Facilities

Several libraries serve the needs of philosophy scholars at Wellesley.

Onderdonk LibraryOnderdonk Library

The Virginia Onderdonk Library, located next to the main department office on the third floor of Founders Hall, contains a range of philosophical books and journals. The department library is open every weekday, and is a quiet and cozy place to read and study.

 

Clapp LibraryWellesley Libraries

Most of the philosophical books and journals in the Wellesley Library collection are housed in the Clapp Library.

Materials relevant to the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mathematics can also be found in the Science Collection.

Click here for the Wellesley Library’s Research Guide and Research Resources for Philosophy. You can also contact the Philosophy Research Librarian Sarah Moazeni at ext. 4021 for help with researching your papers.

 

Special Collections

The Wellesley Special Collections have an excellent collection of rare philosophical books, including the following:

  • the Stephanus edition of Plato's works (1578), the Bekker edition of Aristotle's works (1831).
  • a first edition of Descartes' Discours de la methode pour bien conduire sa raison ... (1637) and a second edition of Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1642).
  • first editions of Hobbes' Leviathan (1651), Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), and Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40).
  • a second edition of Kant's Kritik der Reinen Vernunft (1787).

Contact Special Collections to arrange a visit.