Three weeks ago, the staff of The Burke Library were delighted to welcome faculty, students, and staff from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University to an opening reception marking the start of a new academic year. As part of the festivities, we were also very pleased to open a new exhibit on the first floor of the library: “Religious Communities in the Christian Tradition.”

This exhibit, which is housed in the Seth Kasten Memorial Exhibit Case, showcases four newly acquired items spanning the years 1418 to 1961. These items, which come from Europe, Latin America, and the United States at two very different–but related–points in its tumultuous history, explore different facets of what it has meant to be part of a Christian religious community over the centuries. They offer only a snapshot of the materials that The Burke Library has acquired over the last year. They are also representative of the larger range of materials that make our special collections so special. Every year, we add new material to our special collections. Sometimes, new acquisitions play to our traditional strengths in biblical studies, Reformation/Counter-Reformation history, missionary activity, and social justice movements. At other points, we acquire items that are deliberately intended to expand our collections in new and interesting ways. The items on display in this new exhibit represent both approaches. We hope you will have a look soon! -JW