Religion

The U.S. Catholic Special Collection preserves records of the Catholic Church and Catholic life in the United States and supports the University’s doctoral program in Religious Studies focusing on the U.S. Catholic experience. The collection is comprehensive and includes retrospective and contemporary works in different languages, formats, and media, as well as objects used by American Catholics in their religious practice. The collection is strong on official church documents, theology, religious orders active in the United States, school textbooks, biographies, and books and serials used or published by various Catholic immigrant groups. 

Visit us!

Roesch Library, Room 302. 

The U.S. Catholic Special Collection is open by appointment, Monday - Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. To schedule an appointment, or for information about archival materials in the collection, contact Stephanie Shreffler, Collections Librarian/Archivist, at 937-229-4262, sshreffler1@udayton.edu

 The Marian Library was founded by the Marianists of the University of Dayton in 1943 to make the Blessed Virgin Mary better known, loved, and served. Its presence on campus is a significant expression of the University’s Catholic and Marianist identity. The Marian Library’s unique collections are developed and maintained to preserve and provide access to materials that foster Marian scholarship and sound Marian devotion.  

The Marian Library is recognized both nationally and internationally as a center for scholarship on the Blessed Virgin Mary. It serves the research needs of faculty and students of the International Marian Research Institute and of the broader University of Dayton community, and of visitors throughout the world. It also documents the diverse expressions of popular devotion to Mary, and provides public outreach through exhibits, tours, reference services, and its website, All About Mary. 

The library’s holdings include circulating books, periodicals, rare books and incunabula, artwork, and archival materials. Since Marian devotions are present in cultural traditions around the world, the collection is international in scope and includes materials in over one hundred languages. 

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