Library News

Special Collections often collaborates with faculty members to arrange class exhibits of Special Collections material, especially for various classes in the church history department at Princeton Theological Seminary.

For example, Church History Professor Paul Rorem brought his students to the library to examine items from Special Collections including Geez-language manuscripts from Ethiopia. During the visit, the class also discussed the ministry and studies of another champion for social justice, His Holiness Abune Paulos.

Similarly, Professor Kathleen McVey's Syriac Christianity and the Rise of Islam class visited Special Collections to examine East Syriac liturgical manuscripts and codices, many of which came to the Seminary from the Mission Library of Urmia in northwest Iran.

This Open Access Week, explore the Theological Commons, an open access digital library of over 110,000 resources on theology and religion. The Theological Commons was initiated and developed by Princeton Theological Seminary, where the Digital Collections unit of the Library continues to enhance its features and expand its content.

It consists mainly of public domain books but also includes periodicals, audio recordings, photographs, manuscript collections, and other formats.

Featured collections include The Benson Collection of Hymnals and Hymnology, the Latin America Collection, the Missionary Research Library Pamphlets collection, the Moffett Korea Collection, the Payne Theological Seminary and A.M.E. Church Archive, the Princeton Theological Seminary Media Archive, and The T.F. Torrance Collection of Antiquarian Books.

Students in Prof. Sonia Waters' "The Creative Unconscious and Visual Life in Pastoral Care" class last year were challenged to create a visual Christian reflection on a pastoral care issue, whether personal or social issue. The Library then partnered with Prof. Waters, giving her space on the Concourse of the library to display the visual objects where students, faculty, staff and visitors could appreciate them.

Each year during the summer days, churches of various denominations offer a key event of great educational value, namely the Vacation Bible School (VBS). Children look forward to this event with excitement and anticipation. Churches do a lot of preparation months ahead with the selection of directors, staff, additional volunteers for the one-week program. An important piece of this planning process is the selection of curriculum and training of volunteers to run an efficient event. There are many viable options of the VBS curricula offered each year by different publishers, and it can be a tedious and cumbersome task for the churches to decide what is the way to go. This is where the Princeton Theological Seminary Library plays a vital role in bringing the publisher and the churches together and offering a training workshop which is a very 'hands on' event.

For the past two years, PTS, through its Library staff at the Reigner Reading Room, has worked with Group Publishing Co. in hosting these collaborative events. Sharon Stratmoen (VBS Events/Developer) has been very helpful in getting this program off to a start.

In the most recent training workshop which took place on April 1, 2017 at the PTS Library, the presenter from Group, Christy Thompson, explored the theme for the current year: "Maker Fun Factory: Built for a Purpose." Through the use of various visual props and devices the trainer literally walked through the course, explaining the goals of each 'work station' and their connection with the overall theme. Seminary students and staff plus members from about 30 different churches from New Jersey and Pennsylvania also participated in the workshop. It was a day of learning, fun, and getting to know others.

Academic Technology Librarian Patrick Milas and Director of Collection Services and Assessment Jenifer Gundry, with research assistance from PTS M.Div. Middler Jon Burke (Collection Services Student Assistant) worked together on a research project seeking to document evidence of library impact attested in monograph front matter acknowledging the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.

Drs. Gundry and Milas gave a poster presentation based on this project at the Evidence Based Library & Information Practice (EBLIP) conference at Drexel University in June 2017.

Read their summary report below.

Earlier this fall, PTS PhD student Kelsey Lambright and reference librarian (and Director of Research and Public Services) Kate Skrebutenas developed a "brochure and passport"-style way to introduce new students to the Library during orientation.

Kelsey greeted the students as they arrived in the building and gave each person a self-guiding library brochure and a “passport” to be stamped at five key library locations where they could meet some of the library staff: Susan Britt (Circulation); Kate (Reference); Jeremy Wallace (North Wing Periodicals); Ken Henke (Special Collections); and Patrick Milas (the Digital Media Lab). Students who collected all five punches on their passport received a card for a cup of coffee or tea at the Brick Café.

It's Electronic Records Day! Here are "10 reasons why electronic records need special attention" from the Council of State Archivists.

Tell your story for a chance to win a $25 digital gift card from the American Theological Library Association.

Celebrate Theological Libraries Month by entering the weekly faculty book raffle for a chance to win one of four newly-published books authored by Princeton Theological Seminary faculty.

This fall, we are pleased to welcome Kenneth Cleary (Processing Archivist, Special Collections), Donald Craig (part-time Circulation Assistant, Circulation Services) and Ronald Flewellen (part-time Cataloging Assistant, Collection Services) to the Library.

Ken holds a M.L.I.S. and M.A. in History, both from Rutgers University, and is a Certified Archivist by the Academy of Certified Archivists. Ken has considerable archival experience, most recently at Temple University where he was Project Archivist for the Philadelphia Jewish Archives. He has also worked in the archives at the Hagley Museum and Library, New Jersey State Archives, Historical Society of Haddonfield, Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives, New Brunswick Free Public Library, and the New York Historical Society. Ken is active in key regional archives professional associations, including MARAC (Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference) and the Delaware Valley Archivists Group, where he is the current vice chair-chair elect.

Donald recently finished a one-year contract teaching ESL classes to 7^th and 8^th grade students in Shenzhen, China. Prior to that, he worked at George Washington University’s Gelman Library, City College of New York, and Marquand Library at Princeton University. He speaks Spanish and has studied Portuguese, Italian, French and beginning Mandarin.

Ron holds a M.L.I.S. from Drexel University and a New Jersey State Professional Librarian Certificate. He has done advanced graduate work in political theology, political economy, and international relations. He brings a wealth of experience to the position, having worked in technical services positions in two distinguished libraries over the past 13 years. Ron has worked at Princeton University Library since 2006, serving as Senior Bibliographic Specialist and as Supervisor of Monographs Acquisitions. Previously, he served as Supervisor of Serials & Electronic Resource Acquisitions at New York University. Ron is a member of the American Library Association.

Please join us in welcoming, Ken, Donald and Ron.