Foreign Languages and Literatures: German

Purpose: Primarily to support the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures courses leading to degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and Literatures. There is a General University Requirement for graduation for students in the College of Liberal Arts for one year of foreign language at the university level or two years of foreign language at the high school level, although this requirement has small impact on the Library collection. Course are taught for both German majors and language students and students who are not studying German (i.e. courses featuring German films or general literature in translation). The collection supports many of the diverse requirements of faculty research and teaching. Some attention is given to providing a German language recreational and informational reading experience through purchases in current fiction and through subscription to a very small number of popular magazines and newspapers.

1. Languages: German is the primary language of the collection. Secondary materials are acquired in German and English in effort to support faculty research and undergraduate research needs. English translations of primary and secondary works are acquired on a selective basis to support the needs of other departments. Non-English translations are not acquired.
2. Chronological Guidelines: From eighteenth century, to the present.
3. Geographical Guidelines: Primarily the literature of Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland. Exile literature is included, as is that of "border areas" such as Sudetenland, literature of the former DDR.
4. Treatment of Subject: Criticism and history of German literature are acquired. Biographies and bibliographies of major and most minor authors are purchased extensively, as are critical editions and collected works. German film studies and criticism, a growing interest of the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures as a whole, is also acquired.
5. Types of Material: Most materials are in the form of books, periodicals and various reference works. Rare books and manuscripts are not acquired unless available in reprint or microform. Textbooks are not ordinarily acquired. Electronic resources will be considered for purchase.
6. Date of Publication: Both current and non-current works are purchased with emphasis on works in print. Microforms or reprints are considered a suitable alternative format to original editions.
7. Other General Considerations: The Library owns three major research collections (in microform): German Baroque Literature (the von Faber du Faur collection at Yale University -- 2,400 titles), Harold Jantz Collection of German Baroque Literature -- 3,700 titles, and German Drama on Microcard and Microfiche -- 8,000 titles. Access to other important collections, e.g., German Books before 1601, and German Pamphlets, 1501-1530, is provided through Center for Research Libraries. The Center for Contemporary German Literature, Washington University, is a depository for works published since 1980, and is available for use by North American scholars and students. At WSU there are complete backfiles to 23 literary journals indexed in Index Expressionismus, comprised mostly of reprints of representative titles of the period 1910-1925.