Audience Materials are collected in support of research, teaching, and scholarship in literature, literary history, criticism, theory, and practice. For literatures in specific languages, areas, and national traditions, see the appropriate policy statements. Comparative Literature at Dartmouth draws its faculty from the various other humanities departments on campus. These currently include the various literature departments, Drama, Film Studies, and History. In addition to concentrations in specific literatures (English, French, German, etc.), Dartmouth College offers a courses and a major in Comparative Literature. Dartmouth College also offers a master's degree program in Comparative Literature for a limited number of students.
Boundaries Materials are found in Baker-Berry Library throughout the P range of the Library of Congress classification and the Dewey 800's for pre-1964 acquisitions. Many materials fall into the PN range of the Library of Congress system and the 800-809 range in Dewey. In addition, some works dealing with Literature and the Arts (e.g., Expressionism, Surrealism) are classed in NX, located in the Sherman Art Library. Collections of folklore are classed in GR. Excluded from this policy are PN1560-3307, PN4699-5650 [Performing Arts, Drama, and Journalism]. Just as the Comparative Literature Department is dependent on drawing faculty from other departments on campus, this collection policy statement is interdependent with the following other policy statements: Anthropology [Folklore], Classics, English Literature, French Language and Literature, Germanic Language and Literature, Hebrew and Arabic, Italian Language and Literature, Linguistics, Portuguese Language and Literature, Russian Language and Literature, and Spanish Language and Literature.
Partnerships No formal consortial agreements are currently in place for print monographs in Comparative Literature, although research, teaching, and scholarship in the field may draw upon materials collected through consortial agreements for related fields (such as Russian, Spanish, or Portuguese).
Specific Delimitations to collecting in this subject area
Languages No language is excluded. Original and secondary works are acquired in all the major Western European languages and Russian by the selectors for those languages. Representative works in other languages are purchased on a selective basis.
Geographical Areas (if applicable) Literary works from every part of the world are represented in the collection. Original works of fiction and criticism from countries outside the established Dartmouth literature departments are purchased by the selector for the department of the same linguistic root. For instance, the Russian literature selector purchases literary works from countries with Slavic languages (Bulgaria, Poland, etc.) either in the original, or in translation. Literatures with no other "home" are purchased under this policy.
Types of Materials Collected Monographs and serials dealing with world literature, comparative literature, and literary theory form the bulk of the collection. Handbooks, dictionaries, and bibliographies of general/comparative literature and literary theory are strongly represented in the collection.
Format of Materials Collected In addition to printed materials, the Library acquires electronic backfiles of many journals and other materials. Film and video is collected on DVD and via licensed streaming services to support its use in scholarship and teaching.
Collective Collections Scholars and students in Comparative Literature benefit from the general availability of materials through the wider Borrow Direct partnerships. Open access resources, such as Hathi Trust, provide access to historical literary materials.