Claude Lévi-Strauss Library

The Claude-Lévi-Strauss Library is a research library under the auspices of the Collège de France, CNRS and EHESS. Specializing in ethnology and social anthropology, it was founded in 1960 by Claude Lévi-Strauss, ethnologist and professor at the Collège de France (1959-1982), at the same time as the social anthropology laboratory. Its history is inseparable from that of the laboratory, and its holdings are closely linked to the research themes of its teams, which cover most regions of the globe, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, South and North America, Australia, Oceania and India.

The library holds the working libraries of many researchers in the field, some of whom have also bequeathed their scientific archives. It also houses a collection of facsimiles of pre-Columbian codices, acquired by the Social Anthropology Laboratory with the support of Labex TransferS.

The library houses three sections: books and periodicals, scientific archives, and the only printed copy in Europe of the Human Relations Area Files, created by George Murdock in 1949 (to find out more about the HRAF, click here)

The library is primarily reserved for teachers, researchers and students at Master 1 level and above in the humanities and social sciences.

It is also open to people who, for professional or personal reasons, need to consult its collections from time to time.

A library card is issued upon presentation of proof of research, and is valid for one year.

Access to collections:

• All printed periodicals and most books are freely accessible. Document availability is indicated in the online catalog.
• Human relations area files (HRAF): ethnographic database enabling comparative research through double ethnic and thematic coding. The electronic version eHRAF can be consulted on site and remotely, while the printed version can be consulted by appointment.
• The Ethnologists' Archives comprise 24 scientific and institutional archives. They can be consulted by appointment, subject to a reasoned request to this address.

Documents may only be loaned to members of the Social Anthropology Laboratory.

Interlibrary loan (ILL):

This service enables registered readers to borrow documents not held at the Collège de France from external libraries. Requests are centralized by Collège de France's Department of Libraries, Archives and Collections (DBAC), and any reader wishing to obtain a document is invited to write to the following address:

Additional services :

• Internet access via wifi, computer workstations for consulting catalogs and electronic resources.
• Possibility of digitizing articles.
• Information by mail, e-mail or telephone, online and on-site bibliographic searches.
• Training in research tools and the use of electronic resources.

All the library's books and periodicals are listed in the online catalog.

The library is open Monday to Friday from 10 h to 19 h.