Native American Heritage Month

Nov 1, 2022

November is Native American Heritage Month, sometimes called American Indian Heritage Month.

Part of the purpose of observing this heritage month is to increase the visibility of indigenous nations, tribes and individuals. There are three state recognized tribes in New Jersey: the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe, the Powhatan Renape Tribe and the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation.

We invite you to browse a curated bibliography of selected titles from the Wright Library collection, find material in Cherokee, Delaware, Navajo, Ojibwa and other languages in the Theological Commons and engage with the websites, recordings and other material included in the guide linked below.

Among the resources highlighted you'll find links to the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries & Museums, and more.

New Faculty Book: A Gift Grows in the Ghetto

Oct 24, 2022

A gift grows in the ghetto : reimagining the spiritual lives of Black men by Jay-Paul Hinds has been cataloged – BL625.2 .H56 2022 – and added to the collection.

Summary from the publisher: "In his classic essay Of Our Spiritual Strivings, W. E. B. Du Bois asks, how does it feel to be a problem? This question has become a means of diagnosing the lived experience of Black men, particularly in America's most neglected and feared environment: the ghetto. What is often overlooked, however, is the vital role that spirituality has in remedying the problem. A Gift Grows in the Ghetto examines how not being in relationship with one's gift can lead to feelings of despair, entrapment, and abandonment, all of which contribute to Black men feeling as though they are nothing more than a problem.

By utilizing the biblical story of Ishmael's miraculous survival, growth, and giftedness in the wilderness, the book encourages Black men to embrace a life of faith that is dependent on the God who always sees, nurtures, and is in relationship with us and our gifts in the wilderness and the ghetto."

Image description: Photo of the book with the atrium of the library in the background

The Lunar Bible Lands at Princeton Seminary

Oct 20, 2022

In February 1971, the lunar module of Apollo 14 touched down on the surface of the moon. Aboard the module was astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who carried with him 100 copies of the King James Version of the Bible. Each copy was microprinted on a small, 1.5 inch microform plastic square. This momentous occasion was later commemorated in the creation of a beautiful and elaborate display case for each microform object. The historic undertaking was supported by the Apollo Prayer League and its leader, Rev. John Stout. Along with his wife Helen, Rev. Stout donated many of the Lunar Bibles to museums and educational institutions around the world. Carol Mersch, family friend of the Stouts and historian of the Lunar Bible, helped facilitate such a donation to Princeton Theological Seminary in August 2022.

The Lunar Bible is not only a significant historical object, it also has numerous connections to the seminary. Former Princeton Seminary President, James McCord, ordained Rev. Stout at Austin Theological Seminary and was actively involved in the preparation of the Lunar Bible project. In addition, former Princeton Seminary student Carl McIntire was involved in the Apollo Prayer League and worked closely with Rev. Stout. The copy of the Lunar Bible, currently on display in the Special Collections lobby, was dedicated to McIntire by Rev. Stout for his efforts in disaster relief in Texas. The personal papers of both James McCord and Carl McIntire are housed here in the Seminary Archives.

To view the Lunar Bible exhibit, A Biblical Journey Through Space and Time, and see more treasures, visit Special Collections & Archives on the 2nd floor of Wright Library!

photo of the Lunar Bible exhibit in a display case

New Faculty Book: Worshiping, witnessing, and wondering

Oct 18, 2022

Thomas John Hastings's 2022 book Worshiping, witnessing, and wondering : Christian wisdom for participation in the mission of God has been cataloged – BV2061.3 .H37 2022 – and added to the collection.

Summary from the publisher: "Focusing on educational ministries, Hastings offers a postcritical, synthetic approach to worshiping, witnessing, and wondering, grounded in scriptural ways of knowing God in Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Here, lives marked by worship, witness, and wonder are understood not only to be harmonious with the evolutionary endowments of perception, action, and cognition, nor as well-attested practices of corporate and personal religious life, but also as a tripartite gestalt contingent on divine agency and mediated through participation in Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hastings describes worship, witness, and wonder as ways Christians participate with a sense of common cause in the mission of the God of love and life, who comes to us in Jesus Christ "clothed in his gospel" and in the power of the Holy Spirit, who has been "poured out upon all flesh."

Image description: Photo of the book on a marbled surface

Theological Libraries Month 2022

Oct 10, 2022

October is Theological Libraries Month. Come celebrate with us!

Enter to win a book by a Princeton Seminary faculty member in the weekly book raffle, and follow Wright Library and subscribe to the library's Linktree and YouTube channel, to keep the celebration going.

Raffle Books

  • Week One: Azusa Reimagined by Keri Day
  • Week Two: Encountering Mystery by Dale Allison
  • Week Three: What Makes a Church Sacred? by Mary Farag
  • Week Four: Wounds of Beauty by Margarita Mooney Suarez
  • Week Five (two drawings):
    • A Gift Grows in the Ghetto by Jay-Paul Hinds
    • An Invitation to Biblical Poetry by Elaine James

The Future of American Democracy: The Challenge of Polarization

On October 13, 2022, Princeton Seminary will host the first in a series of three panel presentations/lectures examining the most important conversations around the topic of democracy that are affecting people’s lives right now.

While separate from Theological Libraries Month, we encourage you to attend this Seminary event taking place in Wright Library.* In person tickets are sold out, but you can still register to attend via livestream for free.

*Note: The library will be closed from 3-7pm for this event.

Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship

Oct 7, 2022

Database Trials: Ancestry and Newspapers.com

Oct 5, 2022

UPDATE, 11/7/22: Trial access to Ancestry Library Edition and Newspapers.com Library Edition from ProQuest has been extended.

From now until November 3, 2022, Wright Library has trial access to Ancestry Library Edition and Newspapers.com Library Edition from ProQuest.

Ancestry Library Edition provides access to a wide range of unique resources for genealogical and historical research. Includes billions of records in census data, vital records, directories and photos as well as detailed search indexes and helpful Learning Center tools.

Newspapers.com Library Edition includes 4,000+ historical newspapers dating from the early 1700s into the 2000s.

National Hispanic Heritage Month

Sep 15, 2022

Celebre el Mes de la Herencia Hispana / Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept 15-Oct 15!

Find links to the Latin America Collection, books from the general collections, recordings of last spring's Mujerista Symposium at Princeton Theological Seminary and more in this curated bibliography from Wright Library.

Finding full text

Sep 8, 2022

Download LibKey Nomad and Lean Library today for more seamless access to great content. Both browser extensions are free to install and use.

Lean Library has a convenient highlight and right-click feature for searching Wright Library holdings from anywhere, plus a handy integration with Zotero.

LibKey Nomad gets Princeton Seminary researchers to licensed journal articles in one click and even has a version for getting anyone to open access articles where available.

There's something for everyone!

Library Hours, Fall 2022

Aug 26, 2022

Beginning Thursday, September 1, Wright Library will be open:

  • Monday–Thursday 8am–9pm (no entry after 8:30pm)
  • Friday 8am–6pm (no entry after 5:30pm)
  • Saturday 9am–5pm (no entry after 4:30pm)
  • Sunday 2pm–6pm (no entry after 5:30pm)

For exceptions and a calendar view, visit the library hours page (link below).