One of the largest and richest collections of its kind outside of Europe, Widener Library’s Slavic collection includes monographs and periodicals, rare books, unique and 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.
Some acquisitions that stand out in recent time are:
- Czech and Slovak samizdat collection: 1968-1990
- Russian ephemera (late 1980s-1990s)
- Independent/unofficial press of the Soviet Union (1987-1991)
- Slavic Poster Collection
Widener Library's Slavic collection is closely interwoven with the collections of other libraries at Harvard such as the Davis Center Collection at the Fung Library, the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute Library and the Houghton Library (rare books and manuscripts).
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.