ABSTRACT
The invitation to present a paper on the case of Philotheou suggested two alternative topics to me. First, what we have learned about Philotheou itself and its library, treating them as generally representative of the larger picture of Athonite libraries, or second, what this project is contributing to our methods of studying Mt Athos, and its libraries in particular. In the course of over a decade's work on this project, I have presented a series of papers to the American Byzantine Studies Conference and at the International Byzantine Studies Congresses chronicling what this project has revealed about the history of the monastery and its library. Most recently I have made these available by establishing a communications centre for the Philotheou project on the World Wide Web via our Web server at Bates College. (This is a good option for prompt publication when the material in question is continuously being revised and updated as a result of new information, in this case from progress in the cataloguing project.) Consequently the second alternative seems more appropriate here - that is, to focus on the methodological side. I therefore begin by summarizing very briefly 'the case of Philotheou/ after which I offer observations on what we may learn from this case to apply to the study of the other Athonite libraries.
