Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: A Guide to Resources in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia Table of Contents - Preface/Acknowledgements - Abbreviations Lists of Entries: District of Columbia - Maryland - Virginia

The Catholic University of America
Rare Books and Special Collections

Access Policies

Photocopying is dependent on condition of materials.

Reference Policy:

Telephone and mail inquiries concerning materials in the collections are accepted. Extensive research must be done by researchers themselves on site.

Borrowing Privileges:

Not a circulating collection.

Networks/Consortia:

WRLC, Washington Theological Consortium, OCLC. Only a portion of the general collections are listed on OCLC; no Clementine or Catholic Americana materials are listed.

Description of Collections

Books and monographs:

There are approximately 33,000 volumes in the general collection and Clementine Library; 15,000 volumes of American Catholic pamphlets; and 6,700 volumes of Catholic Americana (catechisms, 19th-century publications, parish histories), covering the 15th through the 19th centuries. The Clementine Library (Albani family library; Gian Francesco Albani reigned as Pope Clement XI from 1700 to 1721) contains about 10,000 volumes of religious material on canon law, theology, church history, Chinese Catholic converts, and Jansenism. The general collections of about 23,000 volumes are strong in patristics, theology, church history, liturgy, devotional books, and canon law. Catholic Americana includes American Catholic pamphlets, parish histories, catechisms, Catholic directories, and 19th-century publications.

There is a card catalog for the Clementine Library, with some materials listed in an in-house database. There is also an in-house database listing the American Catholic pamphlets. The general collections are listed in ALADIN (shared online catalog of the Washington Research Library Consortium), the main card catalog, and a supplementary departmental catalog.

Periodicals and newspapers:

There are about 25 American Catholic periodical titles, lengthy runs of 6 newspapers, and about 250 volumes of the Catholic Almanac/Catholic Directory. These are primarily from the 19th century, with newspaper holdings extending to the mid-20th century. The collection of American Catholic directories runs from 1833 to 1912.

Subject Headings

Bibliography

Clough, Cecil H. "The Albani Library and Pope Clement XI." Librarium Vol. 12 (1969): pp. 11-21.

Crouch, Archie R., et al. Christianity in China: A Scholars' Guide to Resources in the Libraries and Archives of the United States. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1989. p. 69.

Lee, Carolyn T. Festina Lente: Gold-Tooled Bindings & Gilt Papers from the Bibliotheca Albana in Urbino now in the Clementine Library of the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (October 20, 1989 - March 31, 1990). Washington, DC: V. Litho, 1989?

Olmert, Michael. "A Pope's Library is Brought to Light After 200 Years" (A New Window Opens on the Renaissance: Scholars Rediscover Pope Clement XI's Library in Washington"). Smithsonian Vol. 8, no. 10 (January 1978): pp. 70-77.

Peebles, Bernard M. "The 'Bibliotheca Albana Urbinas' as Represented in the Library of the Catholic University of America." In Didascaliæ: Studies in Honor of Anselm M. Albareda. ed. S. Prete. New York, NY: Bernard M. Rosenthal, Inc., 1961. Pp. 329-352.

Rare Books and Special Collections [Online]. Available HTTP. URL http://libraries.cua.edu/rarecoll.html. August 1999.

Witty, Francis J. "Four Music Books at Washington from the Pontificate of Benedict XIII." In Didascaliæ. Pp. 519-533.