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By Colleen Hoelscher

"The good hymn—one which endures and can be repeated without becoming tedious—is a significant part of our religious identity. It is sung prayer, a way of expressing our relation with God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the saints. It is an effective form of teaching and presenting what we believe." – Fr. Thomas Thompson, S.M. ("The Popular Marian Hymn in Devotion and Liturgy," Marian Studies, vol. XLV, 1994)

Did you know that we have an extensive collection of sheet music related to the Blessed Virgin Mary here in the Marian Library? The Marian Sheet Music Collection contains over 700 different songs, including hymns, Mass settings, and even Christmas carols, in twelve different languages, with pieces dating back to the sixteenth century.

Although the sheet music cannot be checked out from the library, it is available for use in our reading room, or can be used in the classroom through special arrangement. We are currently working on digitizing some of the oldest and rarest pieces in the collection.

A full inventory of the collection can be viewed on our website: http://ecommons.udayton.edu/finding_aid/81/

Questions? Please contact Colleen Hoelscher, Archivist and Collections Librarian for the Marian Library, at choelscher1@udayton.edu