Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Burke Library of the Union Theological Seminary is located at 3041

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, in the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Founded in 1838, since 2004 it has been a part of the

Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...

. Holding over 700,000 items, it is one of the largest theological libraries in North America. Burke Library began with the purchase of the Leander van Ess collection in 1838, described by

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

professor

Thomas Frederick Crane Thomas Frederick Crane (July 12, 1844 in New York – December 10, 1927) was an American folklorist, academic and lawyer. He studied law at Princeton, earned his undergraduate degree in 1864, and in 1867 graduated with an A.M. He then studied ...

as "the most valuable library which has ever been brought into the country." The van Ess collection can be traced back to the library of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey at

Marienmünster Marienmünster is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Location Marienmünster is North Rhine-Westphalia's smallest municipality by land area. It lies in the Weserbergland, in the state's easternmost dis ...

, where van Ess was a member. Following the 1801

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

, the monastery's library was split among its members in preparation for its dissolution under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

; van Ess' portion would eventually be sold to the Union Theological Seminary. The collection consisted of around 13,000 volumes, especially rich in pre-1500

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

; original editions of

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

literature;

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

theology, liturgies, and canon law; early Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and polyglot editions of the Bible; as well as a significant group of pamphlets written by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

written during the 1520s. Early librarians included professors Edward Robinson,

Henry Boynton Smith Henry Boynton Smith (November 21, 1815 - February 7, 1877), United States theologian, was born in Portland, Maine. He is best known for introducing many Americans to avant-garde German historical scholarship, especially in his ''History of the Chu ...

, and

Charles Augustus Briggs Charles Augustus Briggs (January 15, 1841 – June 8, 1913), American Presbyterian (and later Episcopalian) scholar and theologian, was born in New York City, the son of Alanson Briggs and Sarah Mead Berrian. He was excommunicated from the Presby ...

. The library would continue to grow, reaching a size of 115,000 volumes by 1899, making it the largest American theological seminary library and tenth-largest college library in general at the time. Notable acquisitions during the time include the McAlpin collection, donated by

David Hunter McAlpin David Hunter McAlpin (1816–1901) was a prominent industrialist and real estate owner in New York City. He owned the D.H. McAlpin Tobacco Company. Among his children were a Civil War General and a prominent physician. Early life David Hunter ...

; donations from

Ezra Hall Gillett Ezra Hall Gillett (1823–1875) was an American clergyman and author. Biography Ezra Hall Gillett was born at Colchester, Connecticut on July 15, 1823. He graduated in 1841 at Yale, and in 1844 at the Union Theological Seminary, and became past ...

Samuel Hanson Cox Samuel Hanson Cox (August 25, 1793 – October 2, 1880) was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading abolitionist. Cox was born in Rahway, New Jersey to Quaker family. After renouncing his religion and serving in the War of 1812, he s ...

William Buell Sprague William Buell Sprague (October 16, 1795 Andover, Connecticut - May 7, 1876 Flushing, New York) was an American Congregational and Presbyterian clergyman and compiler of ''Annals of the American Pulpit'' (nine volumes, 1857–1869), a comprehensiv ...

, and

John Marsh John Marsh may refer to: Politicians * John Marsh (MP fl. 1394–1397), MP for Bath * John Marsh (MP fl. 1414–1421), MP for Bath *John Allmond Marsh (1894–1952), Canadian Member of Parliament * John Otho Marsh Jr. (1926–2019), American c ...

; as well as a 7,000 volume gift from

Edwin Francis Hatfield The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

. In 1880, New York Governor

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

donated $100,000 to the library, which went toward the construction of a new building for the library and the establishment of a permanent fund. Due to increasing costs, Burke Library was acquired by the library of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, which the Union Theological Seminary is affiliated with, in 2004. Its collections were fully integrated into those of the Columbia Libraries, while allowing Union Theological Seminary and Columbia students and faculty full access to either institution's libraries.

References

{{Libraries in New York City Union Theological Seminary (New York City) Columbia University Libraries Libraries in Manhattan University and college academic libraries in the United States Christian libraries 1838 establishments in New York (state)

See also

References