Walking Tour #2: The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Blegen Library and British School at Athens

Time: 10:00-14:00

The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Type of library: research

Postal address: 61, Souidias Street, 106 76 Athens, Greece

Distance from Congress venue: 1.5 km

Meeting point: Megaron Athens International Conference Center

Optimal route: Walking distance

A volunteer will be waiting for you at the proposed meeting point.

Located in a historical building in central Athens, the Gennadius Library houses a richly diverse collection of books and rare bindings, archives, manuscripts, and works of art illuminating Hellenic culture and civilization from antiquity to modern times. Thanks to its rich collections, the Library is a leading center for researchers exploring the culture and civilization of Greece and its neighbors. It plays an important part in the academic program of the American School of Classical Studies, as well as a growing role in educating a wider audience. Open to the public, the Library is a favorite workplace for Greek students and scholars alike and an invaluable resource for the growing body of researchers worldwide in the fields of Byzantine, Ottoman, Balkan, Modern Greek Studies, and the history of humanism. It plays a leading role in disseminating knowledge of Hellenism through public lectures, seminars, symposia, exhibitions, and publications in print and online. Utilizing modern technologies, it shares the riches of its collections through an expanding digitization program accessible through its newly redesigned website. The Library collaborates with local and international research libraries and academic institutions as well as the broader public in Athens and beyond to enrich our understanding of a culture fundamental to the formation of western society. The new construction and renovation of the West Wing has expanded the existing space with the addition of a state-of-the-art exhibition area, an entire floor of open-stacks shelving, a multipurpose room for seminars and meetings, and has improved spaces for conducting research.

 

American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Blegen Library

Type of library: private/research

Postal address: 54, Souidias str., 106 76 Athens, Greece

Distance from venue: 1.5 km

Meeting point: Megaron Athens International Conference Center

Optimal route: Walking distance

A volunteer will be waiting for you at the proposed meeting point.

The Blegen Library, one of two libraries of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, focuses on all aspects of Greece and the Greeks from the earliest prehistory through late antiquity. The Library, which was founded in 1888, currently has more than 110,000 volumes including nearly seven hundred periodical titles (current and defunct) forming a major research library on prehistoric and classical archaeology of the Mediterranean region, classical languages, history and culture.

It is non-circulating and it is open to Members of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and to approved visitors http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/blegen-library/access-and-hours. About two thousand readers of all nationalities use the library.

Starting September 2017, the Blegen Library, along with the Gennadius and the Wiener Laboratory (ASCSA Libraries) is undergoing a major project in order to improve its services to the users in a variety of ways. So far, all books have been tagged using the RFID technology and in the near future RFID kiosks will be placed in the stacks in order to replace the old sign-out cards. Furthermore, the reclassification of its collections is in progress following the LC system of call numbers. For this reason, the library will need to close for a few months (Spring 2019) but it will be ready in August to welcome, in a new environment, in its premises all delegates of the Congress.

 

British School at Athens

Type of library: research

Postal address: 52, Souedias Str., 106 76 Athens, Greece

Distance from venue: 1.0 km

Meeting point: Megaron Athens International Conference Center

Optimal route: Walking distance

A volunteer will be waiting for you at the proposed meeting point.

The British School at Athens is the United Kingdom’s hub for advanced research in the humanities and social sciences in Greece and its wider Balkan, Levantine, Mediterranean, and European contexts. The Library is at the heart of the BSA’s work in Athens, providing researchers with 24-hour access to a collection of more than 60,000 monographs, 1,300 periodical titles and a growing collection of electronic resources.

The collection covers all aspects of Hellenic Studies, with particular emphasis on:

  • Art and archaeology of the Greek world
  • Archaeology from the Balkans and Black Sea
  • Archaeological Theory and Material Sciences
  • Epigraphy
  • Byzantine art and architecture
  • Travellers to Greece
  • A Rare Book collection based on the library of George Finlay

Local academics are welcome to use the library between the hours of 9am-7pm Monday to Friday.