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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.

Scope of this Home Page

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

• Religion on Internet and in digital formats
• General references sources
• Buddhism
• Christianity:
• Theology
• Biblical studies
• Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Saivism,
• Islam
• Taoism
• Religion in China and Japan

Manuscript collections housed in the Department of Special Collections

Guides to microform collections

See also
General Library pages and in specific those relevant to religious studies such as:

• Medieval Pages that leads, among others, to:
• Church History
• Reformation
• Saints lives
• Online Medieval Sources Bibliography
• Versions of the Bible

Contact Person

Introduction to the Stanford University Libraries Collections in Religious Studies

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: October 10, 2007