This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
This collection was assembled from records in the Missionary Research Library before its 1976 closure. These records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
The Missionary Research Library was created by John R. Mott in 1914 after the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910. It was created to be a resource for missionaries and to document the missionary movement, and was initially funded by John D. Rockefeller. It was located at the Madison Avenue headquarters of the Foreign Missionary Conference of North America. By the 1920s, funding was becoming scarcer; therefore it was moved to the Brown Tower of the Union Theological Seminary, New York City in 1929. The Library was an important center of information and research. Active missionaries would consult the material of the Missionary Research Library while on furlough. Much of the Library's success was due to the director and librarian, Charles H. Fahs. Upon his retirement in 1948, the MRL's financial difficulties continued until it was finally integrated as one with the Burke Library's collections in 1967. In 2004, the Burke Library was fully integrated with the Columbia University Library System.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL5, East Asia
Item description, MRL5: Missionary Research Library collection on mission work in East Asia, 1885-1960, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. The finding aid was created by Brigette Kamsler in 2014 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2021.
This collection contains materials compiled by the Missionary Research Library that document foreign mission work in East Asia largely during the early 20th century, including a book, manuscripts, conference records, and a manual.
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
This collection is unarranged.
Fragile; handle with care.
Fragile; handle with care.
Contains a note that reads: "Certificate: I certify that the Manuscripts accompanying this note were brought from the great Monastery of Lhassa, Tibet, by the English Army which occupied Lhassa during the Tibetan war. These leaves were part of a collection under the personal care of D. Macdonald of Darjeeling one of the three interpreters who accompanied the Army. On arrival in Calcutta he was employed by the Government of India for several months classifying the manuscripts for the Calcutta and English Museums. During that time he lived in my house and did some of his work there, so that I am in a position to certify to the genuineness of these leaves as they came direct from Lhassa to me. They are part of a work on the Medicinal and religious properties of plants the smaller leaves being in the nature of an index and description. Signed: George Henderson, Missionary of the Methodist Mission 46, Dharamtala St., Calcutta. January 26th, 07."