WU Libraries: East Asian Library, Collections

East Asian Library: About the Library and Collections

General Information | Library Collection | Library Photos | Library Location | About Online Catalog

The East Asian Library serves the Washington University community as part of the Washington University Libraries. It supports the teaching and research needs of the WU East Asian Studies Program provided by the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures, and other academic schools and departments. It also supports the Joint Center for East Asian Studies of Washington University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis' academic programs. The Library has three levels of book stacks, a basement, and a reading room with over 100 seats. The reading room is one of the best places to study on campus.

The Washington University Libraries began the regular purchases of major Chinese and Japanese materials in 1963, after a five-year period of sporadic acquisition of miscellaneous materials on modern Chinese history. The East Asian Collection was moved from the Olin Library to the second floor of January Hall, and the East Asian Library was established in 1972.

Collections

The East Asian Library has over 159,200 volumes of books and bound serials, including 100,800 volumes in Chinese, 55,200 volumes in Japanese, and 3,200 volumes in Korean, plus 325 CD-ROMs, 3,350 microfiches, and 1,450 reels of microfilm materials, complemented by a broad range of electronic resources. Monograph and serials holdings are consistent with emphases within graduate East Asian studies programs of instruction as well as faculty research interests. The collection is mainly divided into two major geographical areas - China and Japan - and into roughly two time periods -- classical and contemporary. Special strengths are in the fields of languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and art history. About 24,000 volumes of back runs of periodicals and other lesser-used materials are shelved in the West Campus Library.

Washington University Libraries also has extensive holdings about East Asia in English and other Western languages, which are mainly shelved in the Olin Library.

Special Collection:
At the west end of the stacks on the second level of the Library is a special collection room where about 770 volumes of rare and special materials in Chinese and Japanese are maintained.

Library's special holdings also include the Robert S. Elegant Collection, primarily the assorted files of clippings of newspapers, magazines, and news releases covering the period of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1970); Nelson I. Wu's collection on East Asian art and architecture, and Chinese history, literature, and culture; and Thomas Temple Hoopes' collection on Japanese sword and Japanese art history.

The Adeline S. Boyd Collection of Asian Art consists of English language books on Asian art, which were donated by Mrs. Boyd to the Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultures and temporarily shelved in the East Asian Library Reading Room (next to the Circulation counter). This collection is for use in the reading room only.

Electronic Resources

Washington University Libraries subscribes to a number of electronic databases and electronic journals in East Asian studies including: Bibliography of Asian Studies, JSTOR, Project MUSE, China Academic Journals Full-text Database, Century Journals Project Full-text Database, Siku Quanshu, Japan Knowledge, Zasshikiji Sakuin Shusei, KISS, DBPia, and E-Korean Studies.

East Asian Library Photos

(http://library.wustl.edu/units/ea/photos.html)

Library Location

The East Asian Library is located in January Hall (see campus map), on the second floor, just southwest of the Quadrangle, north of the McDonnell Science Building. It can be reached by stairs beginning on the ground level by the University College offices. (about January Hall)

Wheelchair access is provided by elevator from the ground and all succeeding levels to the 3rd floor of Ridgley Hall, then over the bridge to the reading room of the Library, which is adjacent to the stacks.

Library Online Catalog

Washington University Libraries "Classic Catalog" and "Discovery Catalog" are available in the library, in other libraries on campus, and by remote access. (Please use the "Classic Catalog" to do the searches in CJK characters). Records for Chinese/Japanese/Korean (CJK) materials display in both vernacular and transliterated forms:

The Library uses the Library of Congress classification system, except for some materials acquired prior to 1969, which use the Harvard-Yenching classification system.