IHR Library

The Institute of Historical Research maintains a unified, administratively integrated specialist library comprising approximately 54,500 books and pamphlet titles. It was established in 2012 through the merger of the libraries of the former Centres (now Sections) of Greek and Roman Antiquity (ΚΕΡΑ), Byzantine Research (ΚΒΕ), and Modern Greek Studies (ΚΝΕ). The individual libraries were originally founded in 1979 (KEΡA) and 1960 (KBE and KNE), respectively.

The Library primarily supports and enhances the research activities of the Institute’s academic community, including affiliated researchers, postgraduate and doctoral students involved in research projects, PhD holders and postdoctoral researchers, as well as university faculty members. It occupies two floors (5th and 6th) of the National Hellenic Research Foundation building at 48 Vas. Konstantinou Avenue.

The Library is organized into two main sections:

The Library of the Section of Greek and Roman Antiquity (SGRA) includes over 13,500 titles of books and pamphlets. The collection is enriched through purchases and an extensive network of exchanges with scholarly institutions (research centers and universities in Greece and abroad, foreign archaeological schools, and bequests).

The “D.A. Zakythinos” Library of the Sections of Byzantine Research (SBR) and Modern Greek Studies (SMGS) holds around 41,000 titles, including books, pamphlets, maps, and a film archive of rare and hard-to-find editions covering a wide range of Greek bibliography from the 16th to the 19th century. From its early years, the library was enriched through donations from scholarly foundations, authors, intellectuals, and bibliophiles. Noteworthy donations include:

• The Library of Ioannis Sarigiannis (1962, 4,866 titles)
• The Library of Alexandros Benakis (1979, 1,494 titles)
• The Library of Michalis Stefanidis (1995, 100 titles)
• The Drakopoulou Library (2022, 200 titles)

The collection of 1,123 journals formerly held by the IHR Library was transferred in December 2024 to the K.Th. Dimaras Library of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and now forms part of its Humanities Periodicals collection.