Catalogus senatus academici, et eorum qui munera et officia gesserunt, quique alicujus gradus laurea donati sunt, in collegio Bowdoinensi, Brunsvici, in republica Massachusettensi

The Catalogus senatus academici serves as a formal, periodic register of the academic community at Bowdoin College. Published in Latin, consistent with the tradition of 19th-century American collegiate scholarship, these catalogs were compiled to document the institutional history, faculty appointments, and the names of all alumni who had received degrees from the college since its founding in 1794. They functioned as both an administrative ledger and a point of pride for the institution, reflecting the intellectual rigor and heritage of one of Maine's oldest educational establishments.

The design and production of these volumes were managed by the college administration, often under the guidance of the faculty or the office of the secretary. The inclusion of the phrase 'in republica Massachusettensi' on early editions is a significant historical marker, as it references the time before Maine achieved statehood in 1820, when the District of Maine was still part of Massachusetts. These catalogs are valued by historians today for their utility in genealogical research and for providing a precise snapshot of the early academic landscape in colonial and post-revolutionary New England.