The Oliver G. Burk library of books on Natural History is housed at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. With titles dating back to the 1700's, the Children's Library contains a unique collection of natural history literature. With about 3,000 titles, children and adults alike are sure to find a special book on botany, specialized ecosystems, animals and other topics related to the environment and science.
Public Access
While housed in a temporary location at BRIT's Education Office,
the Burk Children's Library is open to the public by appointment only
-- until it finds its permanent home in BRIT's new building.
Teachers are encouraged to check out books, videos and
curriculum materials for use with their students.
To find out more about this special collection or
to make an appointment, phone BRIT at (817) 332-4441
or email Kathy Scott.
The Oliver G. Burk Children’s Library at BRIT was donated by William R. Burk in honor of his father. This wonderful collection is comprised of children’s books on botany and natural history published during a span of three centuries, with the oldest volume dating back to 1790.
Mr. Burk, a librarian of biology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, contributed his personal collection of over 2,000 volumes of rare, out of circulation and current children's books. The collection has grown to approximately 3,000 volumes due to an endowment Mr. Burk has made towards the purchase of new volumes for the library.
The collection contains examples of rare children's books: catechisms of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, chapbooks of the nineteenth century, shape books, board books, cloth books, alphabet books, and educational kits on plants.
One of the most interesting components of the library is a collection of approximately 70 titles exemplifying plant personification; that is, humanization of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Among the most valuable in the collection are the classic Flora's Feast: A Masque of Flowers by Walter Crane (1895) and Elizabeth Gordon's children's books on flowers and vegetables. The oldest book in the collection is The Catechism of Nature for the Use of Children by Johannes Florentius Martinet (Boston, 1790).
