MATERIALS AND RESOURCES
The Hong Kierkegaard Library (HKL) is a special collections library and its resources must stay inside the Library. After use of materials and prior to leaving the HKL, books should be placed in the designated area for the Library staff to re-shelve. We request that you do not re-shelve the book yourself.
The new space in Steensland allows for much research and study spaces on both levels. Due to a large number of visiting scholars during the summer, cubicle space within the Library cannot be reserved for individual use. Any open seats or unused spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis. Areas left unattended will be considered available for the next scholar. During the academic year, HKL and KHF Fellows have their own cubicle office.
Collections Found in Steensland Hall
UPPER LEVEL OF STEENSLAND
This floor of the Hong Kierkegaard library is divided into three main sections:
- The Kierk 1 section houses primary sources in all languages (i.e. Kierkegaard as author).
- Kierk 2 contains hundreds of critical materials with substantial sections about Kierkegaard.
- The Related Thinkers (Rel. Th.) section offers materials by and about related thinkers, including contemporaries of Kierkegaard, thinkers who influenced his thought, and later thinkers who were affected by Kierkegaard’s ideas.
- A – Kierk 1 (Primary Sources)
- B – Kierk 1 (Primary Sources) and Kierk 2 (Philosophy (General))
- C – Kierk 2 (Existentialism, Sartre, Buber, Heidegger, International Kierkegaard Commentary, Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception, and Resources)
- D – Kierk 2 (Logic, Speculative Philosophy, Psychology, Aesthetics, Ethics, Religion, Christianity, Bible, Theology, Christian Denominations)
- E – Kierk 2 (Kierkegaard & Christianity, History, Northern Europe & Denmark, Sociology, Political Science, Education, Literature, Romantic literature, English Literature) and Rel. Th. (German literature, Physics, Psychiatry & Psychoanalysis, Bibliographies)
- F – Rel. Th. (Literature, French/Italian/Spanish/Portugeuse literature, English & American Literature, German/Dutch/Danish/Scandinavian literature)
- G – Rel. Th. (Practical Theology, Denominations, History of Civilization, History (General), Germany, Northern Europe/Scandinavia, Sociology (General), Political Theory, Education, Literature on Music, Fine Arts, Philology/Linguistics, Greek Language & Literature)
- H – Rel. Th. (Psychology, Aesthetics, Ethics, Religions, Judaism, Christianity, Bible, Doctrinal Theology)
- I – Rel. Th. (Philosophy (General))
- J – Hong Translations of Kierkegaard
- K – Re. Th. (Philosophy (General), Logic, Speculative Philosophy, Psychology
Lower Level
The Lower Level – Gordon Marino Floor – of the Hong Kierkegaard Library contains the remaining Related Thinkers section, the Dissertations section, dictionaries, thesauri, lexicons, and other reference materials in many different languages, including German, Danish, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Japanese. There are also several shelves of duplicate copies of materials housed on this level. Our Dissertations collection is a gem, with each text donated by eminent scholars about Kierkegaard, his contemporaries, and the growing body of scholarship he has generated.
Sections of the Lower Level- A – Duplicate Copies (indicated by the call numbers, which match the copies in the Main Room, followed by “copy 2”)
- B – Duplicate Copies
- C – Duplicate Copies, Encyclopediae
- D – General Philosophy Reference
- E – Kierkegaard Reference, Aesthetics, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy of Religion, Mythology, Christianity & Christian Thought, The Bible
- F – Christian Thought, History of Civilization, Danish Encyclopediae
- G – Greek/English Lexicons, Latin Dictionaries, Dictionaries (Romance Languages), Danish
- H – Danish Lexicons, English Dictionaries
- I – English Thesauri, Dictionaries (German, Russian, Japanese, Others), Literature (Various Languages)
- J – Books (General), Library Science, Danish Book Lists
- K – Periodicals
Danish Yearbook of Philosophy, Historisk Archiv: Et Maanedsskrift for Populaere Skildringer af Historiske Personer og Beginheder, Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook - L – Periodicals
Kierkegaardiana, Liselundbogen, The Reed, Soren Kierkegaard Newsletter
Collections Outside of Steensland Hall
RARE BOOK ROOM
The Rare Book Room, home to the Library’s materials published before 1856 and other rare or fragile materials, is housed in the lower level of the Rolvaag Memorial Library. Scholars wishing to use these materials should reach out to HKL@stolaf.edu, explaining their desired use. We will provide protocol, guidance and assistance to retrieve the book for use and provide special instructions when using the materials. Flash photography and any sort of scanning of the Rare Book Room materials will only be permitted upon special request.
Take a tour of the Rare Book Room.
ARTICLE COLLECTIONS
Our collection contains periodical articles, lectures, and other sensitive documents. The HKL article collection is located in the file cabinets in Rolvaag Memorial Library. Most of these articles are available online but please talk to a HKL staff member if you are not finding what you need. They can assist with this request.
KIERKEGAARD LIBRARY ARCHIVES
Our archive includes materials related to the biographies and work of Kierkegaard scholars. The Library archives include Howard and Edna Hong and other notable Kierkegaard scholars, the history of the Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College, and the history of Kierkegaard studies worldwide. A portion of the Kierkegaard Library Archives are currently housed in Old Main.