  Aims - We present the first results of a large spectroscopic survey of
globular clusters and candidate globular clusters in the nearby M~31 galaxy.
The survey is aimed at the classification of known candidate M~31 clusters and
at the study of their kinematic properties. Methods - We obtained
low-resolution spectroscopy (lambda/Dlambda~800-1300) for 133 targets,
including 76 yet-to-confirm candidate clusters (i.e. with no previous
spectroscopic information), 55 already-confirmed genuine M31 clusters, and 2
uncertain candidates. Our observations allowed a reliable estimate of the
target radial velocity, within a typical accuracy of ~+-20km/s. The observed
candidates have been robustly classified according to their radial velocity and
shape parameters that allowed us to confidently discriminate between point
sources and extended objects even from low-spatial-resolution imagery. Results
- In our set of 76 candidates clusters we found: 42 newly-confirmed bona-fide
M~31 clusters, 12 background galaxies, 17 foreground Galactic stars, 2 HII
regions belonging to M31 and 3 unclassified (possibly M31 clusters or
foreground stars) objects. The classification of a few other candidates not
included in our survey has been also reassessed on various observational bases.
All the sources of radial velocity estimates for M31 known globular clusters
available in the literature have been compared and checked, and a homogeneous
general list has been obtained for 349 confirmed clusters with radial velocity.
Conclusions - Our results suggest that a significant number of genuine clusters
(~> 100) is still hidden among the plethora of known candidates proposed by
various authors. Hence our knowledge of the globular cluster system of the M31
galaxy is still far from complete even in terms of simple membership.
