I never really dreamed we would get a donation of this kind. A resource of this caliber is usually only available at large, well-endowed university libraries. Contained between the pages of the books are records of missionaries. Jesuit Relations also provides geographic and other details which include references to lakes, rivers, streams, weather, trips, forecasts, earthquakes and storms. According to Ornstein, the collection provides invaluable information about the flora and fauna of the northeast and a wealth of information about Natives and their beliefs, customs, tribal divisions, government and dealings with settlers.
Genealogy is names, dates and places.
The set of Jesuit Relations had been in circulation at the Dyer Library in the early 1920's. Shortly after the disappearance of one of the volumes in 1922, the remaining 72 books were pulled from the public shelves and moved into a private office. Just over a month ago the library's collection committee agreed to discontinue housing the books. Although the incomplete set could have been sold for a substantial amount of money, the library decided instead to donate the volumes to the Archives. An instrumental influence on that decision was Dyer Librarian Jerry Morin, a St. John Valley native, who in the past has directed other such gifts to the Acadian Archives and to the University.