COLLECTIONS:

Special Collections

University Archives

Collection Preservation

Research Collections:
German Studies Collection

Collection Overview
The German studies collection supports undergraduate study of German language and literature, with additional support for research by faculty of the German Studies Department. The collection also includes translated versions of German and Germanic writers. The Harrassowitz approval plan delivers monographs and serials in German, while Yankee Book Peddler provides most of the English-language materials on German language and literature. The German Studies Department faculty assist in collection development by reviewing Harrasowitz slips and making recommendations. Materials in Germanic languages besides German are collected selectively. Some attention is given to books about Middle High German language and literature to support faculty research in this area. Given the small size of the budget, great reliance is placed on other, larger subject funds for materials relevant to Germanic Studies, e.g., History, Music, and Fine Arts.

Rapid advances in computer and networking technology have resulted in the acquisition of significant electronic resources, including electronic versions of familiar print indexes (e.g., MLA Bibliography) and digitized full-text editions of primary sources (e.g., Nietzsches Werke: Historisch-kritische Ausgabe). The next area of major collection growth in electronic formats will be in electronic journals. The German studies collection program will emphasize acquisition of digitized information and texts when possible because they vastly improve a researcher's ability to identify and access research resources.

Jonas Barciauskas
German Studies Bibliographer
1-617-552-4447
E-Mail: barciaus@bc.edu

Selected Resources

In the O'Neill Library:

• Collected works, editions, and English translations of major authors: Goethe, Schiller, Thomas Mann, Brecht, among others.

• Extensive holdings in German Studies journal literature.

• Reference works: Reallexikon der Deutschen Literaturgeschichte, Das Grosse Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in 6 Bänden, among others.

• National bibliography on CD-ROM: Deutsche Nationalbibliographie.

On the Web (Restricted to the BC Community):

• Subject index to research in language and literature:: MLA Bibliography.

• Full text reference databases:  Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Literature Resource Center - LRC.

• Full text news in German: Lexis Nexis Academic Universe.

• Full text electronic journals: MLN (Modern Language Notes), Nineteenth Century Literature, Journal of Modern Literature, MLQ (Modern Language Quarterly, Modern Fiction Studies, among others.

• General index with full-text access: Expanded Academic (ASAP) (indexes Germanic Review among other scholarly journals).

• General indexes: PCI Periodicals Contents Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science), FRANCIS Bulletin Signalétique.

• Other databases in the humanities: Subject Indexes to Online Databases: Humanities.  This web page also has links to other subject lists of databases.

Research Guides
More information about available resources can be found in the following resource guides: Research Guide: German Studies.

Interdisciplinary Elements of Subject Area
While German studies emphasizes language and literature, its historical and cultural perspectives define it as an interdisciplinary program. Consequently, it intersects with music, fine arts, history, theology and philosophy among other subject areas.

Formats and Types of Materials
Formats collected include print, electronic, microform, and audiovisual. Types of materials include monographs, serials, and reference works including major indexes, abstracts, catalogs, bibliographies, yearbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, research guides, and directories.

Languages
German materials are collected in the original language. Translations of important literary works are collected in English as are monographs and serials. Germanic materials in languages other than German are collected selectively, as are literary works in English translation.

Geographic Areas (Subject Approach)
The emphasis in the German Studies collection is on German-speaking Europe, including expatriate writers. Many of the critical works, in addition to originating there, also originate in the UK and the US.

Time Periods (Subject Approach)
Current collecting includes material from and about all periods of German literary and cultural history, although the bulk of literary criticism focuses on late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. Material from and about the Middle High German period of the Middle Ages also receives emphasis.

Dates of Publication
Nearly all editions of literary texts and critical interpretations that are acquired are current imprints.

Subject Areas Collected by Library of Congress Classification Number
BCAT, the online catalog, can be searched by LC classification number to get a better idea of what specific titles the German Studies collection contains.  For example, the command c=PT605 will produce the beginning of a list of works on the history of German drama.  This list can be browsed by pressing the F8 key or typing f and pressing the Enter/Return key.