Overviews of the Collections
Romanian Collections at the Library of Congress
Grant Harris
Head, European Reading Room
Overview
The Romanian collections at the Library of Congress are the largest
in the Americas and probably the largest outside of Romania and Moldova.
Monographic works either published in Romania or which pertain to
Romania total approximately 40,000 titles. The vast majority of these
works are in the Romanian language, with approximately ten percent
in English. There are also large numbers of pertinent monographs
in German, French, Hungarian, Russian and Italian, with many other
languages represented as well. The above numbers are for monographic
titles. If we include multi-volume sets, annuals and bound periodicals,
the Library is in possession of nearly 75,000 volumes. The vast majority
were published after 1945. More than 3,000 earlier titles are present,
with a few dating back to the seventeenth century. Music, maps, photographs
and other formats are also well represented.
European Reading Room
The European Reading Room's reference collection includes approximately
350 volumes pertaining to Romania, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias,
atlases, histories, biographical directories, bibliographies and
other reference sources. In addition the reading room makes available
for onsite use numerous bibliographic databases of periodical literature,
many of which contain citations or texts pertaining to Romania. The
professional multilingual staff makes the European Reading Room a
natural starting place for research on Romania.
Rare Books
Thomas Jefferson's personal library of 6,500 volumes, acquired by
the U.S. Congress in 1815, included a monumental work by Moldovan
prince Dimitrie Cantemir - Histoire de l'Empire Othoman... (Paris,
1743). That copy was among the many volumes from the original Jefferson
Collection which were destroyed in a calamitous fire in the Capitol
on Christmas eve, 1851. Subsequently the Library replaced the title
and obtained a copy of the English version, The History of the
Growth and Decay of the Othman [sic] Empire (London, 1734).
Cantemir composed this history in Latin during the years 1714-1716,
while in exile as an advisor to Peter the Great. It was published
only posthumously, first in English, after his son took the manuscript
to London. It is the first substantial history of the Ottoman Empire
in any European language, and it remained the preferred text for
the next century. Three other important works by Prince Cantemir
are housed in the Rare Book Reading Room:
- Kniga Systima. St.-Petersburg, 1722. Discusses the Moslem
religion.
- Historisch-Geographisch- und Politische Beschreibung der
Moldau, nebst dem Leben des Verfassers und einer Landcharte. Frankfurt,
1771.
- Hronicul Romano-Moldo-Vlahilor. Iasi, 1835-1836. Composed
during the last years of Cantemir's life, it remained in manuscript
form for more than a century. Because he had sided with Peter
the Great in 1711 in an unsuccessful attempt to repel the Ottoman
presence, the work could not be published in Romanian territories
until the Turkish stronghold had weakened. It is Cantemir's history
of the Moldovans, Wallachians and Transylvanians, stressing their
common Latin origins.
Rare Books also possesses copies of several other early works which
describe Romanian territories:
- Latomus, Sigismund. Jacobi Franci Relationis historica
continvatio, Jacobi Franci Historische beschreibung aller denckwurdigen
historien, so sich hin und wider in Europa, in hocyh und nider
deutschland, auch in franckreigh, Schott und Engeland, Hispanien,
Hungarn, Polen, Siebenburgen, Wallachey, Moldaw, Turckey, ... Franckfurt
am Mayn, 1615.
- Spontone, Ciro. Historia della Transilvania. Venetia,
1638.
- Carra, Jean-Louis. Histoire de la Moldavie et de la Valachie.
Avec une dissertation sur l'etat actuel de ces deux provinces.
Jassy, 1777.
Serials
The Library has runs of over 1,100 Romanian non-newspaper serials
from the past and present, on all subjects. These include journals,
annuals, conference proceedings and other periodic literature. LC
has retrospective newspaper holdings for over 100 titles, from 24
Romanian cities. However, many are short runs from the 1940s, especially
during World War II. Lengthier runs exist for several titles after
WWII, some continuing to the present. LC currently receives the dailies Adevarul, Dreptatea, Romania
libera, Romaniai magyar szó, and Allgemeine
Deutsche Zeitung. In 1962, LC received 27 daily newspapers from
16 cities. During the 1970s-80s the number was reduced to about 20
newspapers from 11 cities. A decision was made in the 1980s to reduce
the number of provincial papers, since at that time they republished
much from the central newspapers. In the early 1990s LC made further
reductions in the number of current foreign newspapers due to the
high cost of microfilming them for long-term preservation. Efforts
are being made to again obtain microfilm for regional and ethnic
newspapers from Cluj, Iasi, Timisoara and Târgu-Mures.
History and Social Sciences
Materials on the history of Romania are extensive. The best coverage
is of post-World War II events, but numerous works pertain to earlier
periods, such as the Greek and Roman eras, the times of Stephen the
Great and Michael the Brave, the Revolution of 1848, the union of
Moldavia and Wallachia, and World War I and its aftermath. Other
topics with a continuous thread are well covered, such as the nationality
problem of German, Hungarian, Gypsy and other ethnic minorities.
Most works by prominent Romanian historians can be consulted, such
as those of Nicolae Iorga, Alexandru Xenopol, Constantin C. Giurescu,
and more recently, Al. Zub and Pompiliu Teodor. Nicolae Iorga himself
visited LC in early 1929 and was pleased to note that many of his
titles were listed in the Main Reading Room s catalog. Additional
resources can be found in the excellent runs of scholarly journals.
Concerning materials on politics and government, the most extensive
collections discuss the Communist party after World War II, but also
its early history and 19th-century socialist movements. Literature
on the Iron Guard is available as well, and recent materials discuss
the current political scene. Foreign relations materials abound,
with many English, French and German sources. The number of monographs
devoted to Romanian foreign relations exceeds four hundred. Another
strength is to be found in the Library's literature on the social
sciences. The materials on economics include several essential monographs
and excellent journals, some from as far back as the early years
of the 20th century. Among the many statistical sources are several
pertaining to demographics, such as the important serials Anuarul
demografic (1871+) and Buletinul demografic al Romaniei (1932-1947)
as well as materials for nine of the censuses conducted between 1899
and 1977. Rural sociology and anthropology are also well represented.
Romanian Military Archives
During 1998-2000 the Library received microfilm of declassified records
from the Romanian Military Archives (Arhivele
Militare) covering the early years of the Cold War, primarily 1944-1948.
As of June 2000, approximately 500 microfilm reels were available
to the public in the European Reading Room. Partial indexes and other
information are available online.
Law
The Law Library Reading Room possesses approximately 2,400 titles
on Romanian law. It has fairly complete holdings of the official
gazette, Monitorul oficial (1867-1949), its successor, Buletinul
oficial (1949-1989), and its reversion to Monitorul oficial (Dec
22, 1989-). Other standard legal serials are received from Romania
as well. Among the many noteworthy monographic works are the following:
- Codul Calimach (1954, critical edition), the civil code
of Moldova from 1817 to 1865.
- Legiuirea Caragea (1865, second edition, supplemented),
the law code of Wallachia from 1818 to 1865.
- C. Hamangiu. Codul civil (1934), a nine-volume study
of Romanian civil code covering the years 1868-1927.
- C. Hamangui. Codul general al Romaniei (1909) covering
all codes, regulations and statutes of Romania during the years
1856-1900.
Initiated by the Library of Congress, the Global
Legal Information Network provides a database of national
laws from contributing countries around the world, including hundreds
of Romanian laws.
Geography and Maps
The Geography and Map Reading Room maintains the largest collection
in the world of cartographic materials available to the public. It
possesses approximately 600 single-sheet maps of Romanian territories,
the oldest of which dates back to 1596. There are also more than
35 sets of multi-sheet maps (over 3200 sheets), which are large-scale
and highly detailed; these concern transportation routes, geology,
soil types, forestry, and other subjects. Nearly 25 Romanian atlases
are shelved there, in addition to an outstanding set of monographs
and journals pertaining to Romanian geography. Moreover, other collections
within the Geography & Map Reading Room contain maps relevant
to Romania. For instance, in 1972, the Library acquired the Hauslab-Liechtenstein
Map Collection, assembled in the mid-19th century by Franz Ritter
von Hauslab, who was a military officer in the Austrian empire specializing
in cartography. This collection contains numerous regional maps for
Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldova and the Banat from the first half
of the 19th century and before.
Language and Literature
Publications pertaining to Romanian belles-lettres and to the language
itself comprise the single largest grouping of materials. Approximately
11,000 titles are included in this category, more than one fourth
of the monographs on or from Romania at the Library. The collections
of belles-lettres in the original Romanian and in English translation
are particularly strong for the 19th and early 20th century; literary
criticism is also extensive for that time period. Prominent authors
are well represented; for instance, the number of monographs relating
to Eminescu exceeds 300. A display in 1989 in the European Reading
Room commemorated Eminescu on the 100th anniversary of his death.
The Library also maintains the Archive of World Literature on Tape,
whereby writers are recorded in the Library's studios reading from
their works. The Archive includes readings by poets Caius Traian
Dragomir and Ioana Ieronim, novelist Augustin Buzura and critic Nicolae
Manolescu. Materials on the Romanian language cover all branches
of philology and linguistics. French and German works on Romanian
are plentiful for all periods, many from the 19th century. There
are numerous grammars in several languages, as well as specialized
and bilingual dictionaries.
Music and the Performing Arts
The Music Division maintains excellent resources on Romanian music,
beginning with over 100 monographs devoted to Romanian folk songs
and folk music. Hundreds more works can be found on specific composers
and musicians. There are card catalogs for the considerable printed
music, such as scores and sheet music, and the collections are quite
rich in the area of sound recordings. For George Enescu, for instance,
there are approximately 45 sound recordings, with over 150 books,
scores and pieces of sheet music. Enescu's Piano Quartet No. 2 in
D minor, Op. 30, had its world premier in the Library's Coolidge
Auditorium on October 31, 1947; the Library owns the original manuscript
score. George Enescu corresponded on numerous occasions with Harold
Spivacke, then Chief of the Music Division. During the 1990s the
American Folklife Center acquired the Gheorghe and Eugenia Popescu-Judetz
Collection, which focuses on Romanian folk song and dance. These
manuscripts, audio recordings, graphic materials, and moving images
span the years 1938-1974, and include several thousand notated folk
dance variants, more than 3,200 audio-recorded melodies, and approximatley
4,000 notated dance melodies, from all regions of Romania.
The Romanian Presence in America
According to a 1980 source, the ethnic Romanian population in North
America exceeds 250,000. The Library of Congress acquires nearly
all the monographs published by or about this group and some of the
newspapers and other serials. In 1998 the European Reading Room mounted
a display on The Romanian Presence in America.
Acquisitions of Romanian Materials
The single largest source for the Romanian collections is Biblioteca
Nationala in Bucharest, which has served as the Library's purchasing
agent in Romania since 1971. In addition to this source, the Library
of Congress has exchanged materials systematically with libraries
and other institutes in Romania from the 1920s. These are often libraries
at universities and polytechnic institutes throughout Romania, as
well as several other sources largely in Bucharest, such as the Romanian
Academy Library, museums, archives and other institutions. They provide
primarily serials and institutional publications, such as transactions
of scientific societies and annual reports. During the 1980s, the
Library averaged annual receipts of 1,250 monographs. More than three
fourths of these monographs came from Biblioteca Nationala, with
our exchange partners providing the rest. In the early 1990s, the
numbers dropped to 300-400 titles per year, reflecting the apparent
reduction in the publication of original monographs and works of
interest to the Library of Congress. The numbers began to increase
again in the late 1990s.
Romanian and Moldovan Handbooks Online
The Library's Federal Research Division has compiled more than 100
country study handbooks. The Romanian
(1989) and Moldovan (1995) handbooks are available online (unfortunately
funding cutbacks have eliminated the possibility of updating the
handbooks).
U.S. Congress Website
The Library also maintains the web
page for the U.S. Congress. This site can be searched to find
U.S. laws and proposed laws concerning Romania, as well as biographical
information about U.S. Senators and Congressmen.
Bibliography
Earlier published surveys of the Romanian collections held at the
Library of Congress include:
- Fischer-Galati, Stephen. Rumania, a Bibliographic Guide.
Washington: Library of Congress, 1963. 75 pages.
- Hitchins, Keith. "Romania," pp. 265-270, in East Central
and Southeast Europe: a handbook of library and archival resources
in North America. Santa Barbara, CA: Clio Press, 1976.
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