{"id":810,"date":"2009-10-10T18:14:49","date_gmt":"2009-10-10T22:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/?page_id=810"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:59:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:59:55","slug":"archives","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/archives\/","title":{"rendered":"Archives"},"content":{"rendered":"

All items in our archives are viewable on site\u00a0by appointment only.<\/strong>\u00a0 The library staff can also make scans of materials<\/strong>, depending on the condition of the materials requested,\u00a0 the amount of material requested for scanning, copyright restrictions, and staff availability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We strongly recommend <\/strong>you first search the Special Collections & Archives<\/a> <\/strong>before contacting the archives to set up an appointment or request a scan. This provides information about the material you are seeking, including box and folder locations.<\/p>\n

Please use our “Ask The Archivist<\/a><\/strong>” form to send: questions, requests for appointments, and scanning requests.<\/p>\n

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About the Archives and Special Collections<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The School of Theology Archives, located within the School of Theology Library, collects, preserves, and provides access to records of enduring, historical value relating to, or created by, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Boston University School of Theology. The New England Conference Collections contain Local Church Records, Conference Records, conference journals and other publications. The School of Theology Collections contain records of the administrative offices, organizations and institutes. We also hold personal papers and artifact collections donated by prominent New England Methodists and School of Theology faculty members. All together, the archives contains approximately 2,000 linear feet of records<\/strong>. Records exist in a variety of different formats including documents, photographs, audio and moving image recordings, artworks and artifacts. An appointment is required<\/strong> to access the church records and the other archival collections at Boston University School of Theology Library.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Library also houses approximately 54,000 items located in locked storage.\u00a0 These collections include rare books, journals, pamphlets and other items that do not circulate outside the library.\u00a0 These items may be requested to be viewed in the library.\u00a0 A public scanner is available for scanning items in our locked stacks, subject to the condition of the item and copyright law.\u00a0 Most of these items can be found by searching the library’s public catalog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the library holds a number of significant and unique special collections, some of which are kept in locked storage but some of which are available in the library’s circulating collection.\u00a0 These include collections related to Methodism, hymnology, missiology, and biblical studies.\u00a0 More information on the contents of these collections is available on our Special Collections guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Archives Highlights<\/h3>\n

Click on the collapsible box to get a brief overview of some of the more popular collections; for further holdings, explore our Archival Holdings<\/a><\/strong> or Special Collections<\/strong><\/a> pages.
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Morgan Memorial-Goodwill Industries<\/h3>
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This important service organization was founded by Rev. Edgar J. Helms (STH, 1895) and has grown to become an international model for social agencies. Annual reports, board minutes, and news clippings from its 100-year history report its activities during the years. Files are arranged chronologically, with a general inventory.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Morgan Memorial, Inc. archival collection, click here<\/a>.<\/a>
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New England Conference Commission on Archives and History<\/h3>
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The Commission collection focuses on the history of the United Methodist Church in New England, with Conference Journals, church records, and archived records of conference boards and agencies, along with Methodist-related social and service organization records. Commission materials, especially journals and church records, are listed online. The listing in these pages is complete except for information notes on parish history.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the important work done by NECCAH<\/strong> here<\/a> and search for holdings information<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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New England United Methodist Historical Society<\/h3>
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All materials dealing with the Methodist church in New England, including conference journals and records, church records, records of organizations and social groups, books and papers, were transferred to the New England Conference Commission on Archives and History. Included are manuscript letters and memoirs collected by the Historical Society and books by or about New England Methodism. General histories of the Methodist Episcopal Church recording the evangelization of New England, and national-level publications, such as General Conference materials, the Book of Discipline, and the General Minutes were also transferred to the Commission. All other published materials dealing with Methodism or other topics were transferred to Boston University School of Theology Library, including the Society\u2019s collection of 18th and 19th century publications by or about John and Charles Wesley.<\/p>\n

For more information about the New England United Methodist Historical Society, search for it in our archival holdings database here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Early Printed Bible Pages<\/h3>
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The School of Theology Archives is home to a collection of sample leaves from early and important Bible editions. Find information about our holdings here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the side-effects of our early missionary training was a collection of Bibles in various languages<\/strong>, previously in the Reading Room at 72 Mt. Vernon Street. The collection supplements the Massachusetts Bible Society Collection<\/strong>, but is not cataloged on-line.<\/p>\n

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William E. Barton Samaritan Collection<\/h3>
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The Barton Collection contains materials accumulated during a quarter century (1903-1926) of personal contact with the Samaritans, including correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and scrolls. Primary material consists of nineteen scrolls, including two Pentateuchal scrolls of early twentieth century vintage, the original and unpublished Arabic texts of Priest Jacob on the history and thought of the sect, five small modern codices of parts of the Samaritan Pentateuch, two Samaritan prayer books, an Arabic treatise by Priest Isaac on Jacob\u2019s Well, and untranslated autobiography of Jacob in Arabic, two copies of the Samaritan Book of Joshua in Arabic, one of which has a commentary in Samaritan Hebrew, and a copy of Abu\u2019l Fath. The photographs include forty-three prints of the Abisa scroll from a 1919 filming, discredited at the time, but verified as authentic after re-photographing by Perez Castro in the 1950s, and other photographs or glass slides of the Samaritans. Personal letters reveal his contacts with the Samaritans and dealers through whom he obtained the scrolls and other materials. Also contains about 150 letters by or about the American Samaritan Committee.<\/p>\n

For more information about the William E. Barton Samaritan Collection, click here<\/a>.
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James D. Purvis Samaritana Collection<\/span><\/h3>
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The Purvis collection contains both primary and secondary materials on the Samaritans. The primary materials consist of fifty volumes of Samaritan texts, including thirty-five hand-copied volumes, mostly collected in the early 1960s, for the most part anthologies of liturgical materials\u2013service books for daily and Sabbath prayers, songs and prayer for the liturgical year, and songs for special occasions\u2013as well as copies of biblical texts and theological writings, with texts in Samaritan Aramaic and Hebrew (in Samaritan characters), and less frequently in Arabic (sometimes in a mixture of Arabic and Samaritan characters). Included are four antiquarian volumes, and a substantial run (1981-82, 1984, 1986, 1996-1999, with some issues from 1991-1992) of Aleph-Beth: The Samaritan News.<\/em> Secondary materials include twenty-eight monographs in English, Hebrew or German, including bibliographies, mostly published in the 1960s to 1990s, and eighty off-prints or photocopies of articles on the Samaritans, primarily in English with a few in German, mostly from the 1950s to 1990s.<\/p>\n

Click here <\/a><\/strong> to read more about the Purvis Collection.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Scherf Taize Collection, 1924-1974<\/h3>
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The Dr. Theresa Scherf research collection on Taize has extensive photocopy resources on early writings of Brother Roger and founding philosophy behind the Taize Movement.<\/p>\n

Dr. Theresa Scherf collected these photocopies and translations of source materials while writing her dissertation, \u201cMonasticism as Church: The Taiz\u00e9 Rule in the Light of Western Monastic Tradition\u201d (Ph.D. Marquette University, 1988)<\/p>\n

To learn more about the holdings in our Dr. Scherf Taize Collection, visit our archival database here<\/a><\/strong>.
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Anna Howard Shaw Center Collection<\/h3>
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The Anna Howard<\/span> Shaw<\/span> Center at Boston University School of Theology promotes structures and practices that empower women and honor diversity. The Center<\/span> is named after the Reverend Doctor Anna<\/span> Howard<\/span> Shaw, a Methodist minister, medical doctor, and suffragist. Ten years after its founding in 1978, the Shaw<\/span> Center was designated as the women\u2019s center<\/span> for the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. The collection includes transcripts from an oral history program on clergywomen. It also includes the center\u2019s old subject files filled with articles on a variety of women\u2019s related topics. Copies of the Anna Howard Shaw Center <\/em>newsletter and Sojourner<\/em> are also part of this collection.<\/p>\n

For more detailed information about our holdings in the Anna Howard Shaw Center Collection, visit our archival database<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Save<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All items in our archives are viewable on site\u00a0by appointment only.\u00a0 The library staff can also make scans of materials, depending on the condition of the materials requested,\u00a0 the amount of material requested for scanning, copyright restrictions, and staff availability.\u00a0\u00a0 We strongly recommend you first search the Special Collections & Archives before contacting the archives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1591,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1591"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10280,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/810\/revisions\/10280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sthlibrary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}