Resources

Williams is rich in resources for research in Classics. Sawyer Library, whether in its own collections and librarians or in the access it provides to library collections and online resources beyond Williams, is the main venue for conducting research. The online Visual Resources Center of the Art Department at Williams, which includes that department’s digitalized slide collection as well as access to resources like ARTstor, is a valuable resource for students of ancient art and archaeology, as is the Library at the Clark Art Institute for those engaged in more advanced research. Williams has other resources for research and study that are truly remarkable for a small college: the collections at the Chapin Library of Rare Books and the Williams College Museum of Art, as well as the Classics Department’s own collections of Roman coins and other material artifacts. Some basic reference works in Classics are available for students’ and faculty’s use in Hollander 158.

A distinction between on-site resources at Williams and online resources is not arbitrary, but neither is it absolute. Please explore both, keeping in mind that the resources provided by Sawyer Library are likely to be of greatest value for most people’s serious research. Note that many of the most important online resources (e.g., JSTOR, ARTstor, most e-journals and e-books, and sites like the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae) are protected by a paywall and are fully accessible to Williams students, faculty and staff only because Sawyer Library, or other departments of the college, maintain subscriptions or oversee site-access. To gain full access to these resources while off-campus, you will have to use a proxy server.