Hellenic Studies 

Firestone Library

The Princeton University Library is a not a single building, but a system composed of many libraries and hundreds of collections. Of the libraries, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, at the corner of Washington Road and Nassau Steet, is the largest, with more than 70 miles of shelving housing some six million printed volumes.

Firestone is an open-stack library, i.e. you retrieve the items you need yourself and take them to the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor if you wish to borrow them. Note that not all libraries or collections are open-stack. Rare Boks and Special Collections on the 1st floor in Firestone is a closed-stack area; you need to ask the staff to retrieve any items of interest. Also, these items do not circulate. A library such as the Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology is open-stack; however, its collections do not circulate.

Layout of the Firestone Library:

The library has 6 floors; the numbered floors (1-3) are above ground and the lettered ones (A-C) below ground.

1st Floor

Access Office: Here is where you obtain keys for Graduate Study Rooms other than the Hellenic Studies Reading Room (SHS). You will be asked for a $10 deposit and your Princeton University ID. The Access Office is also where you must register any personal laptop you wish to bring into the library.

Circulation: Here is where you charge out and return items you have borrowed. For visiting fellows who are at Princeton for more than 3 months, the loan period is the academic year; for visiting fellows here for less than 3 months, the loan period is 8 weeks. Note: You must have your Princeton University ID activated at the Circulation Desk before you can borrow materials from the library.

Rare Books and Special Collections: Here you find rare editions and manuscripts related to Greece. For a list of the manuscript collections, see the Modern Manuscript Collections tab. In addition, there are a large number of manuscripts from the ancient Near East; literary and documentary papyri from Egypt; Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and other Islamic texts; medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and documents. Wireless network access for your laptop computer is available here. To view a list of all available finding aids, please consult: PU Finding Aids.

The Trustee Reading Room (General and Humanities Reference Collection) (DR): Here you will find dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, atlases, biographies, etc. as well as reference librarians specializing in the humanities. The computers in DR are attached to printers. Printing is free of charge, but you must enter your Princeton User ID (see below under "Computers" and "Printing"). Wireless network access is also available here.

A Floor (the floor immediately below the 1st Floor)

Hellenic Studies Reading Room (SHS): The coordinates are A-14-A. This room contains one computer for catalog and database searching and another for word processing. There are several electric outlets for laptops. Note: There is no printer in this room. If you need to print, please go to the computer terminals on the 1st Floor. There are also a few reference works and current periodicals in the general area of Greek studies in SHS. You may choose a shelf here to keep your books. Please note: You must charge out any library item you wish to keep on your shelf in SHS.

Reserves/Current Periodicals Reading Room: Here you will find Greek newspapers such as: Kathemerine, Vema, and Eleutherotypia. You can borrow laptops and wireless network cards for three hours at the Reserve Desk. Wireless network access is available.

Social Science Reference Center (SSRC): Here you will find reference works in the social sciences (politics, economics, education, sociology, UN-documents, EU-documents, etc.) as well as reference librarians specializing in the social sciences. Wireless network access is available here.

Call numbers: H-HJ (Economics)

B Floor

B-floor Computer Cluster: Here you will find two iMac computers, one with a scanner, and several Windows workstations. The Microsoft Office suite is loaded on all computers for word processing and e-mail. The iMacs and PCs are networked to a single printer.

Near East Graduate Study Room (SNE): The coordinates are B-18-N.

Photoservices (B-6-F): A color photocopier is located near the main stairwell on this floor. Color copies are $1.00 per page.Another color photocopies is located in the Marquand Library. Black-and-white copiers are located nearby and throughout Firestone.To pay for copies you have three options. Some machines accept coins or credit cards. All machines accept prepaid generic cards, which are available for purchase at the Firestone Circulation Desk. The cost is $1 for the actual card and subsequently 10 cents per copy. Instead of purchasing a copy card, you may deposit money on your Princeton University ID and use it as your copy card. To deposit money on your ID either go to the Frist Campus Center where there is a Value Transfer Station or go the TigerCard Online Card Office. You can pay with coins at photocopiers on A Floor and 3rd Floor, and with a credit card on A Floor and B Floor.

Call numbers: G and GN (Geography and Anthropology), HM-HX (Sociology), J-JX, 7500-7570.9  (Political Science), K-KF, 7570.9-7999 (Law), P-PZ, 2000-2499 (General Philology) 3000-3999 (Language and Literature). Byzantine and Modern Greek literatures are located in the call number ranges on B floor PA5000-5660; older works are shelved on the 3rd Floor at 2500-2700.

C Floor

Microform Services (C-7-E): Here you will find the back issues of many newspapers and other publications of all types in microformat. Printing and scanning are free of charge.

Call numbers:  A (General Works), C, D, E, F, 1000-19999 (History), N-NX (Fine Arts), (SY) 2068-2071 (Turkic languages) and (SY) 2452-24835 (Iranian languages), Q-V, 8000-9999 (Science and Technology).

3rd Floor

Classics Graduate Study Rooms (SCG, SCL, SC, and SCP): The coordinates are 3-11-G (Ancient Greek, SCG); 3-12-G (Latin, SCL); 3-13-G (Classics, General, SC; and Paleography (Epigraphy, Papyrology, Numismatics), SCP). Room 3-13-G holds the current unbound classics journals. The circulating classics collection (Clas) is located just outside these rooms. The Religion (SREL, 3-11-D) and Philosophy (SP, 3-7-J) Graduate Study Rooms are located on this floor as well.

Call numbers: B, 6000-6399 (Philosophy) and BL, BS, 5000-5999 (Religion), Clas (all Library of Congress call numbers for materials on classical antiquity) and 2500-2999 (Classics).

Please note:  In addition to the complication of the two principal classification systems -- Richardson (numerical) and Library of Congress (letters + numbers) -- and designated locations such as Clas and SY, the Firestone Library and many other libraries on campus separate oversize books from regular size ones. Oversize items are identified by by the letters q, f or e (for quarto, folio, or elephant folio) at the end of the call number and, in Firestone, by pink call number signs on the stacks.

For more detailed location information, please consult the following Web pages by choosing "Campus Libraries" from the Library home page.

Firestone Library Call Numbers and Locations

Map of Campus Libraries: for the physical location of libraries besides Firestone, e.g., the Marquand Library (SA), which holds works on classical, medieval, Byzantine and Islamic art and archaeology.

On each floor, by the elevators, there are floor maps showing the coordinates (letters running north-south and numbers east-west) as well as a compass rose on most floors to help you orient yourself.

Return to Headings

Catalogs and Databases

The Library's home page is the gateway to library catalogs, databases, e-journals, etc.

The Main Catalog is where you search to locate the call number of an item in the Princeton libraries. You can search by title, author, subject, keyword, or call number. There are a number of more advanced features such as "limits," which you can set to limit your search by language, date, country of publication, etc.; you can also sort your findings, e.g. by date; or you can use the "guided search" screen to insert up to three search terms, such as keyword, publisher, genre, etc. To search the catalog for Greek titles, please see the following transliteration table. Princeton uses the ALA-LC system, column 4.

If you cannot locate an item in the Main Catalog, search WorldCat (the world's largest bibliographic database).  You can initiate an Interlibrary Loan request through WorldCat by clicking on  in a title's "Detailed Record."  If an item is charged out, you may need to recall the item or use Borrow Direct (for books) to obtain a copy from another library.

The Princeton community has access to approximately 10,000 e-journals, most of them in science and technology. To view a few of the ones in the humanities and social sciences, choose e-journals on the Library home page. There are about 40,000 print journals.

You also have access to a large number of databases (online indexes, electronic texts). Choose Find Articles and Databases from the Library home page or go directly to the Hellenic Studies subject page.

Return to Headings 

Computers

USB key (Flash Disk, Kangaroo Disk, Jump Disk)

This type of disk can be used on Library Web Computers on the 1st Floor in Firestone Library.

CDs and Zip drives

Access to the CD drive is available via the START menu. CD-ROM drives are not writeable or recordable. CDs can be accessed on the computer terminals on the 1st Floor in the Firestone Library. Library Web Computers do not have Zip drives.

H: Drive

The "H: drive," as it is commonly called, provides every Princeton user on campus a central network server with a limited storage space (250 megabytes for each individual). You can access your H: drive from an off-campus computer by establishing a virtual private network connection (VPN).

Your H: drive is also mapped in the OIT Clusters on the B Floor. You can visit the OIT Solutions Center in Frist on the 100 level to register and configure your laptop for the network. For help with computer configurations, etc., you can also call the OIT Help Desk at 258-4357 (8-HELP).

To connect to your H: drive from a Windows computer:
1. Right-click on My Computer and select Map Network Drive from the menu that pops up.
2. Choose H: as the drive letter.
3. Fill in the folder path: \\files\your netID (where your netID is the part of your e-mail address before @princeton.edu).
4. If this is your computer and you want to automatically remap the H: drive when you log on, check the box to Reconnect at logon.
5. Click Finish to complete the process.

Laptops

A laptop can be borrowed for 3 hours at the Firestone Reserves on A Floor or at the Marquand Library. Machines are equipped with the Microsoft Office suite of software and cables (long and short) for connecting to the Internet at worktables throughout the library. You can print from your laptop to the Pharos printers in the library. Please see instructions: Printing from laptops

Wireless Access

Users who have laptops equipped with wireless network cards can use them on the first floor, including Rare Books; on A Floor in the Social Sciences Reference Center and the Reserves Reading Room (where the newspapers are); and on C Floor in all three open study areas as well as in Microforms. In order for you to use network wireless access, you must register your wireless network card with OIT or contact Carolyn Hoeschele, the computer support person for the Program in Hellenic Studies. Her email address is: carolynh@princeton.edu and her telephone number is: 258-0808.

Printers

Printers are available on the 1st Floor of Firestone Library.
1. After you click on the print icon on the browser toolbar to print the desired document, a menu will pop up.
2. Enter your userid (netID) and password.
3. Go to a PHAROS Print Release Station and type your userid (netID) and password.
4. Highlight your document and click print.
5. Print jobs will be released from either station.

Return to Headings

Subject Specialists

Wayne Bivens-Tatum, Philosophy and Religion, X86367
Bobray J. Bordelon, Economics, X83211
Stephen Ferguson, Rare Books, X83165
Mary George, Politics, X8-3254
Alan Stahl, Numismatics, X89127
David Jenkins, Classics, Hellenic Studies and Linguistics, X85811
Elizabeth Z. Bennett, History, X80496
Sandra L.Brooke, Art and Archaeology, X85860
Nina G. Shapiro, Russian and Slavic Studies, X83592
Don C. Skemer, Manuscripts, X83186
James W. Weinberger, Near East Studies, X83279
Susan B. White, Sociology and UN Documents, X84814

For additional subject specialists, see Subject and Reference Specialists under Research Help on the Library home page.

Return to Headings

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How late is the library open? The Firestone Library is normally open 8am-11:45pm M-F and 9am-11:45pm Sat-Sun. The Reserves and Current Periodicals Reading Room on the A Floor stays open until 2am Sun-Th.

2. Can I bring parents, siblings, or friends into Firestone? Parents and siblings have access by means of their TigerCards, and friends may if they attend a university that has reciprocity with PU (mostly institutions in the U.S.). Otherwise, visitors must pay $30 for one week of access; $60 for one month; and $265 for one year.

3. For how long may I charge out books? For visiting fellows who are at Princeton for more than 3 months, the loan period is the academic year; for visiting fellows here for less than 3 months, the loan period is 8 weeks.

4. How many books may I charge out at one time? Unlimited.

5. I cannot find the book on the shelf. What do I do? Check the status in the Main Catalog. Is the book charged out to someone else? Make certain that you have the correct location code and call number, and that you have looked for the book in the location specified. Is the book oversize? If so, it is separated from the regular-size books with a similar call number. Look for pink lables above the stack ranges in the aisles. If you are certain that you are looking in the correct location and have not been able to find the book after a few days, you may place a trace request for the book. The library staff will then look for it and notify you when (or if) it is located. If it cannot be located, please place a Borrow Direct or Interlibrary Loan request.

6. Will I be notified when an Annex request has arrived? Yes, by e-mail.

7. Are there charges for printing? For photocopies, yes; for printouts from computer workstations or microform readers, no.

8. Are there color printers? Yes. In the New Media Center, Room 101, 87 Prospect Ave. Click here for more information.

9. Is there a scanner? Yes. In the OIT cluster on B Floor and there are four slide scanners in the New Media Center, Room 101, 87 Prospect Ave.

10. Is there a typewriter? Not in the library, but in the Frist Campus Center.

11. May I bring my laptop into Firestone? Yes. Users who bring personal computers or personal wireless access point devices into Firestone Library must register them with the Access Office or Library Security.

12. Where can I make photocopies? There are photocopiers throughout Firestone and in the branch libraries (see the List of copy machine locations and payment method).

13. Where do I get photocopy cards? At the Firestone Library circulation desk or the Value Transfer Station in the First Campus Center. You may purchase a card with cash or credit card.

14. How much does it cost to photocopy? $0.10 per page.

15. Is there a color copier? Yes, near the main stairwell on B Floor. Cost is $1.00 per page.

16. Where are pay telephones and restrooms? Telephones are located on 3rd Floor, A, B, and C Floors. Restrooms are located on all floors.

17. May I use a USB key (flash disk) to store data? Yes. USB keys (flash disks) can be used on all Library Web Computers.

18. To what can I download articles, books, dissertations that are available electronically? To a USB key (flash disk) or a floppy disk on the computers on the 1st floor. You can also email them to your account or save them to the H: drive (see above under "Computers").

19. For how long may I access the databases and my e-mail after I leave Princeton? For 1 month.

20. How do I access databases overseas? Via the Library Proxy Server or VPN, the Virtual Private Network service provided by the OIT (Office of Computing and Information Technology). For information on how to use the Proxy Server, see Proxy Server. For information on how to use and configure the VPN service, see VPN.

21. Whom do I contact if I have questions about the library's collections? Rebecka Lindau at rlindau@princeton.edu or 258-5811 or any reference librarian.

22. Whom do I contact if I have technical computer questions (e.g. about software, hardware, e-mail)? The computer support person for the Program in Hellenic Studies, Carolyn Hoeschele, at carolynh@princeton.edu or 258-0808. You can also contact the Help Desk of the OIT (Office of Computing and Information Technology) at 258-4357 (8-HELP).

23. Whom do I ask to place online requests (e.g. interlibrary loan, recall, Borrow Direct, Annex)? You may ask Circulation or Reference staff to teach you how to do this. After that you place the requests yourself.

Return to Headings