About
In 2023, the Baylor Libraries were joined by the Mayborn Museum and Baylor University Press to form a new division: University Libraries, Museums, and the Press. The division is led by Dean Jeffry Archer and engages the Baylor community, the people of Waco-McLennan County, the State of Texas, the U.S., and the world, inspiring learning, supporting teaching, and fostering research through curated collections, electronic databases, digital archives, creative media environments, engaging exhibits, public programs, and personal expertise.
The Baylor University Libraries originated in 1845 in Independence and have evolved with the university's move to Waco in 1886, the construction of Carroll Library in 1903, the opening of Armstrong Browning Library & Museum in 1951, the building of Moody Memorial Library in 1968, the addition of the W. R. Poage Legislative Library in 1979, the Jesse H. Jones Library expansion in 1992, the emergence of Library and Academic Technology Services in 2001 (now Learning Technologies), the onboarding of the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society in 2007, and the welcoming of the Institute for Oral History in 2016.
The Sue & Frank Mayborn Natural Science and Cultural History Museum Complex opened in 2004, but also traces its beginnings to Baylor's original campus in Independence. During its earliest years, the university collected educational artifacts that were eventually curated and placed into a museum on the Waco campus by John K. Strecker. He added to the collection over the years, and the museum was named for Strecker in 1940. The natural history collection of Baylor's Strecker Museum merged with the Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center, which had inspired learning among children in the Waco community since 1962, to form the Mayborn Museum Complex.
Baylor University Press formally began in 1955 and has gradually matured over time to become a leading academic press focusing on technical scholarship for researchers, tools for teachers, and textbooks for students. Baylor University Press centers on scriptural, historical, and theological studies of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Learn More About the Libraries, Museums, and the Press
- The Baylor Libraries: A Brief Look (PDF)
- Alumni Resources (PDF) | Website
- Armstrong Browning Library & Museum (PDF) | Website
- Arts & Special Collections Research Center (PDF) | Website
- Baylor Collections of Political Materials at Poage Library (PDF) | Website
- Black Gospel Archive (PDF) | Website
- Book Arts & Letterpress Lab (PDF) | Website
- Community Resources (PDF) | Website
- The Institute for Oral History (PDF) | Website
- The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society (PDF) | Website
- Learning Technologies (Website)
- Makerspace + Studios (PDF) | Website
- Mayborn Museum (PDF) | Website
- Moody and Jones Libraries (PDF) | Website
- Online Graduate & Professional Programs (PDF) | Website
- The Texas Collection (PDF) | Website