Library News

In many professions – as well as in many stages of life – it's easy to get so caught up in caring for others that caring for ourselves drops to the bottom of the "to do" list. This month, we're highlighting some books from the catalog about self-care to help us all remember the importance of physical and spiritual health in supporting of lives of service.

Browse and borrow from the display on the first floor Concourse, and be sure to take a look at the subject headings highlighted in the curated bibliography linked below. (Librarians love subject headings.)

On Wednesday, June 20, the library will begin an upgrade of the library catalog. This will take 2-3 days. We strongly suggest that you review your patron record* before the upgrade, renewing those items you are able to renew online. We also strongly suggest returning items before the upgrade or after the upgrade (not during), because patron records will not immediately reflect returns and in-person renewals during the upgrade. Faculty and PhD candidates, you will need to return books you have had for three years.

You will be able to use the online library catalog and check out materials during the upgrade; renewals and returns will not be processed, however. You must have your borrowing card with you in order to check out items.

In short, consider renewing books online before June 20, and returning books before June 20 or after June 22.

Thank you for your patience as we make sure the library catalog continues to support you in your work.

*To review your patron record, please login in to the library catalog using the My Account link below. Check to your borrowing card's expiration date and/or when the items you currently have checked out are due.

Earlier this month, as part of of the eBethArké project (1999– ), Greg Murray, Director of Digital Initiatives at Princeton Theological Seminary Library, trained staff at Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Insititute on using the Internet Archive's table top scribe system to digitize out-of-copyright books and manuscripts for inclusion in the Theological Commons and Archive.org.

Library hours from Sunday, July 1 through Sunday, August 26, 2018 will be Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday CLOSED. The Seminary, including the Library, will also be closed Wednesday, July 4 (Independence Day) and Monday, September 3 (Labor Day).

This PC(USA) Heritage Sunday, May 20, 2018, the Presbyterian Historical Society will be celebrating Reverend Fred Rogers (1928-2003).

"As Stimson wrote, Fred Rogers 'never served in a traditional role of pastor, but through television [brought] his simple message of affirmation and acceptance to a ‘congregation’ of millions.'" (via the Presbyterian Historical Society, https://www.history.pcusa.org/heritage-sunday-2018)

Books from the Princeton Theological Seminary Library collection

• Peaceful neighbor : discovering the countercultural Mister Rogers / Michael G. Long
• The simple faith of Mister Rogers : spiritual insights from the world's most beloved neighbor / Amy Hollingsworth
• Explore beyond the library with Summon Search: https://ptsem.summon.serialssolutions.com/#!/search?ho=t&l=en&q=%22mister%20rogers%22

Elsewhere in town

The Princeton Garden Theater will be screening the new documentary film Won’t You Be My Neighbor? later this year.

For a recent piece in the Christian Century, soon-to-be Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs Prof. Jacq Lapsley has selected six new books, all of which can be found here on our shelves:

1. The great shift: Encountering God in Biblical times / James L. Kugel
2. Telling the Old Testament story : God's mission and God's people / Brad E. Kelle
3. Claiming her dignity : female resistance in the Old Testament / L. Juliana M. Claassens
4. Womanist Midrash : a reintroduction to the women of the Torah and the throne / Wilda C. Gafney
5. The house of the mother : the social roles of maternal kin in Biblical Hebrew narrative and poetry / Cynthia R. Chapman
6. Ancient prophecy : near eastern, biblical, and Greek perspectives* / Martti Nissinen

*Also available as an e-book.

From Tuesday, May 8-June 30, 2018, the Princeton Theological Seminary Library will be open on an early-summer schedule. On Monday, May 28, 2018, Princeton Theological Seminary - including the Library - will be closed for Memorial Day.

The Princeton Theological Seminary Library is pleased to announce the addition of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection and several Credo Reference e-books to the collection.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection includes millions of searchable citations to dissertation and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works.

Credo Reference e-books:

• Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible
• Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics
• Encyclopedia of Protestantism
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of New Testament Background
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of Paul and His Letters
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets
• IVP Bible Dictionary Series: Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, Writings

• Library accounts are renewed yearly.
• Please stop by the Circulation Desk to update your library card before leaving for the summer.
• Renewing your record will allow you to renew books online if you are not on campus over the summer.

You will be receiving an email regarding your library account sometime in early May. Stay tuned.

All borrowed library material, regardless of the stamped due date, must be returned and all library records must be cleared by noon on Tuesday, May 8.

Even though your books may be stamped with a different date, the earlier you return them, the easier it will be for us to clear your records.

A list of students with outstanding fines and/or fees for lost books will be sent to the Bursar’s Office at noon on Thursday, May 10.

Please bear in mind that the Business Office requires a clean slate at Firestone Library as well.

To assist you in identifying those materials which you have not returned and any fines that must be paid, we suggest that you check your patron record in the library catalog as soon as possible.

You may also ask for a printout of checked out items at the Circulation Desk.

If you have any questions or concerns, please send your emails to libcirc@ptsem.edu.

While trial access to Government, Politics and Law (HeinOnline) continues, the Library has decided to purchase access to The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament Online (Brill).