Mongolian Studies Collection
Penn joins the Library of Congress, Indiana University, Western Washington University, and Harvard University in holding substantial Mongolian collections.
Overview
The Mongolian Collection at the Penn Libraries comprises several thousand print volumes published primarily in independent and Inner Mongolia, with an emphasis on historical sources, archaeological reports, ethnographic surveys, and scholarly monographs on Mongolian history. The collection builds on long-standing strengths in frontier zones throughout Central Eurasia and has evolved in close coordination with Penn's programs in Mongolian studies and Central Eurasian studies more generally.
Collection Description
Some of the earliest major Mongolian acquisitions at Penn came through a cooperative acquisition program administered by the Library of Congress New Delhi Office. Starting in 2016, the Penn Libraries undertook an expansion of its Mongolian holdings thanks to this partnership. Retrospective acquisitions in Ulaanbaatar, made with support from the School of Arts and Sciences in 2016, form the foundation of the expanded Mongolian Collection. Large quantities of additional materials, many of them less commonly held, have been acquired through gifts: the Georgij Sanji Zagadinow Collection of Kalmyk Materials (and papers) and the Tsorj Lama Collection.
With these recent developments, Penn joins the Library of Congress, Indiana University, University of Eastern Washington, and Harvard University in holding substantial Mongolian collections.
Since Dr. Anna-Alexandra Fodde-Reguer was hired as the Chinese and Mongolian Studies librarian, the collection has expanded further to include materials housed in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, such as rare books and manuscripts in Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese. The libraries acquired the Mongolian Grasslands Collection in 2025 and is working on adding donations to our catalogue. Additionally, an approval plan was set up with one of the library's vendors, East View Information Services.
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