Mormon History

The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library have a sizable and long-standing collection of materials on Mormon history. Beginning with the 1899 donation of the William C. Berrian collection, which contained 451 books, 325 pamphlets, 52 volumes of newspapers, and over 500 individual, unbound newspapers, the Library has maintained the collections in Mormon history at a high level. They include histories, biographies, newspapers and other periodicals, government documents, diaries, and letters. Highlights of the collection include the early editions of the Book of Mormon and one of nine known copies of The Book of Commandments. The materials on Mormon history are supported by an excellent collection of American history.

In addition to these collections, which are housed in the General Research Division, the Manuscripts and Archives Division possesses a number of related letters, diaries, typescripts, and ephemera. Thirty-seven letters enhance the papers of the Alfred Theodore Schroeder collection and six other letters came to the Library in the scrapbooks of Charles L. Woodward. Various other files not primarily concerned with the Mormons may include other "Mormon" correspondence. The most prominent items include correspondence from Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde, Sidney Rigdon, Willard Richards, and one of the diaries of Brigham Young, Jr. Readers wishing to use these materials must apply to the Office of Special Collections in Room 316.