John J. Burns Library Blog

  • Religion and Politics: A Bible Story from the John J. Burns Library

    Every day when I arrive at the John J. Burns Library I first inspect the building to make certain that the HVAC system is running as expected, and that there have been no leaks or floods in the stacks overnight. On the morning of August 8, in the midst of such an inspection, as I… Read More

  • Chummy & Presumptuous: Letters between Isaac Asimov & Father Sweeney

    The Lowell Humanities Series, started by Father Francis W. Sweeney as the Steinman Visiting Poets Series with a lecture by poet Robert Frost in 1957, is a longstanding and integral part of Boston College’s literary and cultural traditions. In the beginning, the series featured not only lectures given by individual guest speakers, but included multi-modal… Read More

  • The Many Faces of Thomas Gage

    In 1648, Thomas Gage published an account of his travels in the new world, the first of its kind to be written in English. In The English American, Gage writes of his travels through what are now the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. His book covered his entire stay in the Spanish… Read More

  • Acquisitions Blotter: News from the New York Antiquarian Book Fair

    This past Spring, I  had the opportunity to attend the New York Antiquarian Book Fair on behalf of the Burns Library.  I purchased several wonderful books, with topics from anatomy to history, astronomy to social commentary.  These volumes are part of the collections at Burns and are now available for your use in the Burns… Read More

  • In Memoriam: Seamus Heaney

    On Friday, August 30th, 2013, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Irish poet Seamus Heaney.  Heaney was the eldest child of nine born to a farming family in County Derry, Northern Ireland. He won a scholarship to St. Columb’s College, Derry, beginning an academic career that would lead through Queen’s University Belfast,… Read More