In support of the program at the Institute the library's
collection at St. John's University has provided a fairly adequate
selection of monographs, periodicals, newspapers, essential
reference works and other research materials.
Among the collection of approximate one-million volumes held in the
St. John's Library, about 63,200 volumes are related to East Asia.
The number can be further divided into the following
categories:
a. Monograph titles -- 45,000
b. Monograph volumes -- 62,000
c. Periodical titles -- 90
d. Periodical volumes -- 1,200
Among the Asian collection, approximately 30% of the collection
is in the English language and 70% in other languages, mainly in
Chinese, Japanese and Korean (approximately 40,000 volumes in
Chinese, 2,000 volumes in Japanese and 500 volumes in Korean).
Particularly strong areas in the collection are Buddhism, Taoism
and Chinese classics. A noteworthy East Asian art collection
provides support for research in Chinese and Japanese painting and
calligraphy.