OUR CHURCH: Thomas Bray Library

   

The Thomas Bray Library at St. Paul's has been in existence since the Rev. Dr. C Julian Bartlett was Rector (1950-1955). The Rev. Thomas Bray (for whom the Library is named) came to America in 1699 as Commissary of the Bishop of London.  He was instrumental in the establishment of over forty of the early libraries in the country.  The St Paul's library was started by one of the active women's groups at St. Paul's which had two or three members who were librarians.  Agatha Brown, one of the first librarians, catalogued the collection with the Library of Congress system.   The current Librarian, Anne Greenwood, has managed the Library for the last 20 years.  She has focused the collection on religious books, with special emphasis on the Bible: variations, commentary, and history.  The library is augmented with books and articles on people of note buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.  The books are housed in the Library room in the Administrative wing of the St Paul's Center. You are invited to come and use the library as part of our outreach program to bring books of religious interest to the community.