The Burke Library - Columbia University

07/11/2022

Remember the ? Here’s something similar: the Directory of Protestant missionaries in China, from the

06/10/2022

Educators, faculty, teachers at all levels -- got a lesson plan, activity, or a slide deck on the history of LGBTQIA+ religious folks and/or institutions? Want to help students all over the world by sharing your classroom materials? Submit for the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network's Educational Resource Prize and $500 honorarium by June 30th for a chance to be featured on the LGBTQ-RAN website and amplify these crucial teaching tools. Have a great month and find more info at

Preserving personal papers and organizational records from LGBTQ religious movements.

05/13/2022

Construction on your mind? With the new Tower underway, we thought it would be an appropriate time for an exhibit. “The Construction and Evolution of the UTS Campus” takes viewers on a journey into the history of through its buildings. Now on view inside the Burke on level L1 (right by the Circ desk). Stop by and explore during Commencement Week! Or come back and see it in the Fall; it will remain on display through December

02/24/2022

The Burke Library’s new exhibit, “Gratian’s Decretum and the Foundations of Christian Legal Education,” explores the history and development of one of the most important legal texts of all time. According to curator and Collection Services Librarian , Gratian’s Concordia discordantium canonum (“Harmony from Discordant Canons”) – or, more simply, the Decretum – was a twelfth-century legal textbook designed to reconcile aspects of ecclesiastical law that seemed to contradict one another. The work, which remained an official part of the Catholic Church’s canon law for nearly eight centuries until 1917, had a remarkable shelf life and, in fact, still informs not only religious law in a variety of traditions, but also modern secular legal systems. The copy on display, a beautiful large-format book produced in Basel by Michael Wenssler in 1481, is a testament to the enduring influence of this text in the fields of theology, law, and education. This exhibit is scheduled to be on view beginning Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, on level L1 of the Burke Library (just inside the main entrance).”

Burke Union Rare Folio UB45.1 1481

12/14/2021

Hello downtown! The original building at 9 University Place, NYC, erected 1838! As illustrated in Robert Handy’s “History of Union Theological Seminary” (1987). With rooms for 30 students, rent was free in 1838, but Handy tells us students were billed $5 per term for fireplace costs and $4 per term for laundry service. Most importantly: the acquisition of the foundational from the Leander Van Ess estate, about 13,000 manuscripts and incinabula, a truly fascinating story. ⛪️🐎

12/02/2021

Wishing everyone at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York, and our wider community good luck on and a happy winter ! Check out our December 2021 Newsletter for updates on the chance to curate your own exhibit next Spring, late-night study spots, and more...

https://mailchi.mp/d5ed9ba852b4/the-burke-library-newsletter-april-4336289

11/12/2021

“What does the mean to you?” reads the document, seen by research assistant Yarilynne Regalado (MDiv student). Head to the link in our bio and click “Burke Blog” to read more about her experience as a proxy researcher and a Latinx seminarian in the archives 🗂 ✨

10/29/2021

Don't be AFRAID of the ... Come to our online Library Jeopardy event today at 3pm! Navigate the CLIO Catalog to find witches and zombies and answer trivia questions about history, movies, geography and more! All students at Columbia University in the City of New York and Union Theological Seminary welcome. Play solo or with friends or with your BOO! (Use your own device to "buzz in" via the Zoom Chat.) Register to receive the link: https://events.columbia.edu/go/HalloweenLibraryJeopardy

10/22/2021

October 2021 Newsletter: the Reading Room is open! Read the latest about the newly re-opened library, upcoming events, and more... - https://mailchi.mp/657ba752427f/the-burke-library-newsletter-april-4320709

10/05/2021

For here’s a snapshot of student life at in the 1970s: the first *known* mentions of the Gay Caucus in our archives, from September 1977 in the Union Dues student journal. The students of the caucus held an unconventional “ordination ceremony” for a le***an classmate, and published a list of gay-friendly bars, restaurants, churches and stores (the list had been removed from the incoming students’ orientation packets). Again, these are only the first known mentions— not sure when the caucus was formed, possibly earlier 🧐 It’s important to keep asking ourselves: how will we continue documenting and telling the stories of ours and our and institutions’ pasts? 📚 📖 📝 📑 🌈
Citation: UTS Records, Series 10D Student Publications, Box 4 folder 5 “Union Dues” September 1977. The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

09/03/2021

🌎 📚 ✨

Welcome to National Translation Month 2021! Founded eight years ago, National Translation Month is an annual celebration of global literature. This September, we are excited to present an eclectic mix of books. Ranging from a beloved Persian epic to a q***r Taiwanese cyberpunk novel to a nonfiction....