Overview

The East Asian Collection supports the teaching, research, and outreach missions of the university by providing access to and delivery of information from and related to East Asia. East Asia is defined to include the People's Republic of China (or China), Republic of China (or Taiwan), Hong Kong (or Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Japan, and North and South Koreas.

The Collection's primary purpose is to support the teaching and research needs of faculty, students, and staff affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, and other departments and programs with specialists and courses in East Asian Studies. Further, it serves as a resource for the University of Wisconsin System and supports research in the state, region, and beyond.

Library staff acquire, organize, make accessible, and preserve sources of knowledge in all formats. They also provide reference assistance and instruction on how to find, evaluate, and use information resources.

Collection Description

Material selection follows the current and anticipated teaching and research needs of faculty and students and may change as necessary. Purchase requests are encouraged from faculty and students. Subject emphasis is on the humanities and social sciences. Materials are acquired in the following languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, English and a few European languages. The majority of materials originate from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, the Koreas, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Memorial Library collection is complemented by materials in other campus libraries including the Art Library, Geography Library, Law Library, and Music Library.

Collection Size

As of December 2004, the East Asia Collection includes 195,103 volumes in Chinese (126,650 volumes), Japanese (64,676 volumes), and Korean (3,777 volumes). The Collection also includes extensive holdings about East Asia in English and other Western languages.

Collection Strengths

• History of China and Japan
• Language and Linguistics of China and Japan
• Literatures of China and Japan
• Philosophy and Religions of China and Japan

Significant Resources

• Chinese and Korean Films
• China Academic Journals Database
• Siku Quanshu (1500 volumes)
• MagazinePlus Database
• JapanKnowledge Database
• Xuxui Siku Quanshu (1800 volumes)