Archives landing page image St. John’s Lewis Avenue campus

University Archives and Special Collections

QUESTION. CREATE. TRANSFORM

The University Archives and Special Collections is open to researchers by appointment only.

Archives Research Request Form

University Archives and Special Collections

The St. John’s University Archives, a unit of the University Libraries, houses the administrative and historical records of the University. This department also administers the University Special Collections, which includes rare books, bibles, art catalogs, manuscripts, and other unique materials.

University Archives image of St. John's College building

University Archives

A colorful accordian fold book from Special Collections

Special Collections

two carofano apothecary jars

Digital Collections

woman searching in a card catalog

Finding Aids

Mission

The Archives reflects the mission of the University by providing equal access to qualified researchers; by preserving the records of the University's Catholicity and its urban and Vincentian origins; by recording the relationship between Catholic higher education and its metropolitan urban setting; by documenting academic, administrative and student life; and by instructing, assisting and encouraging faculty, staff, students and researchers in the uses of archival holdings.

  • To identify the administrative records and papers of St. John's University from college origins in the late 1860s to the present;
  • To appraise them for legal, fiscal and administrative values, and for "enduring historical value;"
  • To bring them into archival custody; to arrange, describe, and preserve them for long-term preservation, reference and access.

Archives on Social Media

Hours

Use of the University Archives and Special Collections is by appointment only. Please email [email protected] or call 718-990-1465 for assistance.

Contact Info

St. John's University Archives
St. Augustine Hall, Rm B-20
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439 
Phone: 718-990-1465
Email: [email protected]

Call or email us to make a research appointment. 

Classes

Faculty are invited to schedule a class visit tailored to meet specific learning objectives, or encourage students to explore the collections on their own. A class session can increase student engagement through hands-on experience with historical resources. Students will gain familiarity with archival research methods and primary source analysis skills.

Examples of class sessions and project assignments include:
•    General introduction to archival research and primary source analysis.
•    Using documents or artifacts as inspiration for writing assignments.
•    In-depth analysis of one or more historical items for a research paper or multimedia project.
•    Student curated exhibitions.

Please contact us several weeks in advance so that we can accommodate your desired dates and times as best as possible.

Additional Information

St. John’s Prep Records

The St. John’s University Archives holds selected original St. John’s Prep materials, including some yearbooks. The Diocesan Archives of Brooklyn has custody of the original student records up to August 1972. Records after 1972 are in the custody of the current St. John’s Prep.  

Office of the Archivist
R.C. Diocese of Brooklyn
310 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn NY 11215
(718) 965-7300
[email protected]

St. John's Preparatory School 
21-21 Crescent Street
Astoria, NY 11105
(718) 721-7200

Vincentian Archives
The St. John’s University Archives formerly housed records of the Eastern Province USA of the Congregation of the Mission. The Vincentian records are now housed at St. Vincent's Seminary in Philadelphia.

Honey Rodgers
St. Vincent's Seminary
The Ducournau Archives
500 East Chelten Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19144
Phone: (215) 713-2434
Fax: (215) 848-5074
Email: [email protected]