Collections
The Donner Library has a vast collection on the field of comparative religion, from course literature to specialised research literature. Today the collection includes about 90,000 volumes of literature, while the number of e-journals, journals and serial publications amount to approximately 600. Our collection is augmented by around 500 printed books a year. The library also hosts a vast collection of anthroposophical literature, compiled in a separate unit. Following the will of the donors, this unit includes all books written by Rudolf Steiner. In addition, it includes books by authors connected to the movement, divided into subject areas relevant within the field of Anthroposophy. Furthermore, a collection of anthropological literature connected to Edvard Westermarck is kept at the library.
The most recent scholarly advances are often published in journals. We have a fairly comprehensive archive of many of the journals central to our field, which have often been published over several decades. The most recent journals are displayed in the reading room downstairs, while older journals are stored in another room but the staff are happy to bring out requested material. Most books are available for home loans; journals can be read at the library or copied. In recent years, we have focused on making central journal available in electronic format, from publishers such as Ebsco, Taylor & Francis, Wiley-Blackwell and Sage. We co-operate with the ÅAU Library to guarantee access to the most significant electronic resources in the field of religion – e-journals and e-books as well as databases.
Did you find what you were looking for? If not, you can suggest an acquisition!
How to find what you need
All printed and electronic material can be found in the database Alma. When you make queries in Alma you can delimit the result of the search to resources located in the Donner library and, if needed, sort the items into print or electronic material. Books can be requested in advance via Alma or borrowed directly from our open shelves. The tailor-made guide Libguides, provided by the ÅAU Library, can be useful when you search for more specific research literature. In Libguides you find tips on how to make queries in Alma, on central databases and journals and on instructions for how to find theses within the field of religion.
An especially important electronic resource is the ATLA Religion Database with AtlaSerials. It provides access to the American Theological Library Association’s (ATLA) index of articles, book reviews and essays as well as some full-text resources pertaining to all areas within the research field of religion.
In order for you to be able to find relevant literature in Alma, we have provided each book with keywords. Therefore, when you search for material, it may be useful to check in a thesaurus which keywords are used in the field. In Swedish we use keywords included in the thesaurus Allärs when we index our books, in English we use the ATLA thesaurus. In the library, the books are ordered in shelves in four different rooms according to our own classification system. Basically, the library is organised according to two primary principles: religion and theme (e.g. Judaism, Mysticism, Media) as well as according to the approach of study (e.g. sociology of religion, psychology of religion). New acquisitions are found in the news shelf in the research hall and on the ground floor.
The library personnel are happy to help you find what you need!