These items were given to the School of Theology Library by Barbara Owen, is a distinguished organist, lecturer, and organ scholar,. Owen has served both the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society, and is the Director of the American Guild of Organists Library, housed on the lower level of the Boston University School of Theology building.
The collection consists primarily of 19th-century imprints, most from New England, and is especially strong in oblong tunebooks.
The Reverend Dr. Carl P. Daw Jr. is an Episcopal priest and writer who served as the Executive Director of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada from 1996 to 2009, while this ecumenical and international organization had its headquarters at Boston University School of Theology.
Dr. Daw retired his post as an Adjunct Professor of Hymnology in the Master of Sacred Music program in 2019. He also acted as the Curator of the Hymnological Collections in the School of Theology Library.
Rev. Dr. Daw was a key advocate in the transfer of the collection of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada to Boston University School of Theology Library in 2005. He continues to advise the library on its hymnological collections even in retirement.