‘Essays on Theological Librarianship: Presented to Calvin Henry Schmitt’ now Open Access

Essays on Theological Librarianship: Presented to Calvin Henry Schmitt is the first collection of essays on theological librarianship published by the American Theological Library Association (now Atla). In 1978, the ATLA Committee on Publication initiated this project to grow the body of professional literature in the field of theological librarianship while honoring an experienced theological librarian (and active member), Calvin H. Schmitt. Schmitt was certainly a worthy honoree, having served as librarian at McCormick Theological Seminary from 1949-1980, and President of the association from 1957-1958. His influence on theological librarianship (and theology in general) is still strong, as he contributed to Religion Index One and Religion Index Two as chair of the Periodical Indexing Board. (Our patrons still use “RIO” and “RIT” each time they query the Atla Religion Database^®.)

The essays are grouped into four sections – one dedicated specifically to the honoree, and the others on theological books and their contents, theological libraries and their management, and theological information and its control. The bibliographic essays on ecumenical research, the Luther-Gesellschaft, 18th-century theological bibliography, and on theology and literature provide overviews that are still helpful introductions. The essays on theological libraries and their management included helpful discussions of the theological library in the context of theological education, reviewing the use of rare books, the educational role of librarians, collection development, and even examining the “paper stability” of a seminary’s circulating collection. The Festshcrift is rounded off with three essays on theological information and its control, including an examination of religion indexes and their futures, a “meta-” discussion of the need for bibliographies of theological bibliographies, and an empirical study of catalog complexity looking at corporate entries with subheadings.

The essays also provide a window into the history of Atla as we were transitioning from print to pixels.

Though dated, many of the essays cover topics as relevant today as they were at the time of publication. The role of libraries and librarians in theological education is still a matter of discussion at professional conferences, and while bibliographic essays do show their age after four decades, they can serve as snapshots of the history of research and even as launching pads for further inquiry. The essays also provide a window into the history of Atla as we were transitioning from print to pixels. It is wholly appropriate that this publication would continue to strengthen the body of professional literature in the field of theological librarianship by making its way into the Atla Open Press.

Read the open access edition on the Atla Open Press site.

Learn more about Atla Open Press.