The Collections of the Burke Library

General Information
The Library subscribes to approximately 1,500 current periodicals and also maintains an important historical collection of titles no longer in publication. While most titles are in print form, the collection also contains numerous journals in microfilm or microfiche. Increasingly, the Library provides access to digital periodicals.

How to Locate Periodicals in the Burke Library
Periodical titles that the Library owns are listed in several different places (e.g., Sophia, Old [card] Catalog). Physically, periodicals are located in several different areas (e.g., L2, stacks, rare book stacks) and published in several different formats (e.g., paper, microfilm, microfiche). Sometimes the Library may have a single periodical title in more than one format, thus in more than one location.

Finding Periodical Titles and Holdings Information

Locating Periodicals: A Guide

An Exception: If a record in Sophia or the Old (card) Catalog says "Last 10 years in Ref.," the periodical is located on L3 behind the Reference Desk. Go to L3 and retrieve the title from the bookshelf at the extreme right end when facing the Reference Desk. The titles are arranged alphabetically by title. Return these titles to the Reference Desk.

PLEASE ASK FOR ASSISTANCE AT THE REFERENCE DESK OR THE CIRCULATION DESK, SINCE RECORDS ARE OFTEN COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO INTERPRET.

General Information
The Archives are comprised of four main record groups: Union Theological Seminary, Auburn Theological Seminary, the William Adams Brown Ecumenical Library Collection, and the Missionary Research Collection.

• The Union Theological Seminary Archives contain institutional and administrative records of the Seminary, combined with the papers of many organizations, scholars, pastors, laypersons and others connected with the school.

• The Auburn Archives include early institutional records and papers from noted Auburn professors.

• The William Adams Brown Ecumenical Library Collection is comprised of materials in various theological subject fields as they relate to the modern ecumenical movement.

• The Missionary Research Library Collection constitutes an invaluable record of Protestant missionary activity throughout the world and provides a fascinating array of materials related to the geographic, sociopolitical, religious, and cultural settings in which this activity occurred.

The Archives reflect the Seminary's leadership in social issues, religious morals and theological thought of the day. In recent years, some important new collections have been added such as the records of the Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship.

Archives Reference
Contact archives@uts.columbia.edu

Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship (AWTS)
The AWTS has as its mission the documentation of the history of the women who have made significant contributions to movements for progressive religious and social change during the 20th century. The Archives is collecting the personal papers, scholarly work, oral histories, and audiovisual records of feminist, womanist, and mujerista scholars, clergy, and laywomen, beginning with former and present Union faculty members, alumnae, and their colleagues.

• AWTS Site
• AWTS Exhibits
• AWTS Finding Aids

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND RARE BOOKS

General Information
The Burke Library contains thousands of rare books and many special collections, such as manuscripts and archives. Please check with the reference staff or the archivist about access to these materials. Among the Library's most distinctive collections are the following:

The Americana Collection
A considerable body of early American imprints, ca. 1680-1800, including sermons, essays, histories, biographies, books of poetry, prayer books, collections of sacred music, etc.

The Auburn Collection
Some 12,000 volumes acquired from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1939, and now integrated with the Library's other collections.

The Bonhoeffer Collection
A distinguished collection of primary and secondary source materials, including dissertations and papers, related to the life, thought, and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The Christian Science Collection
An important collection including manuscripts, clippings, books, periodicals, etc., documenting the literature and history (including controversies) of this indigenous American religious movement.

The Gillett Collection of American History and Theology
A large body of original pamphlets, tracts, sermons, general and local histories, biographies, etc., from the period ca. 1750-1850.

The Manuscripts Collection
Numerous western medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Syriac materials. The collection of Syriac manuscripts in one of the largest in this hemisphere.

The McAlpin Collection of British History and Theology
An eminent collection of some 18,000 sixteenth and seventeenth century imprints, sources critical to an understanding of the political, theological, and ecclesiastical climate of this important period.

The Missionary Research Collection
Tens of thousands of books, pamphlets, periodicals, reports, minutes, archival materials, etc., originally collected by a group of American Protestant mission boards and now continued by the Burke Library.

The Reformation Tracts Collection
A significant body of original imprints bearing on Luther and the Protestant Reformation.

The Sacred Music Collection
Hundreds of hymnals, scores, musicological works, theses, dissertations, etc.

The Thompson Collection
Rich in Bibles and prayer books, the collection is particularly valuable for the study of bindings and illustrations in early printed books.

The Van Ess Collection
Some 13,000 pieces, which formed the core of the Library's original collection, consisting of manuscripts and early printed books, including many incunabula.

The Library owns approximately 163,000 microforms, including monographs, periodicals and manuscript collections in microfiche and microfilm. The Library made significant contributions to the preservation filming project of the American Theological Library Association during the 1980s and 1990s, which resulted in replacing deteriorating paper copies of invaluable theological works with microform versions.