The Carl W. and Elizabeth P. Blegen Library at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Some of you may be interested in seeing pictures of the Blegen Library, where I am the Head.

The Blegen Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens was founded in 1888 in a single reading room. An initial addition to the library was dedicated in 1915, and, in 1959, a new wing was added, funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. A further extension, partially funded by the United States Agency for International Development, was completed in 1991, effectively doubling the space of the library.

The collection currently has 88,000 volumes including more than 500 periodical titles (current and defunct), forming a major research library on prehistoric and classical archaeology of the Mediterranean region, and classical languages, history, and culture. About 2000 readers of all nationalities use the library anually. The library is non-circulating, and all books must be consulted on the premises.


The main building currently houses the offices, the card catalogues, and the main reference area on the gound floor adjacent to the entrance.



Directly above the entrance and offices is the original Reading Room, which has room for fifty-four readers. This is where Regular Members sit during the academic year. There are also spaces for Associate Members and Visitors.




Above the Reading Room is the Tower (not illustrated), which houses the offices of the Faculty of the Academic Program. Members of the Faculty hold appointments of one or three years.


The first major expansion of the Library was into the Davis Wing, which has two floors of book stacks adjacent to the reading room and is connected vertically by a spiral staircase and an elevator. It also has thirty-three Members' carrels.









The second expansion of the Library was into the New Wing, which has six floors, including twenty-nine additional Members' carrels and twenty seats at visitors' tables.

The New Wing is connected vertically by a staircase and an elevator. It has access to the rest of the library on three levels: On the ground floor - to the offices and entrance; on the first floor - to the Reading Room; and on the top floor - to the tower offices There are toilets on each floor.

The ground floor of the new wing is adjacent to the offices. It has book stacks, reference, new books and periodicals, the seminar room, and the Rare Book Room.


The first floor of the new wing holds book stacks, and study tables for Members and Visitors.

The second and third floors of the new wing currently hold the collection of periodicals, and have additional study spaces.


From windows in the stairwell there are pleasant views of the Director's House and Lykavittos, and of the garden.












The building is built on a hill, so the lower two floor of the new wing are classified as basements, even though they both open onto the garden.

These two levels currently house:

1) IT Department (offices, server room, etc.) and the Archives and Special Collections, which is administered separately from the Library and includes the Administrative Records,
Excavation Records, Personal Papers, Antiquities Collection, and Photographic Collection of the American School.

2) The Computer Laboratory, and a large, essentially unoccupied and unfinished space reserved for the eventual installation of compact shelving for the Blegen Library.