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LIS 688D�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Jonathan Eaker Library History Project The Abbot Vincent Taylor Library at ����������� The
Abbot Vincent Taylor Library has a long and colorful history that goes back
over a hundred years. To understand the history of the library, a short history
of the abbey and the college is needed. In 1876, Herman Wolfe was sent from the
Abbey of Saint Vincent in ����������� St. Benedict established a set of rules that his monks were to follow. Two of these Benedictine beliefs are to serve the community and to be life long learners. Both are commitments libraries and librarians strive to achieve.[2] At first, a small room in the new church was used as the library. It held a few hundred books, two sets of encyclopedias and one unabridged dictionary. The room was available for use only about two hours a day. At this time the monastic collection, works by monks and about religious subjects, was kept in a separate building.[3] ����������� The
library would not be what it is today without the work of Father Thomas Oestreich.
Father Thomas started as a student at St. Mary�s College and in 1892, two weeks
after his graduation, he joined the abbey. In 1897, he became the first monk
sent to ����������� When
Father Thomas returned to Belmont Abbey he served as the college librarian. In
1909 there was a fire in the building that housed the library, but most of the
collection was spared and Oestreich worked hard to restore the building and
acquire the books that had been lost.[7] Father
Thomas convinced Father Henry Ganss, the organist at the church�s dedication,
to leave his collection of over 5,000 volumes to the library.[8] In
1913 Oestreich returned to ����������� Aside
from Father Thomas�s departure, 1935 brought another big change to the library.
The school wanted accreditation as a junior college, so they moved the library
into two large rooms and brought over items from the monastic collection that
could be used in the students� studies. In 1936, work was started on cataloging
the collection. Then in 1939, the library was moved to another building in the
center of campus.[11]
In 1948, Belmont Abbey took part in the ����������� Today the library contains over 150,000 items, a computer lab, and a diverse periodicals section. The library has the Benedictine Room, which houses the monastic collection. It also contains a statue of St. Scholastica that was originally displayed in the sanctuary. The cathedra, the chair used by Abbot Leo Haid, is also kept in the Benedictine Room. Other artifacts of the church�s history decorate the Benedictine Room. It is also used by some of the monks as a place to read or do work. Nearby is the rare book collection. This room holds books dating as far back as the 15th century. Some digitized examples of these works can be seen online at http://crusader.bac.edu/library/rarebooks/. The library also holds the Fr. Abram J. Ryan Archive. Fr. Ryan was a well known poet and priest from the 19th century and served as a chaplain for the confederacy. Most of this collection has been digitized and is available at http://crusader.bac.edu/library/rarebooks/Ryanfiles/. ����������� As with any library the Abbot Vincent Taylor Library has its needs. They current library is running out of space for its collection. Many rooms built for offices or classrooms are now used to store the collection, for the computer lab, or for study rooms. Initial plans have begun for moving the library to another building. They do not have the proper funds to restore many of the older books in the rare book collection. One shelf in the rare book room is devoted to those books that are falling apart and must be handled very carefully. One librarian said he was looking through one of the rare books, and it started to fall apart in his hand so he had to put it back. ����������� When
starting research on the history of Belmont Abbey�s Library I looked through
some of the reference books on libraries. They gave basic information such as
location, special collections, and who is currently in charge. A search of
online databases brought about very little. There were many articles about
Belmont Abbey or ����������� After
talking to Matthew, I tried searching other Catholic literature for any mention
of the library at Belmont Abbey. The school and the abbey were mentioned quite
a bit but none talked about the library. Knowing more about the history of the
library now, I would assume this is due to the library being run for a long
time internally by monks and without a professional librarian. I also searched
books and sources about the city of ����������� If
I had more time and was going to do a more in-depth project there are several
places I would try to search. In one of the articles, the letters of Abbot Leo
and Father Thomas are referenced. I�m sure it would be very interesting to see
what they said while Thomas was away in Bibliography The Abbot Vincent Taylor Library Dedication
and Blessing, Baumstein, Paschal. The
Art of Michael McInerney. Baumstein, Paschal. A
Baumstein, Paschal. My
Lord of Donoghue, Simon. �Thomas Oestreich and the Founding of a Great Library.� Catholic Library World 65, no. 3 (1995): 33-35. Hamilton,
Boniface. �Deepening Mayes, Susan.
�The Benedictine Collection at ��������������� [1].
Paschal Baumstein, A ��������������� [2].
Susan Mayes, �The Benedictine Collection at ��������������� [3].
The Abbot Vincent Taylor Library
Dedication and Blessing, ��������������� [4].
Boniface Hamilton, �Deepening Union: A Benedictine Commitment,� in Monastics and Mentoring: Re-Founding the Tradition: The
Proceedings of the American Benedictine Academy Convention Held in Bismark, ND 9-11 August 2002, edited by Ren�e Branigan (Dickinson, ND: King Speed Printing, 2002), 77-78. ��������������� [5].
Simon Donoghue, �Thomas Oestreich and the Founding of
a Great Library,� Catholic Library World
65, no. 3 (1995): 34. ��������������� [8].
Paschal Baumstein, My Lord of |