Berea College: Hutchins Library, Special Collections

Collection Size: 
550
Address: 
100 Campus Dr., Berea, KY, USA, 40404
Denomination/Religion: 
Baptist
URL: 
https://libraryguides.berea.edu/archives
State/Province: 
Kentucky

Berea College Special Collections and Archives holdings include 550 hymnals. Almost all were produced by Protestant denominations or publishers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The earliest hymnal dates to 1782. Most are in English, though German, Danish, Latin, and French hymnals are also present in the collection. Areas of specialization include the song books of multiple Baptist bodies, Gospel / folk hymnals, and works from the shaped-note traditions. These published resources are supplemented by significant archival holdings documenting the Berea College Symposium on Rural Hymnody and the work of Appalachian song collectors and traditional musicians. An additional 50 hymnals are available in the Hutchins Library circulating collection.