SJU to Construct New Archives and Special Collections Area

Saint John's University has received a major grant which paves the way for the construction of a new Archives and Special Collections Area as part of the renovation of Alcuin Library and the construction of an adjoining Learning Commons.

The Archives and Special Collections Area is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.

The 8,000-square-foot area will provide a spacious, secure and climate-controlled facility for archives and special collections that will be available for students, faculty and staff at Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict, as well as scholars from around the world.

Located in the Alcuin Library, this area will feature a reading room, a work room and offices for the archivist and the rare book librarian. The area will be handicapped accessible with a fully serviceable elevator.

Saint John's has a large, impressive and distinctive collection of rare books and special collections. Those collections are currently housed in multiple rooms throughout Alcuin Library and around campus.

When the project is completed, the area will house the following collections:

• The Saint John's Rare Book Collection, consisting of 4,630 cataloged print titles, totaling approximately 5,500 volumes;
• Arca Artium, a collection of books and art gifted to Saint John's University in 1995 by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, a noted liturgical artist. The rare book component of the collection consists of 4,575 cataloged titles, totaling approximately 5,000 volumes, and a reference collection of 14,400 titles supporting the use of rare books; 
• Folios of The Saint John's Bible, a modern, handwritten and illuminated Bible consisting of 288 calfskin sheets, totaling 1,152 pages;   
• The Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) collection of 464 cataloged rare printed books, 15 manuscript books and an important collection of 50 Spanish archival documents (the Steiner Collection). The HMML holds the largest number of filmed and digitized manuscripts in the world; 
• The Sacred Music Collection, including over 2,000 manuscript and rare printed scores for liturgical music as well as recordings and documents; 
• Saint John's University Archives, the artifacts and records of the history of the university, Saint John's Preparatory School, Collegeville Institute and other organizations affiliated with SJU.

"Special collections are one of the most distinctive features of our library services at CSB and SJU," said Kathy Parker, director of library services at CSB and SJU. "The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation grant will allow us to exercise stewardship over primary sources that may serve as the subject of scholarly work and as a source of inspiration to students and faculty.

"At a time when general library collections are transitioning from print to digital, these unique historic documents ground us in the particular intellectual traditions at Saint John's. This new space in Alcuin Library makes it possible for us to extend the centuries-old legacy of the Benedictines into the 21^st century so we may continue the work of cultivating knowledge in new ways," Parker added.

Construction on the Archives and Special Collections Area is underway and will be completed in late spring 2016.