History of the John Crerar Collection

Established in 1895, the John Crerar Library became of the country's great research libraries, renowned for its holdings in science, technology, and medicine. The Library's benefactor, John Crerar (1827-1889), founded a successful railroad supply business in Chicago. Crerar engaged in charitable and educational projects throughout his life, and at his death he left the bulk of his estate "for the erection, creation, maintenance, and endowment of a free public library to be called The John Crerar Library and to be located in the city of Chicago, Illinois."

John Crerar did not specify the nature of his library, leaving his executors to determine that science and technology would be its focus. In 1893, organizational planning began, and in 1897 the Crerar Library opened on the sixth floor of the Marshall Field Building in downtown Chicago, quarters it was to occupy until 1920 when it moved to its own building at Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue. Faced with the daunting task of creating a science library -- the idea was a novelty -- with no university affiliation and no nucleus of books, the Crerar Library's organizers worked zealously to establish an institution which soon became preeminent in its field.

The John Crerar Library moved to the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1962, where it maintained its independence while serving the needs of IIT's faculty and students. In April 1981, the Crerar's directors signed a merger agreement with the trustees of the University of Chicago, designed to preserve the name of the Crerar Library while creating an integrated and enhanced science collection which will continue to grow. The merger was completed in 1984.

From the time of its establishment, librarians at the Crerar Library began acquiring early works of science and medicine. Today these collections range from the classic texts of Vesalius, Galileo, and Newton, to equally rare but lesser known works by investigators and researchers who helped to establish the intellectual milieu of modern science. These books and manuscripts, numbering more than 25,000 volumes, are housed together with the University of Chicago Library's significant holdings in these areas. Located in the Department of Special Collections, the joint collection provides formidable resources for study of the history of science and medicine.

This brief history of the John Crerar Collection is adapted from the introduction to an exhibition catalogue, Nature Disclosed: Books from the Collections of the John Crerar Library Illustrating the History of Science, by Anthea Waleson (Chicago: University of Chicago Library, 1984). Copies of this publication and other exhibition catalogues describing holdings in the history of science and medicine are available for purchase from the Special Collections Research Center.

For further information on the John Crerar Collection, please contact:

Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 E. 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
SpecialCollections@lib.uchicago.edu.