The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is an internationally renowned research institute as well as an important cultural center. The library opened in 1926, with a collection of 26,000 volumes bequeathed to it by diplomat and bibliophile Ioannis Gennadius. Its subjects focus on Hellenism, Greece, and neighboring civilizations from antiquity to modern times. Today it houses over 145,000 titles and its rare materials collections include archives, works of art, maps, manuscripts and early printed books.