Overview of the East Asian Library

Although the Gest Library was originally begun with the acquisition of many rare books, today it is the working collection that supports all kinds of research done in the Department and Program of East Asian Studies. Emphases in the makeup of the collection reflect the strengths of the department. Thus the collection is quite comprehensive in works on literature and history, with less stress placed on works in the social sciences. As is appropriate to the Chinese collection, it is also voluminous in philosophy and religion, geography and the classics; of special note is the collection on traditional Chinese medicine. The Japanese collection has similar areas of strength with the holdings in premodern history being particularly noteworthy. The Korean collection, though much smaller in scale than the other two, provides a basis for scholarly research. While the East Asian Library contains many works in the field of art history, users can also consult titles in Chinese and Japanese in Marquand Library. Every effort is made to acquire works that should be added to the collections, and suggestions of titles to purchase are always welcome.

Chinese Materials

The Chinese books of the East AsianLibrary, amount to about 425,000 volumes, including traditional string-bound books, modern western bindings, and bound periodicals. In addition, there are 23,000 reels/fiches of microforms (data as of June 2001; they include items currently stored in off-site locations.) Though the collection encompasses all areas of scholarship, it is most comprehensive in traditional literature and history. Major collectanea include the Si bu cong kan, Cong shu ji cheng, Si ku quan shu, Si ku quan shu cun mu and an imperial edition of the Gu jin tu shu ji cheng. The East Asian Library also has a large set of high-quality reproductions of rare Ming items held in Japan, the so-called hishi collection. There are over 2,200 current serial subscriptions covering the same areas as the monograph collection. For more information, including catalog information, see the sections on scope, catalogs, and locations in "How to use the EAS Library" in the left frame.

Japanese Materials

The Japanese collection consists of about 163,000 volumes, more than1,100 current periodical titles, , as well as some 4,500 reels of microfilm (data as of June 2001, and include items currently stored in off-site locations) . The collection is strongest in the subject areas of premodern and modern history and literature and Japanese sinology. There is a small Japanese Rare Book section, which includes an Edo illustrated Heike monogatari. For more information, including catalog information, see the sections on scope, catalogs, and locations in "How to use the EAS Library" in the left frame.

Korean Materials

Holdings in Korean, amounting to over 14,000 volumes, include monographs and journals covering all fields of academic endeavor, with historical sources and reference works the outstanding parts of this collection. Of special note are reprints of the Korean Tripitaka, which Gest Library holds in its entirety, and of the Choson wangjo sillok (Annals of the Yi Dynasty).

Western-language Materials

The more than 20,000 volumes of Western-language books and over150 current serials pertain to a limited area, namely, language, literature, general culture, and reference works as they relate to China, Japan, Korea, and Asia in general. Works in philosophy, religion, and history are housed in Firestone Library, and those in the social sciences, art, etc. will be found in corresponding branch libraries. Reserve collections for courses in the Department of East Asian Studies are maintained in the East Asian Library where they may be charged out for limited periods. For more information, including catalog information, see the sections on scope, catalogs, and locations in "How to use the EAS Library" in the left frame.

Rare Book Collection

The East Asian Library has a collection of about 102,000 volumes of string-bound books in Chinese that attract visitors from many parts of the world because of the collection's research value and rarity. Most of these books were printed in the Ming (1368-1644) and the early part of the Qing (1644-1911) period, while a number are earlier editions. The collection deals with all aspects of Chinese culture, but is particularly strong in medicine, Buddhism, history, and literature. Among the unique items are the draft manuscript of the dictionary Pei wen yun fu from before 1711; a 1544 edition of Sima Guang''s historical compilation, Zi zhi tong jian; the manuscript copy of the Ming Veritable Records (Da Ming shi lu); a Ming manuscript of Han Yu's literary work, Chang li wen shi; a 1529 edition of the literary anthology Wen xuan; and a5,000-volume compilation from several editions of the Buddhist canon known as the Qisha Da zang jing, of which a portion dates from the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. For the catalogs to be used for this collection, see the History of the Library in the Guides section of these pages. Much information on particular items is to be found in the various editions of the East Asian Library Journal, formerly known as the Gest Library Journal.
In addition to the Chinese Gest Oriental Collection, The Rare Book Collection also contains some Japanese and Korean books, including the Robinson Go Collection, a set of Japanese books donated by the American Go Association; a few Manchu, Tibetan, and Mongolian language works; some important memorabilia of Sir Aurel Stein; Captain Leroy Lansing Janes's materials; and numerous curios. The Western Helmutt Wilhelm collection is located on the Third Floor of the East Asian Library; the other items are located in the Mudd Library.

Rare Book Room Access

Most of the items of the Rare Book Collection are housed in the Mudd Library, with access five days a week from 9 to 5. Users are required to register first at the East Asian Library and obtain a Rare Books Use form. Access to call numbers and other information on the Rare Books Collection is only available at the East Asian Library itself. Details on access are in the document Using Rare Books.

Catalogs

For Chinese, Japanese and Korean items cataloged after September 1982, as well as all Western items, access is possible through the Main catalog of Princeton University; for items cataloged since 1984 access to characters is provided through RLIN/Eureka. For earlier items, primary access is through the card catalogs for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Chinese card catalog uses Wade-Giles romanization; the Japanese, modified Hepburn romanization; and the Korean, McCune-Reischauer romanization. The Chinese electronic catalog uses mainly pinyin. Except for the Japanese and Korean public catalogs, which are filed letter by letter, all of the other catalogs are filed word by word. For more information, see the section on catalogs in the Guide to the East Asian Library.