Asia Library

We collect and provide access to resources in all formats in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. Our physical book collection consists of more than one million volumes. 

We collaborate closely with numerous organizations, including the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, the Center for Japanese Studies, and the Nam Center for Korean Studies on programs, exhibits, and other activities. 

Our staff consists of subject liaison librarians, catalogers, and acquisitions specialists.

In 2015, we established a collection of materials relating to the history of Chinese dance. The collection rapidly grew to become the largest of its kind outside China, and we continue to add materials. Recent additions include more than 2,000 programs from performing arts events that took place in China in the post-WWII period.

Thanks to a gift from Masao and Mayumi Oka, the Asia Library Reading Room now includes a new space. The Mayumi and Masao Oka Tadoku Room is dedicated to the study practice of tadoku, or extensive reading in Japanese. An additional gift from Mr. and Mrs. Oka provides for an advanced Japanese-language student to serve as an intern connected to the space each year. The intern will help to conceive, organize, and publicize programming, among other duties.

As more Korean scholarly works are published as ebooks — and user demand grows — we are expanding our Korean ebook collection. In addition to academic monographs, this collection also contains Korean language learning resources, which have been curated in collaboration with the Korean Language Program faculty.