Q. Do you have an entire room dedicated to the English author G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)?

—Not quite. 

Before the "new" campus library opened in 1961, John Carroll University purchased the entire book collection of a collector named Robert John Bayer. Bayer was not a JCU alum—or even someone with a connection to Ohio—but his primary focus was English author and converted Catholic G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936). Seeking to put JCU "on the map" for Chesterton devotees, it was decided that the library would establish "The G. K. Chesterton Room," and house Bayer's former collection inside. 

Over time, the mysterious room 324 (which often had its door closed) also became home to JCU's oldest and most valuable books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, and photographs—from handwritten legal documents dating to the 1600s to books printed as early as 1470. As of 2024, room 324 became "JCU Special Collections," and dropped the Chesterton name. 

The Robert John Bayer Memorial Collection remains at JCU Special Collections, and can be searched in our catalog. It contains just over 975 items about and by Chesterton and some authors of his literary circle. JCU Special Collections currently holds over 3,200 items and has encyclopedic scope, though its strengths are Jesuitica, canon law, German-language books, Americana, and twentieth-century literature in English.