Boston College. John J. Burns Library
Biography
John J. Burns Library holds rare books, special collections, and archives. Part of the library system of Boston College, Burns Library is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and use of rare and special library materials in support of the University's academic mission. Reporting to the University Librarian, the Burns Librarian is responsible for the overall administration, development and promotion of the collection.
Special Collections for the Library began in the earlier part of the twentieth-century through the efforts of University Librarian Terence Connolly, SJ. Connolly is most well known for his acquisition of works pertaining to British Catholic Authors, Irish culture, and history. The Special Collections Librarian, an official position from 1981 to 1986, administered the collections, which from the late-1970s to April 1986 were located in More Hall. The position of the Burns Librarian was created in 1986 upon the construction of the John J. Burns Library, currently located in the original Bapst Library building on Boston College's Chestnut Hill campus.
Found in 11 Collections and/or Records:
Maurice Baring papers
The papers document the life and work of British diplomat, journalist, and author Maurice Baring (1874-1945). The materials consist primarily of correspondence but also include a handwritten manuscript by Baring and some ephemera.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College collection of bookplates
The collection consists of nineteenth- and twentieth-century mounted bookplates. The plates feature finely detailed artwork, and serve as examples of period book art and typography. The artists and origins of the bookplates are from numerous countries, with the majority from the Czech Republic, Brazil, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College alumni veterans remembrance book: manuscript
A hand-lettered memorial list of Boston College alumni who died serving in the United States Armed Forces in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Open for research.
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 student activities collection
A collection of materials produced by and for Boston College student clubs, societies, and other activities, including correspondence, reports, meeting agendas, planning documents, awards, newsletters, photographs, publicity, and artifacts.
Collection is open for research. Audio and video recordings have been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Digital use copies can only be accessed in the Burns Library Reading Room.
City medal for females
A hexagonal shaped medal presented to Joanna Stetson Simpson by the Boston School Committee for "superior scholarship." Simpson was a Boylston School student in the Fort Hill district of Boston, Massachusetts. The Marquis de Lafayette gave the address and presented the medals.
Collection is open for research.
Music director's diary
Bound diary kept by the Music Director of Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart that records the hymns sung on a daily basis. It documents the transition from the exclusive use of Latin hymns in the earlier years to the more frequent use English hymns in the later years. Also notes the frequency of Benediction immediately after Mass in the earlier entries. Also includes several loose items found in the volume.
Open for research.
Professors at the Sorbonne: Faculté des sciences: manuscript
Manuscript in a bound journal with handwritten descriptions of the science and mathematics faculty members of the Université de Paris. The accounts largely describe physical characteristics and speaking styles of the faculty members. It also includes several pages with notes from specific lectures. The author of the manuscript is unknown.
Open for research.
Scrap-book of an exhibition "Towards an Irish republic"
The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs, ephemera and correspondence.
Open for research.
Story map of Ireland
Pictoral map. Published by Colortext Publications, Chicago.
Open for research.
Burns Library collection of Vietnam War veteran alumni correspondence
Correspondence from Boston College alumni about their military service in Vietnam, collected as part of a Burns Library initiative titled "Veterans of the Vietnam War". Also includes the article in Boston College Magazine in which the project was first advertised.
Collection is open for research.