About the Collection

The Biblioteca del Polo di Lingue offers an extensive and specialised collection, ranking among the most substantial within the University, regularly updated and fully accessible via Minerva.

The library’s initial bibliographic holdings stem from the consolidation, carried out in 2012 upon the library’s establishment, of the documentary resources from the former Departments of Language Studies: Linguistic Sciences and Comparative Foreign Literatures—incorporating the libraries of the Anglophone, Francophone, and Iberian Studies sections—and Linguistic, Literary, and Philological Studies (Central-Northern and Eastern Europe), which included the Germanic and Slavic Studies libraries.

At present, the library holds an extensive collection of 164,319 volumes, including 151,779 monographs. The documentary offering is further enriched by 146 current subscriptions to academic journals, mostly international, available in both print and digital format, providing access to a total of 778 journal titles (both open and closed series) and 12,540 archived journal volumes.

Beyond the sheer size of its collection, the library’s significance also lies in its quality, with materials predominantly in foreign languages, including French, English, Scandinavian languages, Polish, Russian, Iberian and Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, and German. As such, it is particularly well suited to supporting both the teaching needs of the degree programmes in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures and European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures, as well as internationally oriented academic research. Over decades, the library has built up a rare and invaluable documentary resource.

The library’s collections broadly cover all aspects related to the history of European and extra-European languages and literatures, including Western Europe, Central-Northern and Eastern Europe, the Americas, and Francophone, Anglophone, and Lusophone Africa. A dedicated section houses reference works, including bibliographies, repertories, manuals, and linguistic and literary dictionaries, covering all the languages and literatures taught within the Language Studies degree programmes.

For each linguistic area, extensive bibliographic coverage is ensured in the fields of historical linguistics and general linguistics, with a focus on diachronic, synchronic, and applied linguistics.

A significant section is devoted to foreign language teaching, with particular emphasis on language teaching theories, including historical perspectives, and digital applications in language education.

A core part of the collection is dedicated to the history of literatures, including the literatures of emerging and former colonial countries.

Equally important are the sections on literary theory and methodology, as well as those focusing on translation theory and practice, which have seen considerable development over time.

Also noteworthy are the sections dedicated to the history of theatre, with a special focus on the relationship between dramatic texts and stage performance, especially in contemporary theatre.

The library also houses several notable book collections. Some of these consist of personal libraries of scholars who have significantly contributed to the study of languages at the University, while others, more substantial in volume, are donations from major foreign cultural institutions.

Examination Texts

The library’s collection includes examination texts for the more than 150 courses offered within the Language Studies programmes, namely the BA in Foreign Languages and Literatures and the BA in European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures, as listed in the course syllabi published by lecturers in the Department of Languages, Literatures, Cultures, and Mediations. These volumes are housed in a dedicated section within the reading room, where they are freely accessible and available for loan for a 15-day period. This lending policy remains in effect for two academic years following the inclusion of a book in an examination syllabus.

The collection is updated annually following the publication of course syllabi, starting in the summer. To report any missing or outdated texts, users may contact lingue.acquisti@unimi.it.

New Acquisitions

The library continuously updates its collections to meet the needs of its users and to keep pace with academic developments in language and literature studies. Suggestions for new acquisitions can be submitted via the dedicated form in Minerva, accessible by logging in with University credentials.