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Asian Studies

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SUBJECT AREA: Asian Studies

Last Update: December 2006 by Jennifer Jhun, Maureen Weicher

Subject Specialists: Muhammed Billah, Mark Meng, and Tian Zhang

Faculty Liaison: Mark Meng

Purpose: The Asian Collection at St. John’s University Library supports the Asian Studies program offered by the Asian Studies Institute. It also supports other curricula that include Asian Studies components. These include History, Philosophy, Business/Economics and Theology.

Undergraduate Program: St. John’s University offers an undergraduate major and minor in Asian Studies with a required language component in Chinese, Japanese or Korean as part of the Bachelor of Arts program. Check the Undergraduate Bulletin of St. John’s College for complete course listings.

Graduate Program: St. John’s University offers a Master of Arts in Chinese studies and East Asian studies. The Institute of Asian Studies also offers certificate programs in International Investment and Trade in China, Chinese Language, and East Asian culture. A combined B.A/M.A. program in Asian studies is also offered. The Graduate Bulletin has a complete listing of courses offered at the graduate level.

Centers/Institutes The Institute of Asian Studies in Sun Yat Sen Hall, established in 1959, has an interdisciplinary faculty and over 500 alumni.

Enrollment Trends: Please consult the Institutional Research Factbook 2005.

Department and Subject Area Trends: St. John's has increasing interaction with Vietnam, including a Study Abroad program beginning in June 2007.

Established Specialization: The Asian Collection’s strengths include Chinese Buddhism, Chinese philosophy and religions, Chinese history, Chinese classics, and Chinese and Japanese dictionaries. Source materials include nearly 64,000 volumes.

Online Resources: Country Studies

Subject Depth: The Queen's collection is on the study or instructional support level, advanced (3b). The goal is to maintain this level. The Staten Island collection is on the basic information level, advanced (2b). The goal is to maintain this level.

Selection Considerations: Please see Selection of Materials. In addition, please use the following criteria:

• Resources related to the history, literature, arts, languages, business/economics, political science, philosophy and religions of East Asia.
• Languages include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, and English translation.
• Extra consideration to weaknesses in the collection. These include Korean language materials, resources about Korea written in English, and basic reference materials written in the Japanese and Korean language.

Materials to be Excluded: Please see Materials Not To Be Acquired. Also exclude:

• Materials in languages other than English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean for Queens.
• Materials in languages other than English for Staten Island (except to support Exchange Students),
• Textbooks and instructional materials.
• General works on sciences, mathematics and business administration.
• Juvenile literature.

Withdrawal Considerations: Please see Collection Maintenance: Withdrawals. Additional criteria include:

• Outdated monographs including reference materials with no historical or research value.
• Duplicate copies of little used materials.
• Materials irrelevant to the current and future needs of the Institute of Asian Studies.
• Works that have been superseded or cumulated in other comprehensive publications.

Related Collections: n/a

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