, encourage browsing for additional materials (cataloged within the vicinity of call numbers given); and 5. Provide links to major resources outside Stanford. In brief: It is a "START HERE" guide.

Each section is organized into two parts: bibliographic followed by non-bibliographic references. Within each category an attempt has been made to follow a chronological arrangement from the most recent publications to older imprints. Older publications are not cited, except for some key resources, on the assumption that they can be identified through guides listed on this Home Page.

Introduction

Key reference sources in Western languages in religious studies

Theology

Biblical studies

Manuscript collections housed in the Department of Special Collections
Guides to microform collections

Contact Person

Wojciech Zalewski
Bibliographer for Religious Studies
Stanford University Libraries
Stanford, CA 94035-6004
Zalewski@stanford.edu
Tel. 650-723-9274
Fax 650-725-1068

Introduction to the Stanford University Libraries Collections in Religious Studies

For general information on libraries, collections and services please consult the main page of the Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/.

The collection growth was driven by programmatic needs that changed with time. Courses in religion at Stanford were offered as early as 1907. The first appointment of a full time professor of religious studies, however, was made in 1951, and the Department of Religious Studies was established only in 1973. An historical outline of Stanford's academic programs in religious studies was written by Professor Van Harvey ("Religious Studies at Stanford. A Historical Sketch". Sandstone & Tile, Spring/Summer, Vol. 22, Nos. 2 &3, 1998:3-10). His article, however, does not include the history of library collections in religious studies. Several bibliographers, including Associate Library Directors Elmer Grieder and Paul H. Mosher, worked with the collection over the years. A collection policy was developed in 1971 and revised by Mary Jane Parrine in 1980. Several collection surveys reflecting faculty research interests were undertaken and acquisitions were made accordingly. The main acquisition program is guided by the collection policy and imbedded in approval programs for Western language materials. In addition, faculty requests were honored, and some gifts were received. The most notable recent gift is the large Louise Evans collection on Eastern religions and related topics. Up to the year 1965, when cataloging in the Dewey Decimal Classification was discontinued, about 23,500 volumes were cataloged in religion, i.e., the class 200s. Since that time the relevant categories in the Library of Congress Classification (BF, BJ, BL, BP, BQ, BR, BS, BT, BV, BX, except Judaism, BM) amount to over 100,000 volumes. Materials classed in other classifications such as art (N), music (M), literature (especially in PK), history, bibliography (Z) or those housed in Special Collections, reference areas, and branch libraries add to this count. The University Library maintains about 500 serials, several microform collections, numerous titles in microformats, electronic formats, and audio-visual materials.

The above indicated estimated size of collection pertains exclusively to materials in Western languages. There are also materials in Arabic, Hebrew and Asian languages the latter located in the East Asia Library. A close cooperation with the University of California, Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union satisfies many needs to which Stanford cannot respond on the basis of its own libraries. Together, however, the collections constitute an outstanding research resource in support of graduate academic work.

Web pages edited by Wojciech Zalewski

Last modified: November 17, 2009