How did it start?

P. Boyd Smith was the first president of California Baptist University. These books were once Smith's personal hymnology collection. In honor of his father, S.E. Boyd smith donated this collection to the Annie Gabriel Library at CBU where it has been cataloged, preserved, and cherished ever since.

What kind of books are in the collection?

One of the intentions of the collector was to gather hymn books and hymnals from as many different Christian denominations as possible. The collector certainly succeeded. The collection contains books from over 40 different denominations including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Anglican, Protestant, and more. The collection is also wonderfully diverse, containing books written in over 20 different languages. Hymn books were a symbol of unity and doctrine for many churches. This collection allows researchers to survey the history of worship in churches, with all its hardships and disagreements.

Updates in the Collection

After the collection was donated to the Annie Gabriel Library, Helen Xu spent hours curating these books so that they would be effectively organized. Under the guidance of Dr. Alspach, an English Professor at CBU, the university has raised money to purchase a scanner that will allow scholars and students to digitize these hymn books. Transferring these books onto a digital platform will allow them to be preserved and accessible for many more years.

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