FB96 JOHN J. BURNS LIBRARY OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Boston College Fact Book, 1995-1996 Contact: factbook@bc.edu Date Posted: OCT 19 1995 ================================================================ JOHN J. BURNS LIBRARY OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS The University's special collections, including the University's Archives, are housed in the magnificently appointed John J. Burns Library, located in the Bapst Library Building, north entrance. The distinguished and varied collections of the Honorable John J. Burns Library speak eloquently of the University's commitment to the preservation and dissemination of human knowledge. The Burns Library is home to nearly one hundred thousand volumes, more than four million manuscripts, and important collections of architectural records, maps, art works, photographs, films, artifacts, and ephemera. These materials are housed in the climate-controlled, secure environment of Burns either because of their rarity or because of their importance as part of a special collection. While treated with special care, these resources are available for use at Burns to all qualified students, faculty, and researchers. Indeed, their use is strongly encouraged, and visitors to Burns are always welcome, either simply to browse or to make use of the collections. Though its collections cover virtually the entire spectrum of human knowledge, the Burns Library has achieved international recognition in several specific areas of research, most notably: Irish studies; British Catholic authors; Jesuitana; fine print; Catholic liturgy and life in America, 1925-1975; Boston history; Caribbeana; and Congressional archives. It has also won acclaim for significant holdings on nursing, detective fiction, Thomas Merton, Japanese prints, Colonial and early Republic Protestantism, and banking. Some of the significant named collections at Burns include: The Aylesford Press Collection Banking Archives: Hibernia Savings Bank, Union Warren, The Provident Institution for Savings, the Yankee Bank for Finance and Savings, and the Savings Banks Association of Massachusetts Samuel Beckett Collection Hilaire Belloc Collection and Archives, 1870-1953 The Honorable Edward Boland Papers Bookbuilders of Boston Archives, 1938- British Catholic Authors Bruce F. Browning - Boston Theater Collection Burns, Oates and Washbourne Collection, 1847-1954 The Wallace P. Carroll Papers The Charitable Irish of Boston Collection Gilbert Keith Chesterton Collection, 1874-1936 Citywide Coordinating Council Archives, 1975-1978 Josephine A. Dolan Collection Theodore Dreiser Collection The Reverend Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Papers East European Collection (Bulgarian and Romanian) Eire Society of Boston Archives Fine Print Collection Eric Gill Collection Howard B. Gill Papers Joseph A. Grace's Early Modern English Collection Graham Greene Collection Seamus Heaney Collection Irish Collection Jane Jacobs Collection Elizabeth Jennings Collection Jesuitana Collection, 1540-1773 David Jones Collection Rita Kelleher Collection Leeming Collection of Irish Literature Peter Levi Collection and Papers, 1931- Reverend William J. Leonard, S.J. Liturgy and Life Collection, 1925-1975 Robert and Patricia Lowery's Sean O'Casey Collection Reverend Robert J. McEwen, S.J. Catholic Social Action as Embodied in the Modern Consumer Movement McNiff Collection of the Stanbrook Abbey Press Thomas Merton Collection Meynell Family Collection Morrisey Collection of Japanese Prints, 18th-19th centuries New England Deaconess Hospital Nursing Collection, 1896-1989 Nursing Archives The Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Papers Mary L. Pekarski Nursing Archives Pope John XXI Collection of Medical Ethics Salem Divines Collection Joseph Coolidge Shaw, S.J., 1821-1851, Collection Francis Stewart Collection Rex Stout Collection and Archives Francis Sweeney, S.J. Collection Francis Thompson Collection, 1859-1907 Typography and Design University Archives Sr. Madeleine Clemence Vaillot, O.P. Papers Nicholas M. Williams Memorial Collection of Caribbeana William Butler Yeats Collection The John J. Burns Library is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Library is closed on all University holidays. Visitors are always welcome and are encouraged to view the permanent exhibition areas of the Library. Guided tours are also available upon request. Patrons using the collections must do so in the Burns Reading Room where specialized reference and copy services are provided. Source: University Librarian