Resources for Research
Catholic University's John K. Mullen of Denver Library has a wealth of material pertaining to the period before AD 800, with important collections in all the main areas of early Christian scholarship, including special collections in Patristics, first developed under the direction of the distinguished patrologist Johannes Quasten.
The Institute of Christian Oriental Research (ICOR), founded by the late Monsignor Henri Hyvernat, is a world-renowned depository for rare books and manuscripts pertaining to the study of Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew, Armenian and Georgian, and their Near Eastern literary traditions and historical contexts. Its collection of serials in the field, fully maintained to date, is one of the most extensive in the world. The Institute's Curator is Dr Monica Blanchard.
The Rare Book and Special Collections of the Mullen Library, recently housed in new quarters, include several thousand works of interest to early Christian scholars, especially in the areas of history, Patristics and textual criticism, dating back to the late fifteenth century. The Curator of the collection is Lenore Rouse.
There are also smaller libraries in different Schools and Departments.
Washington is enviable for its other resources for research:
The Library of Congress (which is very convenient to the campus).
The regional Library Consortium, which offers reading and borrowing rights to CUA faculty and students. One may use an institution on site or order books through one's own library. The most notable members of the Consortium, from the early Christian standpoint, are Georgetown, George Washington, and American Universities.
Dumbarton Oaks has one of the largest Byzantine collections in the world, and it is normally possible for faculty and graduate students, through the Center, to obtain readers' tickets.
The Center for Hellenic Studies has a superb collection of Classical material.
There are one or two smaller but useful libraries in the area, where reading rights can often be negotiated.
