The Hong Kierkegaard Library is closed to off-campus visitors/visiting scholars due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the Library News page to view upcoming virtual events and past lectures.
A CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION
Mission Statement: The Hong Kierkegaard Library (HKL) serves as the world’s official repository for books by Søren Kierkegaard as well as those influencing and influenced by his authorship. The HKL offers programs and courses aimed at stimulating and nurturing the study of Kierkegaard among St. Olaf students and faculty, as well as domestic and international scholars. The HKL is both a Special Collection and a Center for Research and Publication and as such, it fosters an intellectual community highly conducive to reflection on faith and values.
This special collection, housed at St. Olaf College, serves students, scholars, faculty, alumni, community members, and anyone interested in the writings and ideas of 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and related thinkers. It stands as an international center for scholarship of Kierkegaard and of existentialism, and holds approximately twenty thousand book volumes. Many of these comprise a collection of editions matching those owned by Kierkegaard himself as a part of the Library’s ongoing goal of recreating the philosopher’s personal library. The HKL also holds collections of periodical articles, newspaper articles, and archival materials related to Kierkegaard studies, the history of the Library, and the biographies of Howard and Edna Hong. As a research and publication center, it welcomes all students and scholars with an interest in Kierkegaard research.
Because of the Hong Kierkegaard Library’s international prominence, the collection hosts an increasingly diverse community of scholars primarily in areas in philosophy and religion, but inevitably crosses disciplines in all aspects of study. In the past several years, scholars from six continents have called the Library home allowing for the existence and encouragement of diverse scholars who gather to further their academic research and meaningfully engage with others.
Consider spending research time in the Library. Click on the menu button above for specific information on available opportunities along with a list of scholars from all over the country and the world who have made use of its excellent resources. To get to the Hong Kierkegaard Library, go to the main entrance of the St. Olaf College Rolvaag Library, look to your right, go down the stairs, take a left, and walk to the end of the hall.
Please know all are welcome who wish to view and use the collection.
View our (St. Olaf) student created video for a bit more information and an inside look.
