Boston College. Library
administrative history
Boston College opened its doors on September 5, 1864, in a building on Harrison Avenue in Boston's South End. At that time, there was no dedicated library. Fashioned on the European model - a seven-year program combining college and secondary school - the earliest acquisitions of the library were donated collections. To house these works, Robert Fulton, SJ, provided dedicated space in one of the early residence halls. A card catalog was begun by Nicholas Russo, SJ, who served as University Librarian from 1878-1882 and was completed by the following University Librarian, Francis Barnum, SJ.
BC outgrew its urban setting toward the end of its first fifty years. A new location was selected in Chestnut Hill in 1907 resulting in the construction of Gasson Hall in 1909. A small standing library was established in Gasson Hall. Today, this space is locally referred to as the Honors Library.
Construction of a building exclusively for the purpose of housing the University's collections began in September 1924, resulting in the establishment of Bapst Library (1928). In April 1950, the Friends of the Boston College Library met. This organization was not only interested in the budget of the Library but also in the thoughtful acquisition of rare books, manuscripts, and art objects as well as the publications of catalog for "special collections".
By the 1970s, the collections had outgrown the physical library's space. Construction for the Thomas P. O'Neill Library was started in 1981. Serving as the flagship library campus, the O’Neill Library opened its doors in 1984. The Bapst Building continued to house the Bapst Library and, later, the Burns Library. Today, under the direction of the University Librarian, there are nine distinct libraries that together form the overall Boston College Library system. As of 2024, those libraries include the O'Neill Library, Educational Research Library, Theology and Ministry Library, Bapst Library, Law Library, O'Connor Library, Burns Library, Social Work Library, and the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.
Found in 9 Collections and/or Records:
Gerald Abraham papers
Consists of correspondence, articles, manuscripts and research notes of Abraham. Also includes some unidentified sheet music and publications on music and various composers. Some of the material relates to the musicologist Michel D. Calvocoressi and several Russian composers.
Closed until processed.
Boston College artifacts collection
This collection documents the history of the American Jesuit university Boston College in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries through its material culture. The collection includes banners, flags, football memorabilia, groundbreaking shovels, medals, pins, plaques, seals, and signs from Boston College administrators, faculty, and, to a lesser degree, students.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College community experience of COVID-19 collection
Materials reflecting Boston College community members' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, including blog posts or journal entries, essays, newsletters, photographs, podcast episodes, and poems.
Collection is open for research.
W. Seavey Joyce, SJ, President’s Office records
Collection is closed. Access with permission of office. Departmental records and faculty files containing student records, faculty tenure and promotion files, and other records containing personally identifiable information are closed due to privacy restrictions.
Boston College publications
Publications and printed materials produced by Boston College administration and students.
Collection is open for research. Digital content in this collection has been migrated from source media; digital use copies can only be accessed onsite in the Burns Library Reading Room.
Democracy through empire : Dakota Territory, 1861-1889
Open for research.
Guillermo L. Guitarte letters
The collection primarily consists of Guitarte's correspondence with other linguists, philologists, and academics during the time he taught at Boston College. Also contains letters related to his family life and legal matters.
Collection is open for research.
Helen Landreth papers
Personal papers of librarian and historian Helen Landreth relating to her research on Irish history.
Collection is open for research.
Libraries - public outreach materials, 2020 April-May
Raw video footage that was used in the creation of the Libraries' COVID-19 public outreach efforts and which was eventually shared to Youtube. Also included is the Boston College Libraries newsletter dating to April 2020, featuring a post about COVID-19.
Collection is open for research.