TLM 2009 Grant Winners
Catholic Theological Union, Paul Bechtold Library
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary- Southern California
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Ryan Memorial Library
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Hamma Library
TLM 2009 Participants
- Atlantic School of Theology
- Australian Lutheran College, Löhe Memorial Library
- Bethel Seminary San Diego
- Bethel Seminary St. Paul
- Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary and College, Keith C. Wills Library
- Caribbean Wesleyan College (Jamaica, West Indies)
- Catholic Theological Union, Paul Bechtold Library
- Columbia International University, G. Allen Fleece Library
- Columbia Theological Seminary, John Bulow Campbell Library
- Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Miller Library
- Covenant Theological Seminary
- Duke University, Divinity School Library
- Fuller Theological Seminary
- Erskine Theological Seminary, McCain Library
- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Arizona
- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Northern California
- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Pacific Northwest
- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Rocky Mountain
- Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Southern California
- Graduate Theological Union
- Hartford Seminary
- Harvard Divinity School, Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Harvest Bible College
- The JKM Library
- Louisville Seminary, Ernest Miller White Library
- Lourdes College
- Loyola Marymount University, William H. Hannon Library
- Luther Seminary
- Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Lineberger Memorial Library
- Moravian College & Moravian Theological Seminary, Reeves Library
- Phillips Theological Seminary
- Providence College and Seminary
- Reformed Theological Seminary
- Seminary of the Southwest, Booher Library
- St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Ryan Memorial Library
- St. John's Seminary
- St. Mary's Seminary, Cardinal Beran Library
- St. Peter's Seminary, A.P. Mahoney Library
- St. Vincent de Paul Seminary
- St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Southern Methodist University, Bridwell Library
- Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Hamma Library
- Toccoa Falls College, Seby Jones Library
- Union-PSCE, William Smith Morton Library
- Union Theological Seminary, Burke Library
- United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Spencer Library
- University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary
- Victoria University, Emmanuel Library
- Virginia Theological Seminary, Bishop Payne Library
- Wartburg Theological Seminary
- Western Seminary Sacramento
- Westminster Theological Seminary, Montgomery Library
- Yale University Divinity Library
TLM 2008 Plans and Activities
The library will sponsor an evening with Bethel authors. The project is intended to highlight the connection between the library and the faculty as key to the life of the seminary. The evening will include readings from the author's books, interaction between the authors, and questions from the audience. Refreshments will be served.
-Mariel Deluca Voth, Library Director
Catholic Theological Union, Paul Bechtold Library
The library will be starting a film discussion group using films purchased from FilmMovement.com, which is marketing and licensing films from major film festivals from around the world for public performances in libraries. The library has been collecting books on the topic of theology and film for a number of years in support of CTU's theology and film classes. We hope the film discussion group will encourage more people to use the film studies books in the library's collection. A film discussion group in the library will also further establish the library as an inviting place for engaging with others intellectually within our community. We plan to hold the first film showing in October for Theological Libraries Month. Our intended audience is the CTU community, as well as library patrons from the Hyde Park cluster of theological schools. The general public will also be welcome at the film discussions, but the focus will be theological reflection and engagement through the medium of film.
-Lisa Gonzalez
Columbia Theological Seminary, John Bulow Campbell Library
October 1, 2009
Faculty Publication Celebration
The campus was invited to view recent publications by the faculty including books, edited books, essays, articles, and reviews, all from our collection.
An Invitation to Celebrate
CTS Faculty Publications
on the occasion of the beginning of
Theological Libraries Month
Thursday, October 1, 2009, 3:00-4:30PM
Lobby of Campbell Library
Hosted by the Campbell Library Staff
Exhibits***Conversation***Refreshments
October 5-9
Library Scavenger Hunt
Each day a scavenger hunt question was emailed to the community. Participants came to library, found the answer, and placed their ballot in the box. The winner was drawn on Friday and was given a gift certificate to the seminary bookstore.
Theological Libraries Month-October 5-8 with a
WIN A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE cts Bookstore
1. Check your campus email every morning, Monday-Thursday, for a new question. 2. Stop by the library, fill out the question form with your name. 3. Hunt for the answer. 4. Drop the answer into the BOX in the library lobby.
You can find all the answers to all of your questions at the library.
Friday, October 16
Chapel Service
The library staff and student staff led the Friday service of Word and Sacrament.
October 19-23
Whose Book is it Anyway?
Members of the seminary library committee were asked to submit the titles of three to five books that were most influential to their professional and spiritual formation. The contest was emailed to the seminary community and participants were asked to come to the library to submit their guesses.
October 26-30
Theological Candy, Where Nurture meets Knowledge
This week was midterm exam week at the seminary. The library offered miniature chocolate bars with morsels of wisdom included on the wrappers! Some examples:
Feed your mind.
Theological Nourishment
Sweet is the Taste of Knowledge
God created chocolate.
And it was good.
-Erica Durham, Public Services Librarian
We are going to celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin. Calvin will be the theme of our decorations, book recommendations, giveaways, and TLM rare book display. We will be sponsoring a Calvin trivia contest with questions submitted by library staff and faculty. Prizes will also be Calvin related, such as a set of Calvin’s Institutes. As usual, we will spread goodwill to all via free candy. All activities will be open to students, faculty, and staff. Outside visitors will also get to enjoy some of the festivities.
-Steve Jamieson, Reference & Systems Librarian
Duke University, Divinity School Library
2009 Theological Libraries Month events at Duke University
- Debra Band, acclaimed Hebrew manuscript artist, is exhibiting her collection, “I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms,” in the Divinity School Library through October 18, 2009. The reception in the Divinity School Library on September 30th was an early kick off to the 2009 Theological Libraries Month.
- October 19th: The “Top Ten Reasons Why” (I should come to the Divinity School Library) Contest begins. Enter the contest from the library website. Winners and prizes will be announced after Dr. D. Moody Smith’s remarks at the "Library Workers Hall of Fame" event on October 29th (see below).
- October 21st, 5pm, Westbrook 0014: Come to the screening of Pavel Lungin’s 2006 film, The Island (Ostrov), winner of 5 Nika awards - the Russian Oscars - including, Best Film. It is a story of reconciliation and self forgiveness. Cosponsored by Duke University Libraries and the New Creation Arts Group. A panel discussion will follow. “I cannot believe such a wondrous thing exists. It was like watching (the book), The Way of the Pilgrim.” (Lil Copan). Popcorn will be served.
- The Divinity School Library “Student Worker Hall of Fame” is an honor bestowed on graduates of Duke who, as students, worked in the Divinity School Library. This list includes the Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune, founder of the Faith Trust Institute and an ordained pastor of the United Church of Christ, Dr. Jerry Campbell, President and Professor of Theological Bibliography at Claremont School of Theology and an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church, and Dr. D. Moody Smith, George Washington Ivey Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Duke University Divinity School. Join us for a special event in the library on October 29 at 12:30pm to hear Dr. Moody Smith talk about working in the library as a student, ‘back in the day.’ We will close the month long celebration by announcing the winners of the 2009, ‘Why I should Come to the Divinity School Library.’ contest.
-Luba V. Zakharov, Reference and Serials Librarian
We will hold a reception for Korean speaking students, faculty, and as many as 50 pastors of Korean churches in Los Angeles to introduce them to our new resources and the Korean databases. This will be held on the balcony adjacent to the growing Korean language collection. Snacks and drinks will be served during the reception. We hope to have up to 250 people in attendance.
-David Bundy, Director
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Arizona
We will be having a display of two old Bibles, with a guessing game of dates on one of them, plus a weekly question dealing with library processes, webpage, databases, etc. Winners of those questions receive free books or gift cards.
-Julie Hines
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Northern California
The flyer below was created to announce TLM activities at the GGBTS campus in Mill Valley, California.
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - Southern California
The library is sponsoring a one day workshop featuring Dr. Leonard Sweet at the Southern California Campus. Southern California Campus has not done a big event for Theological Library Month before this year. Dr. Sweet was rated as one of the 50 most influential Christian thinkers by his peers. The library will provide a continental breakfast and welcome packet. Our intended audience is SCC students, local pastors, denominational leaders, and other theological students in the Los Angeles area.
-Kelly Campbell, Library Services Director
We held a book sale (above) on Sept. 30 to kick off Theological Libraries month. It was held on the front patio of the GTU library.
On October 12, the GTU Library sponsored a lecture by William McKinney, President of the Pacific School of Religion (above and below). He shared his insights on the recent Pew Religious Landscape Survey in a lecture entitled The Changing Landscape of American Religion. A reception preceded the lecture.
Our archives assistant David Stiver has put a link to an audio file from the lecture on our website at http://www.gtu.edu/library/news. We had about 30 people out for the lecture. Dr. McKinney explored the data gained from the study by the Pew Forum and offered links to further information that are now on the library website.
A display of GTU Library history and archival collections were mounted by library staff. More information about the display can be found at http://www.gtu.edu/library/news.
- Kris Veldheer, Instruction & Electronic Resources Librarian
Hartford Seminary Chapel
October 12, 2009
Theological Libraries Month
Call to Worship:
L: Wisdom cries aloud in the street;
P: In the markets she raises her voice;
L: On the top of the walls she cries out;
P: At the city gates she speaks:
L: “The one who listens will dwell secure
P: Being at ease, without dread of evil.”
Hymn: Your Word is like a Garden (Seraph)
- Your word is like a garden, God
With flowers bright and fair;
And everyone who seeks may pluck
A lovely garland there.
Your word is like a deep, deep mine;
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths,
For every searcher there.
- Your word is like a starry host;
A thousand rays of light
Are seen, to guide the traveler,
And make our pathways bright.
Your word is like a glorious choir,
And loud its anthems ring;
Though many parts and tongues unite,
It is one song they sing.
Prayer (in unison): You grant knowledge to humanity, and teach understanding to people. From your own Self favor us with knowledge, understanding, and sense. Blessed are you, Lord, giver of knowledge.
From the Amidah
The Fourth Blessing: Knowledge
The Shemoneh Esrei
Scripture Lessons:
II Kings 22:3-13
The Discovery of a Very Important Book
Revelation 5:1-10
The Reader of a Very Important Book
Qur’an 19:51-58
The Impact of a Very Important Book
Reflections for Theological Libraries Month
Litany: “Accept our thanks, O God.”
For the Spirit of Wisdom empowering us…
For the joy of learning and understanding…
For all who preserved their knowledge in days past through song, deed, and written word…
For present day guardians of truth and vision…
For all who apply in their own day and age the lessons learned from ages past…
For all who discover new insights, expanding on the foundations of our forebears…
For all who strive in the way of wisdom so that future generations might be enlightened…
Hymn: We Limit not the Truth of God (Ellacombe)
- We limit not the truth of God
To our poor reach of mind,
By notions of our day and place,
Crude, partial, and confined;
No, let a new and better hope
Within our hearts be stirred:
O God, grant yet more light and truth
To break forth from your word.
- Of old, our forebears bravely went
The first steps of the way;
‘Twas but the dawning, yet to grow
Into the perfect day.
And grow it shall, our glorious sun
More fervid rays afford:
O God, grant yet more light and truth
To break forth from your word.
- The valleys past, ascending still,
Our souls would higher climb,
And look down from supernal heights
On all the bygone time.
So help us all to seek your will
With wiser powers conferred:
O God, grant yet more light and truth
To break forth from your word.
Benediction
Hartford Seminary Chapel Worship: October 12, 2009
for Theological Libraries Month – October 2009
II Kings 22:3-13; Revelation 5:1-10; Qur’an 19:51-58
“Discovering, Reading, and Having an Impact”
Rev. Steven Blackburn, Ph.D., Library Director
This morning I would like us to think about books – by which I mean more than the traditional codex that is not even 2000 years old, but also scrolls, eBooks, cuneiform tablets, DVDs, microfilms, Kindle, videotapes, cassettes, and so on – just as I would like us to think about theological libraries – by which I mean not only institutional collections such as our holdings here at Hartford Seminary, but also personal theological libraries (which we may have as pastors, theologians, academicians, or simply as believers), digital databases, manuscript archives, even Google Books. For this is Theological Libraries Month, which is a time to reflect upon why, for example, Hartford Seminary had a library – established in 1833 – even before there was a Hartford Seminary at all, established in 1834.
Our three scripture lessons for today – from Judaism, from Christianity, and from Islam – help us to reflect upon the role of the book, and the library, in our religious lives. And they may give us some insights as to why the Pastoral Union of Connecticut ensured that before the first student enrolled at the Theological Institute of Connecticut in East Windsor, there would be theological books for them to discover, to read, and to use in order to have an impact upon those whom they would touch through their ministries.
The Little School of the Prophets, as this institution was popularly known in the mid 19th century, was financed in its early years, by and large, through the proceeds from the sale of a theological book – Asahel Nettleton’s Village Hymns for Social Worship, published in 1824. Nettleton collected just the right balance of traditional hymns from England with some new-fangled tunes and verses from the United States. The result was the first commercially viable – nay, successful – hymnal in this country. The Pastoral Union offered Nettleton a professorship at the Theological Institute, and while Nettleton formally declined the offer, he supported the new educational endeavor by his preaching, his presence, and his treasure.
So in a sense, when it comes to Hartford Seminary, the phrase “in the beginning was the Word” carries more than a double-meaning. That word was not just the printed word of theological treatises, but the word as sung in hundreds of congregations in the new Republic.
Nettleton, by the way, was not only a hymnodist, but also a revivalist. And that is where our Hebrew Bible scripture lesson comes in today. Most of us know the story quite well. By the time of King Josiah, much had been lost, theologically speaking, among God’s people. The Davidic kingdom had been torn asunder by civil war, and many of the tribes had become, effectively, apostate. Even the southern kingdom, where the Temple was located, was falling away in many respects from the true religion of their forebears, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah.
But then, King Josiah decided that it was time to literally clean house, and a discovery was made in one of the dustier corners at the Temple. Ancient words on an old scroll that had been left in neglect and disuse came to light. And within a short time, revival was underway.
Countless works of theology, of literature, of philosophy, of many other fields of endeavor have been lost to the ages, whether through neglect, fire, war, or good old-fashioned book-burnings. The destruction of the great library in Alexandria, Egypt, is not just a singular event: history tells us that more than once was the library in Alexandria, Egypt, destroyed by rioting, pillaging, and calculated mischief-making. Fortunately, in Josiah’s Jerusalem one scroll of the Law, or at least a portion of it, had been saved. Some scholars think the scroll in question may have been the Second Law, or Deuteronomy as we call it. Somehow, someone, somewhere, at sometime, had done their work, preserving ancient wisdom so that it could be discovered in another age that would be more receptive to its contents. A very important book had been saved for subsequent generations. That is one of the roles of theological libraries – to transmit the old, old stories that speak of God and God’s people.
If we fast forward a few thousand years – in fact, the scene in the Book of Revelation is still an unfulfilled future prophecy – we find an instance of when nobody can read a very important scroll. No one is worthy. No one has the capacity. No one has been properly prepared for the task of understanding it. It’s not that no one can access the correct database; it’s not that no one can operate a microfiche reader; it’s not that no one can decipher some ancient script. Rather, it’s a question of being up to the task. In the words of the Apocalypse, only one “who has conquered” can read the scroll.
In a violent apocalyptic setting, of course, conquering is physical – and often graphic. We know that pools of blood are part of the scenery of this portion of Christian scripture. For those of us open to something other than a literalistic interpretation, however, conquest can represent fulfillment of one’s potential, mastery of oneself and one’s field of endeavor. It can be part of an educational process which can be either evolutionary, or revolutionary, in re-forming, in re-creating, not only one’s mind-set but also one’s heart-set. For Christians, the ultimate re-form, the re-creation that is aimed for, is to become more and more like Jesus, seeking to be worthy to read the very important books that have been preserved for us, the very important books that re-tell the old, old story. For what good is it to save something that no one can truly appreciate?
The Islamic scriptures take us back again into the past, showing that truth, in whatever form, is bound neither by time nor by culture, but is universally applicable. The Qur’an shows the impact that a theological book, that scripture, can have on those who discover, and hear, and receive with open hearts and open minds. These books should have an impact not just on our minds, but also on our outlook, governing our interaction with those around us.
The Qur’anic examples are those of Moses, his brother Aaron, Ishmael – Abraham’s first-born – and Enoch. When they receive revelation from God, they are so profoundly moved that they fall to the ground and weep in prostration. An encounter with the very important books of our faith will inevitably move us as the full import of what God has had to say to us – and to our ancestors as well as our descendents – dawns upon us.
No wonder a theological library was considered so foundational, not only here at Hartford, but throughout the ages and in times and places so remote from our own. May we all who find ourselves in this place, whether we be students, faculty, administrators, staff, or librarians, accept with grateful thanks the gifts so graciously given in our theological collections. In them is the reflection of minds both ancient and modern upon the eternal truths which, we believe, can lead to the salvation of the created order.
Amen.
Harvard Divinity School, Andover-Harvard Theological Library
Celebrations will include public events on four Thursdays in October. Concurrent with these events, the library staff will serve tea and cookies from 3 to 5 pm on October 8 and 15 in the Rabinowitz Room on the third floor and from 3 to 5 pm on October 22 and 29 on the first floor. Here is a link to the library webpage:
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/library/news/archive/2009/tlm_09.html
Our activity was a little scaled down from previous years due to budget constraints, but the two things we did do were wonderful (in my humble opinion). First, we hosted four “Chat n’ Chews”—lunch time sessions in our lounge café area when three of our faculty and one alum discussed their recently published books—the content of the books, the process of writing and publishing them, and particularly the role libraries played in the whole process. Robert Cathey, McCormick theology professor, discussed his God in Postliberal Perspective and how the book fit into the whole theological conversation pre- and post- publication. Mark Swason, Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies at LSTC, related his amazing adventures crawling through monastery and seminary libraries of the Middle East in his various writing ventures. Craig Satterlee, LSTC professor of homiletics, spoke of his many publishing ventures and the way local bookstores and libraries helped along the way. And finally, Kathleen Bostrom, McCormick DMin alum, talked about publishing her most recent book, 99 Things to do Between Now and Heaven, and her 27 other books for Westminster John Knox and Tyndale House.
Our other activity was to feature our student workers on our website—two a week. We gave short bios and let the students tell about their experience of working at JKM.
Well, and we had free cookies and coffee throughout the month. Not bad on $35, huh?!
-Christine Wenderoth, Director
We invited a Franciscan Scholar to come to campus and to address the richness of the Franciscan Sources that are available in our Duns Scotus Library. The purpose is to promote the use of this important theological resource at our Franciscan College and to make faculty and students aware of the vast number of sources available for scholarly research. We hosted a reception in the library following the presentation and the tour of the Fanciscana.
We had a wonderful event. About thirty people attended including faculty, staff, Sisters of St. Francis, undergrads, and graduate students. The Institutional Advancement took many pictures.
-Shannon Schrein, OSF, Ph.D.
Loyola Marymount University, William H. Hannon Library
Our new William H. Hannon Library had its grand opening on August 30. For our opening, Archives & Special Collections created an impressive exhibit on the history of the book, while a colleague created an exhibit on the history of libraries at LMU. These are long-term exhibits, but I was able to commandeer the lone case in our lobby for TLM, and also am distributing TLM bookmarks at the Circulation and Information desks.
For the second part of our participation, I did a similar display in the Theological Studies pod, repeating the explanatory sheet on TLM, posters and bookmarks. On the departmental bulletin board I posted the announcement of the Cartoon Captioning Contest, along with copies of the two cartoons, and the TLM poster. I also sent out an e-mail to the theology faculty announcing TLM and describing the small exhibits and captioning contest. The theology colloquium brought in folks who will see the exhibit and bookmarks. TLM bookmarks were also distributed at a presentation by Rosemary Radford Reuther.
Thanks for the TLM toolbox, which always helps!
-Tony Amodeo, Associate Librarian, Reference & Instruction
We are planning events designed so more students and faculty will see our special collections and services. We'll have displays, webpage pictures, blog posts and an open house. We plan to show special collections in the regular library display case. There will be a rare book room open house and reception tour and mini-lectures on the Ed Sovik architecture books and the Christenson Collection on the Catholic-Apostolic Church. We'll have a flash drive gift card prize give away during the open house. We will invite students, faculty and staff of the seminary as well as campus scholars and visitors.
-Jennifer Bartholomew, Electronic Services Librarian
Moravian College & Moravian Theological Seminary, Reeves Library
Reeves Library, Moravian College & Moravian Theological Seminary, celebrated Theological Libraries Month by highlighting our Seminary. We had a display of Seminary promotional materials, along with our colorful Theological Libraries Month bookmarks and a poster with the TLM logo we chose. We also held a contest all month, challenging Seminary students to find the correct number of periodicals Reeves subscribes to (either print or online) in the field of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Students could find that information on our new Reeves Library website if they searched carefully.
At the end of the month, we invited Seminary students to come to Reeves Library’s After Words Café for a baked ziti dinner. The contest winner was announced and received a $25.00 gift certificate for the bookstore.
The two runners-up received beautiful red “ATLAS for Alum” water bottles, courtesy of ATLA (from the 2009 ATLA St. Louis conference!) Moravian Theological Seminary is a small school, and the students seem to appreciate being singled out (among the masses of Moravian College students) for the special attention they received.
-Bonnie Falla
Above: PTS staff, (left) Jules Esslinger, Food Services and Building Care Manager, and Mary Coniglio, Reserves Librarian, enjoy the breakfast buffet during National Theological Libraries Month held recently at PTS.
Above: Laura West, PTS Master of Divinity student, completes research work in the library during National Theological Libraries Month.
The text below is experpted rom Phillips TLM Press Release:
TULSA: Phillips Theological Seminary (PTS) recently celebrated Theological Libraries Month (TLM), a time set aside by the American Theological Library Association, (ATLA) to highlight the vital role libraries play in theological education. As a participant in TLM, the PTS library offered individualized computer training, door prizes, and refreshments.
This is the third consecutive year that Phillips has held a TLM celebration for students. “TLM is a great opportunity to generate awareness of library resources and services while creating a welcoming environment for students during a particularly hectic time of the semester,” said Mary Coniglio, reserves and special projects librarian for PTS, who has coordinated the celebration for the past three years.
New this year was a library-sponsored breakfast for faculty and staff. Thanks to a grant from ATLA, Phillips’ faculty and staff were treated to a fabulous breakfast buffet with an opportunity to enter a drawing for QuikTrip gift certificates. “The breakfast and prize drawing were a very enjoyable way to strengthen relationships between library staff and the rest of the PTS community. It is always important to us to reinforce our commitment to provide a hospitable and accessible environment for the entire PTS community and guests,” commented Sandy Shapoval, director of the PTS Library.
The PTS Library boasts more than 90,000 bound volumes and extensive files of periodicals and other non-book materials. Students also have 24/7 access to full-text journal databases, including ATLAserials® and New Testament and Old Testament Abstracts. As part of Phillips’ commitment to support the continuous spiritual and educational enrichment of pastors and other leaders in the church, the Library offers special borrower’s privileges to local clergy and their staffs.
Recent cutbacks have caused us to do away with free lunches, and it has had a devastating result on the community - no one gathers together at lunch, but stays in their office or building to eat. We all missed the companionship. Then the TLM Mini-Grant program offered us a new way - a once a month, Lunch in the Library program, with the first lunch on us. We will be brown bagging it from here on, but the resulting event, held October 16th, was everything we could want. We served wraps and chips, and had an informal talk by Fr. Dennis Billy on how C.S. Lewis influenced his life.
Our next event, on Friday, November 6, will have Fr. Bill Donovan showing us his travel pictures from Greece, as he traced "The Footsteps of St. Paul."
Thank you so very much. The library is the happening place on campus, thanks to ATLA!
-Cait Kokolus, Director
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
On Saturday, October 3, St. Vladimir’s Seminary celebrated its annual Orthodox Education Day. This year, the focus was on God’s Green Earth: Ecology and Theology. The Seminary Library participated in this celebration by having an open house on that day after the Divine Liturgy. There was a special iconography exhibit on creation – the place where theology and ecology come together.
The keynote speaker for the day was Dr. Vigen Guroian, the author of two books on this subject, Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening and The Fragrance of God. Another speaker was Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff, author of Living in God’s Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on Ecology. Both authors were available during the library open house for discussion and a book signing. This is how the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Library celebrated Theological Libraries Month.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary hosted over 3,000 people at this year’s Education Day celebrations. The visitors came from as far away as Chicago, Washington, DC and Boston. The Seminary photographer took many photos during our open house and here are a few of them.
Above, left to right: Eleana Silk (Librarian) and Fr. Chad Hatfield (Chancellor) launch the celebration of TLM Month. On Saturday, October 3, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary celebrated its 40th annual Education Day campus open house with the topic “God’s Green Earth: Ecology and Theology.”
Above: Following his talk on the “Ecological Musings from the Garden,” Dr. Vigen Guroian signed books and answered questions on theology and ecology. He is the author of Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening and the Fragrance of God. Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff, author of Living in God’s Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on Ecology, joined Dr. Guroian for the book signing and dialogue.
Above: In keeping with this year’s ecological theme, the Library hosted an icon exhibit on “The Image of Creation”.
Above: Blessing of one of the five memorial trees planted on campus.
-Eleana Silk
Southern Methodist University, Bridwell Library
From the Bridwell webpage on TLM:
In October 2009, Bridwell Library celebrates Theological Libraries Month with the theme “Find it Here.” Theological Libraries Month is an effort, begun by the American Theological Library Association, to highlight the vital role libraries play in the life of the institutions they serve.
The decisions that Bridwell library staff make about allocating budgets for library materials, technology and services all have a direct impact on the teaching and research that takes place at Perkins School of Theology. Theological librarians also serve as your information brokers. Whether on site, in the library building, or remotely, your librarians save you – faculty, students, staff and alumni – frustration and time.
To celebrate Theological Libraries Month Bridwell Library staff invite you to “Find it Here” through the following events.
Free Books. We will be giving away used books during the entire month. Look for book trucks located near the lockers on the basement level. Take as many as you wish – the trucks will be restocked every day until we run out.
Breakfast. Stop by Bridwell’s front porch and pick up coffee, juice, and a pastry on the way to your class or office.
- October 1 (8:00am to 9:00am)
- October 28 (8:00am to 9:00am)
BLT: Bridwell Lunch Talks. Sign up for the following sessions through the website at http://smu.edu/bridwell/blt1_rsvp.htm
- Methodist History Resources. October 8 (12:30pm to 1:15pm)
- Library Tools for Biblical Exegesis: Print Resources. October 15 (12:30pm to 1:15pm)
- Library Tools for Biblical Exegesis: Digital Resources. October 22 (12:30pm to 1:15pm)
Exhibition Tours. Take a guided tour of the Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bibles exhibition.
- October 14 (1:00pm)
- October 20 (3:00pm)
Bridwell Library Lecture. Attend a Bridwell Library Lecture “Calvin for Methodists” given by Dr. Charles Wood, Perkins School of Theology professor. October 21 (4:00pm to 5:00pm) Bridwell Library Benefactors Room.
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Hamma Library
Thanks to a generous grant from ATLA, Hamma Library hosted several events in the library during October and held drawings for book prizes and certificates at local restaurants for our patrons. The first event, held in conjunction with Trinity Days, an annual homecoming for alumni, was an open house to highlight our newly re-named Dr. Donald L. Huber Rare Book Room, in honor of a retiring faculty member and former library director. Other events included two well-attended lunchtime book discussions by faculty members Mark Allan Powell and Paul Numrich, who talked about their recent publications. Door prizes were copies of the authors' books. At each of these events, the librarians organized a coffee and cookie reception. Another morning we offered coffee and bagels to our patrons. We made good use of the TLM products offered by the ATLA, such as posters, logos, and bookmarks, and our "TLM table" displayed handouts of the cartoons for the ATLA cartoon caption contest.
-Aija Bjornson, Cataloger
Union-PSCE, William Smith Morton Library
We’re observing Theological Libraries Month with a rare book exhibit called “Tools for Theological Study, 1600-1830.” Here is a description of the display:
Tools for the translation and interpretation of texts have long been essential to theological study. A lexicon, grammar, dictionary or other reference work clearly represents many years of patient and methodical scholarship. They are also very impressive achievements in the art of printing.
The works in this display offer glimpses of three centuries of expert craftsmanship and changing styles or fashions of printing, from medieval through baroque to early modern.
Imagine the care, skill and dexterity required to form a complex multilingual page of print from tiny pieces of moveable type, selected and set in “backwards” from the printer’s point of view. Once typeset, the page must be printed with the exact necessary amounts of ink and pressure to make a clean impression upon the paper. Then the leaves must be properly stitched and bound to make a lasting volume that could endure heavy, even daily, use and handling.
The biblical and theological interpreters of the present owe a debt to the demanding work of earlier scholars and craftsmen.
Sixteen beautiful volumes are on display, with the TLM 2009 logo beside them.
-Paula Skreslet
Reference / Archives
Union Theological Seminary, Burke Library
In joyous celebration of Theological Library Month, and with the support of ATLA, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary hosted a well-attended luncheon for student assistants, library staff, and visiting scholars, as well as university and seminary administrators. In addition to the presentation of a poster on library resources, staff presented oral histories stretching back over forty years of the library, and students assistants and library interns made presentations of their current projects, including a digital slideshow of archival materials processed by students out of the Missionary Research Library (MRL). The event led to broader understanding of the important library work performed by students workers, and to deeper appreciation of the past and present significance of the theological library.
-John Weaver, Library Director
Virginia Theological Seminary, Bishop Payne Library
We are holding a contest for students to come up with the "Top 10 Reasons to Come to the Bishop Payne Library." We also are featuring a display of staff recommendations. This includes a subsection on "Favorite Clergy Sleuths," which has been a lot of fun to put together.
-Susanna Purnell
We will be having several events during October to celebrate TLM:
- Oct. 1 announcement for TLM events
- Oct. 6-10 Fall Used Book Sale in library
- Oct. 13 Cookiefest in the library for Research & Study Days
- Oct. 19 Reception in library for lecturer Mr. Dan Mozena, Ambassador to Angola (we are beginning to work on our Namibia Collection)
- Oct. 20-22 Scavenger Hunt
- Oct 30 Trick or Treat in the library
Our main audience will be the students, faculty, and staff. The lecture will bring in members of the community so it will increase our visibility.
-Susan Ebertz