John Hay Library
John Hay Library
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

The area
Address
Neighborhood: College Hill
How to get there
  • Providence Station • 10 min walk
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles26 reviews
Excellent
17
Very good
5
Average
3
Poor
1
Terrible
0

Grace Fu
Waltham, MA596 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021 • Solo
Only students with Brown’s ID or RISD’s ID can get in. But it looks very good outside and conveniently with disabilities!
Written November 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

John B J
Providence, RI69 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019
Named for Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state, the John Hay Library is Brown University's special collections library. When you enter the lobby you come face to face with a HUGE book of Audubon's paintings of American birds, and the treasures keep going on from there, including a First Folio of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets and an extensive collection of Gorham sterling silver tableware. The John Hay also houses such varied collections as one of both Right Wing and Left Wing books and pamphlets, first editions of American poems and plays, and more than 140,000 pieces of sheet music of American popular songs, one of the largest repositories of American popular music anywhere, including the Library of Congress.
Written December 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charles
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019 • Solo
2 days doing research at hay Library Archives. The staff could not have been nicer and more helpful. Extremely well run. Their policies are generous and help make a tedious job as pleasant as possible.
Written July 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

scottmitchell74
Abilene, TX81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2018 • Solo
Went to visit to look at HP Lovecraft documents. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Glad I went.
Written October 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RadonX
Boston, MA148 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Solo
There is a permanent display, Anne Brown military collection, in the library. It has a lot of miniature lead soldiers, likely more than a thousand.
Written September 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jim J
Portland, ME175 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2015 • Family
For the last thirty years, I've used this every year or two. First, for my paper on lunar mapping in the 17C, which Archibald MacLeish called "better than academic." See my Harvard Astrophysics talk: google "Giordano BrunoHarvard video."
Written September 13, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

2Travelers43
Mesa, Arizona514 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2016 • Couples
We were here on a private tour to see some of H. P. Lovecraft's letters. We thank Christopher and Sarah for the fine presentation and taking the time to set aside some of the interest they have in preservation. We also viewed the toy soldier exhibit which was unique. The building is impressive and partnering with the University it is a nice complement to the campus.
Written June 25, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lynn1950
Virginia Beach, VA662 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2016 • Business
The John Hay Library at Brown University is the second oldest library on the campus. The building is as impressive as the collection it holds.
Written April 10, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NancyWMorton
Tacoma, WA39 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2016 • Couples
We did enjoy the military toy soldiers displayed on the top floor. Surprisingly. But the elevator wasn't working, we couldn't see the stacks. The librarians weren't very interested in helping us.
Written January 28, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

George L
Providence, RI232 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2012 • Solo
The John Hay, Library which is named after a friend of Henry James who was the first modern US Secretary of State, is a stately, somewhat boring marble faced edifice that houses the university's main special collections, collections, however, which are far from being in the league of those at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Texas, and so on. Not much of a tourist destination.
Written September 24, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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John Hay Library - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)