Hello St. Paul’s,
This week I want to update you on our plans for the Cathedral Library. The what? I hear you say: yes, we have long had a Cathedral Library, but it has been chronically underused, and we have limited space for it in the new building, so we have been forced to think creatively.
These days every piece of reference information is available online, so dictionaries and encyclopedias are no longer useful. Additionally, all the classics of church history and theology have been scanned into PDFs online. Fiction is available through the public library system. And, you might be surprised to learn that theology can go out of date.
All these factors mean that our need for a cathedral library is much reduced.
Several staff members and ministry leaders have reviewed the current library and selected volumes that we feel have continuing utility. These include standard liturgical reference books and commentaries, different translations of Scripture, books that we regularly use for the Inquirers Class or seasonal book studies, books written by authors who are part of our community, and texts required or recommended for the Education for Ministry program. We hope to be able to lend EfM-related texts to students who might otherwise find it a hardship to buy the required volumes.
The new mini-library will find a home in the co-working space in our new office suite. You are welcome to come and browse during office hours!
I know that many of you have given generously to donate books that you have found spiritually enriching. I am deeply grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Given the library’s lack of use and accessibility, these gifts have not been well used. I believe that many of those books will be more useful in the home of someone who wants to read them rather than languishing on a shelf at St. Paul’s. With that in mind, the books we haven’t selected will be available for a limited period for you to take home and make your own. We are not asking you to pay for the books, but any donations will be welcome! Watch the weekly announcements for information about when the books will be available for browsing.
Very thoughtful. Good solutions. Thank you again for finding outcomes that reflect who we are.
Maureen
Technology has certainly challenged our church norms. I’m sure the decisions made were difficult and I appreciate the thoughtfulness by all who participated.