Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomás AUST

Overview

The Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomás (AUST), also known as the University of Santo Tomas Archives, is the official repository of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, Philippines. It is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to over 400 years of the institution's documentary heritage. UST, founded on April 28, 1611, holds the oldest extant university charter in Asia, and AUST is correspondingly one of the oldest and most significant archival collections in Southeast Asia.

History and Development

The archives' origins are inseparable from UST's founding. Spanish Dominican friar and Archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides bequeathed his library and personal property upon his death in 1605 to create the institution that became UST. The archives accumulated over the following centuries materials of great importance to Philippine and colonial history. From the founding until the early 1930s, the collections were kept at the original Intramuros campus. Following the completion of the new Sampaloc campus, the archives were transferred there — a move that proved providential, as the Battle of Manila in 1945 destroyed much of Intramuros. In 1993, the archives were relocated to the fourth floor of the Miguel de Benavides Library and again in July 2012 to the fifth floor, where they remain today.

Collections and Holdings

AUST holds one of Asia's most extensive collections of Spanish colonial-era documents. Notable holdings include: the original 1611 Foundation Act; two 17th-century Baybayin manuscript land deeds (1613 and 1625), declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Archives of the Philippines in 2014 — the only known examples of their kind; academic records of national hero José Rizal; papal bulls and royal decrees; the scholastic records of Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and presidents Manuel Quezon and Diosdado Macapagal; national periodicals; and the only incunabula (books printed before 1500) in the Philippines. The archive also holds the world's largest collection of extant ancient Baybayin scripts. Early Spanish-Hokkien manuscripts discovered in 2017, including 17th-century dictionaries, are also preserved here.

Access and Usage

AUST is open to qualified researchers who can demonstrate a scholarly need. Visitors typically provide identification and a letter of introduction from their institution. Only microfilm copies of fragile materials are made available to researchers. The archive is located on the fifth floor of the Miguel de Benavides Library on the UST Sampaloc campus. Digitization efforts are ongoing to improve accessibility and long-term preservation.