Boston University is one of the leading private research and teaching institutions in the world today, with two primary campuses in the heart of Boston and programs around the world.

Boston University was chartered in 1869 by Lee Claflin, Jacob Sleeper, and Isaac Rich, three successful Methodist businessmen whose abolitionist ideals led them to envision and create a university that was inclusive—that opened its doors to the world—and engaged in service to and collaboration with the city of Boston.

The School of Theology originated in 1839 when a group of lay and ministerial delegates of the Methodist Episcopal Church began a school for the improvement of theological training. As the founding School of Boston University, the School of Theology now stands at the heart of the Charles River Campus, surrounded by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law, Mugar Memorial Library, the George Sherman Union, and Marsh Chapel. Friends and members of the United Methodist Church provided the major funding for the School's seven-story modified Gothic-style building, designed in 1948. Within this main facility are administrative offices, the Oxnam Room and Hartman Room, the Jefferson-Brown Room, the Muelder Chapel, and the School of Theology Library. 

The Boston Theological Institute is rooted in the history of theological reflection in New England and in the schools that were formed in this region for the training of clergy. The remarks that follow on the history of the BTI are taken from the thesis written by Brian Boisen, “A Brief History of the First Twenty-Five Years of The Boston Theological Institute,” submitted to the Department of Church History of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for the requirements of the degree Master of Arts, 15 April 1994. They were written on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the BTI, acknowledged with a symposium titled "Christianity and Civil Society: Theological Education and Public Life."

The Boston Library Consortium, an association of 19 academic and research libraries located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, is dedicated to sharing human and information resources to advance the research and learning of its constituency. Founded in 1970, the Consortium supports resource sharing and enhancement of services to users through programs in cooperative collecting, access to electronic resources and physical collections, and enhanced interlibrary loan and document delivery. Access to research materials at member institutions is facilitated by:

• Access of members online catalogs, and other information resources;

• interlibrary loan; enhanced by the Virtual Catalog.

• on-site use of most member libraries. (Consult reference staff at a Consortium library or contact the individual libraries for detailed information).

• borrowing privileges for qualified researchers.

• Information including website addresses, street addresses, directions, hours, and circulation policies is found in this User Guide.