One of the largest and richest collections of its kind outside of Europe, Widener Library's French and Italian collections include monographs and periodicals, rare books, unique ad distinctive ephemera, electronic and born-digital resources, data sets and audiovisual materials.
Collections date back to the early 19th century and attract researchers from all over the world.
Each year collection development librarians in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania Division acquire newly published scholarly publications and mainstream materials, as well as a selection of unique and distinctive materials to meet the needs of current faculty and researchers.
Materials in the collection come in a variety of formats, including audiovisual, microfilm, print and digital. Over time, core areas that have developed are the Classics, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, including Byzantine Studies, the Ancient Near East, the History of Science, Local History, French and Italian Languages and Literature, Philosophy and Social Thought, Colonial Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, as well as French and Italian Cinema.
Some highlights of the digital collections include the Charlie Archive Collection.
Accessing These Materials
All materials in this collection are listed in HOLLIS.
For more information, please contact collection development librarians in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania Division of the Harvard College Library.