The indenture that conveyed the John Carter Brown Library into the keeping of Brown University in 1901 stipulated that in perpetual trust the Library was to “preserve its individual identity as a whole,” with a separate endowment, always to have “its own separate and special housing..., and to be kept separate and distinct from any other library.”

“Care, oversight, and management” of the institution were delegated to a committee, which is now the Board of Governors. Members of the Board in 2012–2013 are:

 

Frederick D. Ballou	Andrew Oliver
John R. Bockstoce	R. David Parsons
Antonio Bonchristiano	Christina Paxson, Chair
Sylvia Brown	Jean René Perrette
T. Kimball Brooker	Jane Gregory Rubin
George D. Edwards, Jr.	Clinton I. Smullyan
France Gagnon Pratte	William Twaddell
Paul R. S. Gebhard	Ira Unschuld
Harriette Hemmasi	Gordon Wood
Artemis A. W. Joukowsky