Celebrating the Brethren Historical Library and Archives during National Archives Awareness Month

By Jen Houser

October is National Archives Awareness Month! Archives everywhere are a wonderful tool that anyone can utilize to learn more about any topic they are interested in.

The Brethren Historical Library and Archives (BHLA) started in 1936 as the J.H. Moore Memorial Library. Over the past decades, the BHLA has evolved into the official repository for the denomination’s records.

The BHLA holds more than 4,000 books, more than 35,000 photographs, and countless linear feet of documents and files that capture our denomination’s vast history. With aid from the Brethren Heritage Center and various Brethren college and university archives, the BHLA can be an excellent resource in aiding in any historical research or questions that you may have about the Church of the Brethren.

For more information on how to contact us or to learn more, please visit www.brethren.org/bhla.

— Jen Houser is director of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives, located at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

*A glimpse of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives at the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill. Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford*

Please pray… For the ministry of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives, and the work of its staff.

*One of the German-language Bibles from some of the oldest parts of the collection at the Brethren Historical Library and Archives. Photo courtesy of the BHLA*

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