Library News

The online platform that hosts the A-Z list of research databases and all of the research guides got a refresh today. Take a look!

Academic Technology Librarian Patrick Milas' book review of Ruth Langer's Jewish Liturgy : A Guide to Research was recently published by Taylor & Francis.

Milas, T. Patrick. Jewish Liturgy: A Guide to Research, by Ruth Langer, Journal of Religious and Theological Information 16(3) July 2017: 117-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1047...

Use the new New Books tab in the library catalog to see which titles have been added in the last week, two weeks, three weeks or four weeks. Results are sorted by call number by default but may be sorted by author or title using a drop down menu.

This week’s release of updates to the Summon search tool included several accessibility and usability improvements, but we wanted to make sure you knew about another new feature that came online earlier this summer, the bX Recommender.

The integration of the bX Recommender with Summon means that in some search results, you’ll see a "Related Articles" link. These links, and the results they return, are based on global usage data (from more than 450 institutions) and give you one more avenue for exploring and discovering library material.

The Princeton Theological Seminary Library recently purchased online access to a curated selection of the International Critical Commentary series titles.

From the publisher: "For over 100 years, the International Critical Commentary series has held a special place among works on the Bible. It has brought together all the relevant aids to exegesis – linguistic and textual no less than archaeological, historical, literary and theological – with a level of comprehension and quality of scholarship unmatched by any other series. Contributors have been invited for their scholarly distinction rather than adherence to any one school of thought. This collection is a curated selection of 59 titles from throughout the series' history, including both long-unavailable titles and newly-published research."

The Princeton Theological Seminary Library recently purchased the following databases:

• New Pauly Online
• Textual History of the Bible Online
• World Council of Churches Online: World War II Era Records

There are now keyword searchable, synchronized audio transcripts available for over 2,100 of the audio recordings in the Theological Commons.

Here are just a few examples:

• Lefferts A. Loetscher The Bible and Social Justice, 1955 The University of the Air
• Charles W. Colson and Harold E. Hughes The American Spirit in the Aftermath of War and Watergate, 1975 C.S. Lewis Society of Princeton public lecture
• Peter J. Gomes Forming the Beloved Community, 1986 Second semester opening Communion service
• Albert J. Raboteau Black Religious Protest, 1986 Stone Lectures
• Diana L. Eck The Demographics of Multireligious America : A Tour of the Invisible and Visible Landscape of American Cities, 1994 Stone Lectures

As we move into summer, the Library continues to highlight some of the collection's diverse voices with a selection of books and other resources relating to disability and inclusion. Check out works by Jean Varnier, John Swinton and many others.

Many thanks to Susan Britt (Head of Circulation Services) and Joel Estes (PTS alumnus, and Associate Director of Web Communications) for their contributions to this list, and special thanks to Susan for the beautiful displays on the Concourse of the Library.

With the recent purchase of Twentieth Century Religious Thought, Volume 3: Judaism from Alexander Street Press, the Library now provides access to all three modules of the Twentieth Century Religious Thought Library.

Both current Princeton Theological Seminary students, faculty and staff, and PTS alumni with activated network IDs may access the Twentieth Century Religious Thought Library (links below).

The Princeton Theological Seminary Library offers access to select research databases and lifetime borrowing privileges to all graduates of Princeton Theological Seminary. Enjoy!