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Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia

Woodstock Theological Library

Introductory Information

Woodstock Theological Library External

Address: Lower level of Lauinger Library, 3700 O Street NW, Washington D.C., 20057

Telephone number: 202-687-7513

Contact information External

Online catalog External

Digital Collections External

Access Policies

Hours of service External

Open to the public: Currently closed to all visitors due to COVID protocols.

Interlibrary loan: Yes if Georgetown or WRLC patrons

Reference policy: Reference requests are accepted by Ask-a-Librarian form, chat, telephone, email, in-person

Content

Books and monographs
The collection holds 193,000 volumes dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, with several books from the 15th century. Its Jesuitica collection, containing Jesuit spirituality, history, educational philosophy and documentation, is unparalleled. Its biblical studies collection is one of the finest in any one library. 17,5000 volumes of the 193,000 make up the Rare Book collection, which is one of the most outstanding theological rare book collections in the United States. Rare volumes include the Spiritual Exercises of St. Loyola (1548), a complete set of the catalogs of the provinces of the Society of Jesus dating back to the restoration of the Society of Jesus in the early 19th century, two block books from the early days of the Society of Jesus in China (1670, 1700), and a first edition of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith. Woodstock's Judaica collection includes not only a wealth of basic scriptural texts, reference books, and other background reading, but rare items such as an illuminated Jewish marriage document (1790) and an early 19th-century Torah.

Periodicals and newspapers
700 periodical subscriptions; 850 titles from the 19th and 20th centuries. Subject emphases of this collection are Catholic and Protestant theology, liturgy, church history, Bible, biblical studies, Judaism, the Reformation, philosophy, and patristics. The Washington Theological Consortium List acts as a guide to the titles in this collection.

Archives, manuscripts, correspondences, and/or oral histories
George B. Barbour collection: 1,500 items with inclusive dates of 1928-1972. This collection contains 200 photocopies of letters from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, typescripts of 2 lectures, 150 photographs, and 900 clippings, along with pamphlets and articles regarding Teilhard de Chardin.

Woodstock College Archives: The institutional holdings of Woodstock College (1869-1974), a Jesuit seminary located in Woodstock, Maryland).

Microforms
Over 3,000 microforms which reflect the subject emphases of the books collection. The collection is made up primarily of texts and journals containing items such as the Woodstock Letters and L'Osservatore Romano along with other newspapers from Rome.

Databases External

Digital collections External

Subject Headings

Apologetics; Bible; Biblical studies; Catholic Church; Christian biography; Church history; Councils and synods; Dogmatic theology; Gospels; Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint, 1491-1556; Jesuits; Judaism; Missions and missionaries; Moral theology; Patristics; Pauline theology; Prayer; Reformation; Religion and state; Sacraments; Saints; Spirituality; Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, 1881-1955; Thomas Aquinas, Saint, ca. 1225-1274; Virgin Mary; Worship