Subject Holdings Ethnology

The Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum merges holdings from the special collection „Volks- und Völkerkunde“ and the Ethnology department. The special collection was maintained from 1998 to 2015 with funds from the German Research Foundation. The relevant literature is spread throughout the building at serveral sites:

• Textbook Collection (EG): Here you can find multiple copies of important introductory literature and textbooks. As a rule, these holdings can be borrowed by HU students.
• Magazine Rack (1. OG, Area F): Current, unbound jornals are on display here, journals belonging to Ethnology are labelled with call numbers beginning with “LA”. Journals are generally not available for issue. Many of the journals however are only avaible digitally (e-only). To access these resources, you need to log in via VPN or on-site on one of the public computers.
• Bound Journals (2. OG, Area B): Here you can find volumes of both running and discontinued journals from precedings years. These are also marked with “LA”. Journals are generally not for issue.
• RVK-holdings of Ethnology (3. OG, Area B/C): These growing holdings contain monographies, edited books, and bibliographies. They are shelved according to the Regensburg Classification Scheme (RVK). Their call numbers begin with letter combinations “LB” and “LC”. You can find a comprehensive overview of the call numbers and their purport at the website of Regensburg Classification Scheme. These holdings are the central location for Ethnological literature. These holdings can be borrowed, if the book is not marked differently.
• Holdings on Folklore Studies from Akademie der Wissenschaften (5. OG, Area F): This historically interesting, predominantly folkloric collection covers research up to 1989, also contains many Eastern European studies, and is mostly available for loan.
• Historical and Scientific Special Collections (6.OG, Research Reading Room): Rare and old editions are made available in the Research Reading Room. You can also find parts of the libraries of Adolf Spamer and Johannes Bolte, as well as the estate of Lutz Röhrich, a professor from Freiburg. All editions displayed here are not for issue.
• Numerus Currens Holdings (7.OG): The library holds Ethnological literature that was acquired at a time when the library did not offer any open access shelving. This literature was only marked with a Numerus Currens (running number) and can still be found this way today. The call numbers consist of the year, a letter between A and D, and a running number (e.g. 2000 A 3973), they thus do not offer any information about the disciplinary orientation. As a consequence, these books can only be properly researched via catalogue. In the medium term, they will also be remarked according to the RVK classification. The newer holdings (from circa 1978 onwards) are usually available for issue. Editions that are old or worth protecting have to be ordered from the closed stacks and many of them can only be looked at in the Research Reading Room.
   

Some of these holdings might change location with time due to reprocessing or relocation. However, a distribution across several sites will remain. For many areas of Ethnology, we recommend a look at the neighbouring disciplines. The holdings of Sociology, History, or Culture Studies for example contain many works that are suitable for Ethnology as well. Some Ethnological books have copies which are shelved in other subject areas. Should a book you are looking for be currently on loan, you might find another copy somewhere else via Primus. The large holdings thus offer many possibilities and should be perused in all its variety.