Drew Special Collections and University Archives
Drew University's hymnology collection, numbering over 5300 non-circulating volumes, is notable for its range and depth. Included are approximately 2800 Methodist hymnals and related works, and over 2500 non-Methodist volumes. More than 25 countries and 20 languages are represented.
The cornerstone of the current collection is an important group of 700 Methodist and other denominational hymnbooks acquired by Drew in 1868 from David Creamer (1812-1887), a Baltimore businessman, prominent Methodist layman, and author of the first American commentary on Wesleyan hymns, Methodist Hymnology (1848). Creamer's collection is the largest and earliest collection of hymnody in the United States that is still intact, and as such constitutes a rich resource for students of early denominational music and publishing, early Methodism, and book collecting. 350 volumes were printed before 1800, the earliest in 1603. Methodist items include all of the Wesleys' works save one (later obtained in facsimile). Many of the books contain Creamer's extensive annotations regarding variant editions and dates, the music sources and publishing histories of earlier editions, reviews in contemporary journals, and the identification of unsigned texts appearing in the book.
During the last century, Drew's hymnology collection has grown from 700 to to over 5300 volumes, spanning nearly 400 years. (A recent gift is the collection of 500 hymnals from the estate of Lois Seyfrit.) More than 25 Methodist churches are represented, as well as numerous other denominations and interest groups. Languages include Tamil, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Korean, Tswana, Sheetswa, Zulu, and Chippewa, to name just a few, in addition to all the European languages.
Methodist hymnals (including those from the Creamer collection), housed in the Methodist Center, include British and American hymnals, both "official" and other, and those of the United Brethren and related groups, as well as Pentecostal, revival, and camp meeting hymnbooks. None of these circulate, although duplicate copies of some hymnals have been placed in Drew's circulating collection. All of the hymnals have been cataloged, and may be accessed through Drew's online catalog.
Drew's non-Methodist hymnbooks (including 500 from the Creamer collection) are located in the main library. They are fully processed, and may be accessed through the library's online catalogue.