Harold B. Lee Library

Robert Burns

Maggie Gallup Kopp, Curator

If you have reference questions relating to this collection or questions for the curator, please e-mail us at maggie_kopp@byu.edu.

Collection Highlights and Other Resources

About the Collection

Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet and songwriter, widely regarded as Scotland’s national poet. He is considered a pioneer of the Romantic Movement and after his death became an important source of inspiration to the founders of liberalism and socialism. Burns collected folk songs from across Scotland and often revised or adapted them. His poem (and song) “Auld Lang Syne” is often sung at New Years and “Scots Wha Hae” served as the unofficial national anthem of Scotland for many years. Burns’s night is still celebrated by many people Scottish people around the world on the 25th of January.

The core of the Robert Burns collection at BYU was donated by Mrs. Robert Forster, a former librarian at the Salt Lake Public Library, and the BYU Library continues to actively collect primary and secondary works (biographies and criticism), relating to the life and career of Robert Burns, including all editions of works by Burns.