Archives & Special Collections
Naropa University Archives and Special Collections holds more than 4,000 books and over 800 linear feet of archival materials. The strengths of our collections include: small press chapbooks and periodicals covering literary works related to Post-War American Poetics, the Outrider Movement, and the Beats. Additionally, we have many holdings of works related to Tibetan Buddhism, including Tibetan Books and the history and arts of Tibet.
As the University Archives, our primary mission is to collect, organize, make accessible, and preserve records documenting Naropa University’s foundation, development, and growth from small Buddhist institution into a fully accredited university. It is the official repository for the institutional memory of Naropa University, including records pertaining to academic programs and departments, University administration, alumni activities, and student life.
Naropa University is committed to effective records retention to preserve its history; meet requirements; optimize the use of space; and minimize the cost and liability of improper record retention. This Records Retention Schedule is applicable to every department and office on the Naropa University campuses.
Naropa University Digital Archives
Bombay Gin
Started in 1974, Bombay Gin is the literary journal of Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics—co-founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman—at Naropa University. The library holds volumes of Bombay Gin in our Permanent Reserve collections which may be consulted on-site at the library during our open hours. Find issues in our Discovery catalog.
Burning Deck Press
Special Collections holds the entire catalog of Burning Deck Press publications.
To view the collection, please contact us to make an appointment.
Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library
Through the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library at Naropa University, one can access the original teachings (in audio, video, and transcript formats) of one of the most important and influential Buddhist teachers of the 20th century.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche Recordings
The library has an extensive collection of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche audio recordings available for checkout. Find them in our library Discovery catalog.
Additional library resources related to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche can be found on the following guide The Legacy of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Naropa University.
Finding Aids & Guides
Please get in contact with us if you have questions about finding aids or guides related to our collections.
Harry Smith Print Shop & Kavyayantra Press
The Kavyayantra Press is the imprint for chapbooks and broadsides published through the Department of Writing and Poetics. The press was housed in the cottage where filmmaker, scholar and musicologist Harry Smith resided. The Naropa University archives collects student works, visiting printers, writers, and faculty related to letterpress coursework.
To learn more about the Kavyayanthra Press consult: Schelling, Andrew, The Kavyayantra Press: A Brief History 1993-1997, (Boulder, CO: Smokeproof Press, 1997).
Journal of Contemplative Psychotherapy
Naropa University partnered with The Windhorse Guild to provide digital access to all nine volumes of the Journal of Contemplative Psychotherapy published by Naropa and the Nalanda Foundation from 1980 to 1994.
JKS Digital Audio Collection
The JKS Digital Audio Collection, a continually growing resource, contains approximately 2,000 audio recordings and once complete will contain more than 11,000 audio and video recordings from our institutional archives.
MA Student Digital Thesis Collection
The MA Student Digital Thesis Collection provides searching and indexing of theses collections to facilitate staff and faculty use. This is an ongoing project. Please contact us if you have questions about access or use.
Foundation from 1980 to 1994.
Magical Poetics Oral History Project
The Magical Poetics Oral History Project was created by Naropa alum Robert Erik Shoemaker. Shoemaker interviews important contemporary poets writing within the Naropa community and the related areas of magical poetics.
Naropa Institute & Naropa University Course Catalogs
View course catalogs for Naropa University and the Naropa Institute from 1977 through the present in PDF format.
Photographic & Image Collections
The photographic and image collections depict daily life at Naropa beginning in 1974.
Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi Collection
The Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi Collection highlights the activities and interdisciplinary knowledge of the founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement. The physical archive from which the digital collection is derived contains 5,000 manuscript pages, 500 audio cassettes, 500 photographs, 50 VHS tapes, and 25 posters and advertisements covering subjects as diverse as Jewish mysticism, Hasidism, spiritual eldering, interreligious dialogue, psychology of religion and paradigm shift. The digital collection includes audio recordings.
Small Press and Chapbook Collection
The Small Press and Chapbook Collection includes more than 1,000 poetry chapbooks, small press periodicals, and other items related to Naropa’s Writing and Poetics program. Many were created by Naropa faculty or visiting artists such as Ted Berrigan, Robert Creeley, Diane DiPrima, and many others.
To view the collection, please contact us to make an appointment.
Tibetan Collection
The Tibetan Collection is a library of 2,200 volumes, containing many thousands of individual texts. A catalog of a large number of these texts has been created by Naropa graduate Justin Phillips, as a gift to the library and future students.
To view the collection, please contact us to make an appointment.
Library Information
SPRING 2025 HOURS
Email library@naropa.edu for online support
Allen Ginsberg Library is open Monday–Thursday 9am-4pm
Nalanda Arts & Psychology Library is open Monday–Thursday 9am-1pm
ALLEN GINSBERG LIBRARY - MAIN
Arapahoe Campus // 2130 Arapahoe Avenue // Boulder CO 80302
303-245-4725
NALANDA ARTS & PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY
Nalanda Campus // 6287 Arapahoe Avenue // Boulder CO 80301
303-245-4793
