Why Korean Studies at the ANU?

• Unique powerhouse of scholars working on the Asia-Pacific region;
• Cross-departmental structure;
• Resources

Students have access to the enormous collection at Menzies Library, on campus here at the ANU, aswell as the National Library of Australia (NLA) - just a short(ish) walk across the lake.

R. G. Menzies Building

The R.G. Menzies Building houses collections relating to Asia and the Pacific, ANU theses, Rare books, special collections and the United Nations collection. Computers in the Menzies foyer are equipped with Chinese/Japanese/Korean (CJK) language software which allows readers to access electronic resources written in East Asian languages, including CJK data in the library's catalogue. There is a television on Level Two through which ANU's satellite TV services can be accessed. The collections in the R.G.Menzies Building support Asia Pacific Studies, in particular in the fields of history, anthropology, political science, literature and non-Judeo/Christian religions. General social science subjects held in Menzies are: anthropology, international relations, military and naval science, and library science. Material unique to the building includes: * East Asian language collections * Asia Pacific Official Documents * Rare Books, Manuscripts & Special collections * ANU theses collection * United Nations collection For more information please visit the Menzies Library's website.

The National Library of Australia

"Canberra: National Library of Australia." Online Photograph. Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 26 Feb. 2008

The collection at NLA is among the three largest outside Korea, and includes a vast number of journals and newspapers from the colonial period, as well as a very comprehensive selection of materials related to art, policymaking and journalism from the early 1950s onwards. It also houses some 100 Korean language DVDs. The following is a text excerpt from the NLA's website: The Korean language collection of the National Library of Australia numbers some 45,000 volumes of monographs and 1,500 serial titles, as well as 20 newspaper titles. It is the largest and most significant Korean collection in Australia, and has been assigned a high priority in the Library's collection development policy. The strengths of the collection lie in the subject fields of the social sciences and humanities, especially economics, statistics, politics and government, foreign relations and law; Korean history, biography and archaeology; language and literature; philosophy, religion and fine arts. Another strength of the National Library's Korean collection is in government publications received regularly on exchange. Major exchange programs have been established with the National Assembly Library and the National Library in Seoul. The Library also regularly acquires books, journals and currently published newpapers from North Korea. The North Korean part has grown through new titles purchased from North Korea since 2003. The North Korean material numbers over 1300 monographs, 80 serial titles and 2 newspaper titles.

In addition there is the McLaren Human Collection, a gift to the National Library from Mrs Jessie McLaren, which contains a number of rare and valuable Korean books, particularly in the fields of history and literature. The oldest title dates from 1490. For more information on the NLA's services please browse their website.