| Burns Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | 140 Commonwealth Ave Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States |
| Type | Academic |
| Established | 1986 |
| Branch of | Boston College |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, manuscripts, scores, music recordings, photographs, maps, journals, oral histories, and pamphlets |
| Other information | |
| Website | libguides |
The John J. Burns Library, located on the Chestnut Hill Campus of Boston College, is recognized for its extensive Irish collections and rare books, establishing it as a specialized research library. The library's holdings include a broad range of materials related to Irish literature, music, Jesuitica (publications and manuscripts related to Jesuit Catholicism), and the university's own archives. These holdings consist of books, manuscripts, music scores, recordings, photographs, maps, journals, oral histories, and pamphlets connected to Ireland and the Irish-American experience.[1][2] The library's holdings contain over 300,000 books and 17 million rare manuscripts and artifacts. It is the largest collection of Irish rare books and manuscripts in the Western Hemisphere.[3]
The Burns Librarian is Christian Dupont.[4] Robert O'Neill served as the Burns Librarian for 26 years before his retirement in 2014.[5] O'Neill assembled some of the most significant library and archival collections pertaining to the four Irish authors who have thus far been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature: William Butler Yeats (1923), George Bernard Shaw (1925), Samuel Beckett (1969), and Seamus Heaney (1995).[6]
- ^ Parks, Betsy (2022-07-22). "The Burns Library is home to much of the nation's Irish American history". Very Local. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ Loftus, Alana (2024-04-21). "Collection 'creates strong Irish identity' at Boston College Library". Irish Star. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ Harty, Patricia (20 March 2013). "Brian P. Burns: Art Collector and Benefactor". Irish America. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Farley, Connor (2014-09-22). "Dupont Joins BC As New Director Of Burns Library". The Heights. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ "SALUTING A SCHOLAR FOR A JOB WELL DONE; A fond adieu to Robert O'Neill, Director of Burns Library at BC". Boston Irish. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ Dupont, Christian. "The Irish Collections in the John J. Burns Library". Boston College, the Irish Connection: History, Art, Culture, Scholarship. Retrieved 16 January 2017.