Acquisitions Afternoon 2025:
Building a Library of Puritan History with Dr. Frank Bremer
Dr. Frank Bremer
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 1-2 pm EST | Virtual
This special virtual event was held in honor of the generosity of collector-donors and the launch of the CLA’s 2025 Adopt-a-Book program.
The Congregational Library & Archives’ collection began in 1856 when eight donors contributed items from their personal collections that they believed to be important to understanding and interpreting the Congregational story. 171 years later, the CLA’s collection numbers over 225,000 print and manuscript works, many of which were donated from private collectors. The collection continues to grow each year.
This program began with Dr. Francis Bremer discussing the library of British and North American puritan scholarly books and microfilm he recently donated to the Congregational Library & Archives. After a short Q&A session with Dr. Bremer, staff members wrapped up the discussion by sharing some of their favorite books up for adoption this year.
See the items up for adoption in our 2025 Adopt-a-Book program on our website.
SPEAKER BIO
Dr. Francis J. Bremer has been a student of puritanism in England and New England for over fifty years. Over the course of that time he has taught at various institutions, retiring from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 2011. He has held fellowships at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England and at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He was also a scholar in residence at Queen's College in Belfast, United Kingdom. Dr. Bremer served as Editor of the Winthrop Papers for the Massachusetts Historical Society. He has published nineteen books and numerous articles in the field and continues to be active, currently working on four other projects. He served two terms on the Board of the Congregational Library & Archives.