The Flora Lamson Hewlett Library is the central library of the

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American Seminary, theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded ...

. Located on the summit of the "Holy Hill" area of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, its collections comprise one of the largest collections of theological works in the United States, with over 500,000 volumes as of 2014. The library's collections are open to the public. Borrower privileges are accessible not only to students and faculty of the GTU's consortial seminaries and affiliated centers, but also to the faculty and students of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and

American Theological Library Association The American Theological Library Association (Atla) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), professional association, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Atla's member libraries and librarians provide resources for scholarly research to tens o ...

institutions participating in Reciprocal Borrowing. The Hewlett Library also maintains a branch on the campus of

San Francisco Theological Seminary The San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is a seminary in San Anselmo, California with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). SFTS became embedded in a new Graduate School of Theology of the Universi ...

at San Anselmo. It also has storage facilities on the campus of the

American Baptist Seminary of the West The Berkeley School of Theology (BST) is a Baptist theological institute in Berkeley, California, U.S.. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It is part of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of theological schools a ...

and at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

History

Prior to the construction of the Hewlett Library and the founding of the GTU, seminaries throughout the Bay Area had cooperative lending programs. As many of the seminaries moved to Berkeley in the wake of the founding of the

, projects were initiated that included united cataloging and periodical lists. In 1963, a year after the incorporation of the GTU,

John Dillenberger John Dillenberger (1918–2008) was professor of historical theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He was instrumental in forming the Graduate Theological Union which he headed during its first decade, first as dean f ...

established a GTU Library Committee to find ways to collaborate with regards to research materials between seminaries. In 1969, the GTU Common Library was established and had its first home at the

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It is one of the nine seminaries in the Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the ...

. In 1972, the process for designing and constructing the Common Library's building began. The building's distinctive, terraced design was based on preliminary sketches by famed architect

Louis I. Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...

. After Kahn's unexpected death in 1974, the GTU selected the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California-based architectural firm of Peters, Clayberg, and Caulfield, in association with Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis, to design the building. Thomas J. Caulfield was appointed lead architect. Built in phases, construction on the building's first phase began in 1979, and it opened in 1981. The final phase of the building was completed in 1987. The library was named for

Flora Lamson Hewlett Flora Lamson Hewlett (August 14, 1914 – February 9, 1977) was an American billionaire philanthropist. Early life Flora Lamson was born in 1914 and raised in Berkeley, California, and she summered in the Sierra Nevada.Michael S. MaloneFrom a Ge ...

, wife of

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

founder William Hewlett, thanks to support for the project from the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation a ...

Events

To kick off Theological Libraries Month the Hewlett Library holds a booksale on the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

(September 30), the patron saint of libraries. Since 1993, the library has organized and held an annual Reading of the Sacred Text event. Each year the library invites scholars to read and reflect on various oral and written stories to draw parallels between religion and the everyday world. Scholars have spoke on both Eastern and Western religions and focused on topics including:

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, sciences, arts, slavery, and history. The Library houses regular art exhibits on its upper and lower levels. Displays have ranged from modern paintings to ancient artifacts. Exhibitions are generally on display for 4–6 months.

Directors of the Hewlett Library

*J. Stillson Judah (1969-1977) *John Baker-Batsel (1977-1990) *Mary Williams (1990-1997) *John Dillenberger (Interim 1997-1999) *Bonnie Hardwick (1999-2006) *Robert Benedetto (2006-2016) *Clay-Edward Dixon (Interim, 2016-2021) *Colyn Wohlmut (2021-)

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1981 Library buildings completed in 1987 Buildings and structures in Berkeley, California Graduate Theological Union Libraries in Alameda County, California Libraries established in 1981 1981 establishments in California