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• Oblate School of Theology

• Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary Library System

• Covenant Theological Seminary, Buswell Library

• Loyola Marymount University

• Iliff School of Theology

• Saskatoon Theological Union

• Florida State University

• Union-PSCE

• Graduate Theological Union

• Eden Theological Seminary

• Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary 

• Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

• JKM Library

• Wesley Theological Seminary Library

• Duke University, Divinity School Library

• Southeastern University, Steelman Library

The Library staff at the Donald E. O’Shaughnessy Library at Oblate School of Theology celebrated Theological Libraries Month by having an exhibit of exquisite art books donated by Fr. Clarence Mendard, O.M.I. Fr. Menard donated over eight thousand books from his private collection to the library in July of 2006. In his collections there were several large art books that were worthy of special exhibition. It was agreed that we celebrate TLM with a special recognition to Fr. Menard’s collection.

Also during TLM, a display honoring Fr. David N. Power, O.M.I., who is celebrating his fiftieth year in the priesthood, was featured. Fr. Power is a visiting professor at Oblate School of Theology for the fall 2006. He is a professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America. He has taught in Ireland and in Rome, has published ten books, and has made contributions to many articles and other works. The books that are part of the DEOL Library holdings were displayed, along with journals featuring his articles.

Students, faculty, staff, and library patrons enjoyed light refreshments, were given bookmarkers commemorating TLM, and registered for door prizes. We look forward to next year’s celebration and have already begun formulating plans to begin early in October.

Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary Library System (GGBTS)

All five campuses of GGBTS celebrated Theological Libraries Month with a variety of activities.  Food figured prominently, as it provided a natural attraction to the library. This was used as a means to increase awareness of services and resources. The different campus librarians used their creativity to announce TLM, using bookmarks, posters, and banners (examples below). 

Activities varied from weekly signs and displays to drawings and contests throughout the month.  The Rocky Mountain campus used TLM as an opportunity for the new librarian to introduce herself. Northern California tied their annual book sale into TLM, while Pacific Northwest had a scavenger hunt requiring participants to use not only the online catalog, but also the library system's different databases. Southern California encouraged people to browse specific collections (like multimedia) and Arizona provided lunch for the faculty as a thank you for their support of the library. 

"Overall, we felt we were able to improve our visibility to our customer base, and look forward to celebrating TLM next year," said Julie Hines, Arizona campus librarian.

Bookmarks (each campus could put its own logo and the GGBTS library website address, hours, etc. on the back):

Banner:

Circulation area, all decked out and festive

Week 1 display: History of the Buswell Library

Week 2 display: Books on theological Libraries and librarianship

Week 3 display: Sample of faculty publications

Week 4 display: TLM contest! Guess when the rare book was published

"We’re a medium-sized university, and until we open a new library building (which looks like it’s about to actually get built!), our exhibit space is very limited," explained Tony Amodeo, Reference & Instruction librarian at the university's Charles Von der Ahe Library. "So what I did is go through the dust jackets of incoming books (which we usually pack off to the Fine Arts department, which uses them in design classes) and select a whole bunch of books with theological interest (but not strictly theology) suggesting the diversity of scholarly and other areas in which we collect and their support of a broader vision of theological studies. I made labels for the individual topic areas (History, Social Concerns, Renaissance/Reformation Studies, Art & Music, Archaeology, Science, etc.), and fit what I could into one vertical case in our entry way, and two yard-square cases inside the Library. Not much, but colorful and thematic."

The following events are part of The Iliff School of Theology's TLM celebrations:

• Tuesday Nights Together - Dr. Debbie Creamer, interim Director of the Library, will preach on "Wisdom at the Crossroads." 
• Community Worship - Join the entire library staff (and the Iliff Choir) for "Preserving the Past, Inspiring the Future."
• "Lunch with a Professor" - Dr. Creamer will share photographs and stories from the history of Taylor Library.

Several events round out the October TLM calendar at Sakskatoon Theological Union: the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad Library hosted a grand re-opening, while the Otto Olson Memorial Library mounted an exhibit from the LTS Library collections entitled, "Image of the Divine." St. Andrew’s College Library sent out invitations for the community to "come in, sit down, and pick up a book" in order to enjoy the library’s new reading area.

The College of Information's ALA Student Chapter at Florida State University (FSU) dedicated on of its weekly meetings to learning about TLM and theological librarianship. T. Patrick Milas shared his experiences as he spoke to attendees about “the vital role library services play in the life of graduate research institutions.” Read more on the FSU website.

To draw attention to TLM, Union-PSCE has installed a display about Bible translation. It features 30 Bibles in languages from Khmer to Choctaw to Twi. Perhaps most notable are two fine rare polyglot Bibles, including the splendid Genoa Psalter of 1516―believed to be the first polyglot work ever published. Staff has also customized the TLM logo a bit for use on the library's website.

Students at GTU learned about TLM with a campaign that included stickers (see below), banners, and the “Board of Love,” a bulletin board where patrons can post love notes to the library. There are almost daily TLM updates on the GTU Library News & Views blog. GTU’s Rachel Minkin said, “Students seem sort of shocked that such a thing like TLM even exists but most have been extremely happy to be a part of it!”

The Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary are celebrating Theological Libraries Month with a display of books from the first library of the College and Seminary.  Photos of the exhibit case appear below, along with a photo of  a bookcase from the earliest library, which is currently housed in the rare book room of the campus' Reeves Library.

In Celebration of TLM,  Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Library is holding a contest:  Guess the Number of Items? Starting October 2, visitors to the MBTS Library can  estimate how many library items (books, audio books, DVDs, CDs, films, periodicals, records, microfiche, etc.) are in a special display case. On Friday, October 27, the winner will be determined and awarded a $30 Gift Certificate to the campus store. 

Theological Libraries Month also coincides with the library's annual Cyber Café (see poster below). The 2006 Cyber Café is a free 4-week course available to current MBTS students. They'll be able to explore the library's electronic resources:  WILO/MOBIUS, WorldCat, AtlaReligion, EBSCOHost, RTA, & SBPI. This year's theme is Caribbean Paradise. Students can enjoy freshly-ground coffee and pastries as the computer lab becomes an island paradise and the entrance to a  whole new world of electronic resources. 

As part of a Caribbean-themed foyer display (see sample below), "Find What You're Looking For Now:  Ask A Theological Librarian," each library staff member will be featured on a poster (see sample below), representing his/her area of expertise and on an Ask? poster (see sample below) giving students sample questions. The objective is to let students know exactly what a theological librarian does and how students can utilize MBTS librarians as a resource.

poster with 2006 Cyber Cafe schedule

foyer display poster

poster featuring library staff

Ask? poster

 

JKM LIbarary

JKM Library celebrated TLM with a reception at their newly refurbished library. Pictures from the event and a copy of the email sent to invitees appear below:

TLM and its import will be ushered in at Wesley Theological Seminary with an article for the campus newspaper. During his interview for the piece, Director of the Library Bill Faupel shared with the community some of the major features of the new library building planned for the campus and outlined steps library staff are taking to make the present outdated and overcrowded building more user friendly while the new space is constructed. Faupel is also calling for the community to offer suggestions. The article then goes on to talk about Theological Library Month and discusses the related activities described below.

In October, a representative from Bible Works will speak to faculty about the new features
of Version 7.  He then will address the student body and staff in a separate meeting. That afternoon the library is hosting a reception for the whole community; they are also inviting the library staff from their next-door neighbor, the American University. The reception will feature sign-up sheets for one half-hour of  instruction on the use of ATLAS, EBSCO HOST and BIBLE WORKS 7. The training sessions will take place throughout the rest of that week (and longer if necessary). Bookmarks advertising TLM will include mention of the major data bases and their websites as well as library hours, the email address, and telephone numbers on the back.

A special invitation to the reception will be sent by email to every member of the community. Several posters have been designed to promote the event (see samples below). These will be put up throughout the campus on a rotating basis starting at the end of September.

Staff at the Duke Divinity School Library have several TLM events planned for October. In addition to a special worship service and an article in the fall newsletter, they plan to hold a contest in conjunction with a reception. Student contestants will compose an entry for Duke’s locally-famous Orientation presentation, "Top Ten Reasons I Should Go To the Divinity Library;" the winner’s composition will be included in the final version, which will be added to the library website as part of TLM. They also plan to give away one of the big blue “Duke-colored” baskets the library provides for students to use as they gather up books for their projects.

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