Leo Taylor Crismon (1906-1986) was a librarian at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1937 to 1971. He served as Assistant Librarian under T. A. Johnson from 1937 until 1939. After Johnson’s death in 1939, W. Hersey Davis became the Seminary Librarian, and Crismon received the title of Associate Librarian in 1940. Following the death of Davis in 1949, Crismon became the seminary’s Acting Librarian. In 1951, Crismon received official promotion to Seminary Librarian, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1971. Following his retirement, Crismon embarked upon extensive international travel as a library consultant for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board personnel in the Middle East and East Asia. Crismon was a long-time member of Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, and he also served as secretary of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (1957-1986) and clerk of the Long Run Baptist Association (1946-1970).

The Leo T. Crismon records contain the files that Crismon maintained in his official capacity as a librarian at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The collection contains material pertaining to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) and the SBTS Library. It also contains material that reflects Crismon’s involvement with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and the Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Archives has prepared an online finding aid for this collection.

Location: Archives (Manuscript collection in Rare Book Room, 2nd floor)