LTSP

Eastern Lutheran seminaries receive $360,000 Luce grant for 'three libraries under one roof'

(February 2001)--A cooperating cluster of three Lutheran seminaries in the eastern United States have received a $360,000 three-year grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support a "one library under three roofs" resource integration project.

The seminaries are among eight affiliated with the 5.2 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and are The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, both in Pennsylvania, and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. The three seminaries formed the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries more than two years ago.

"We're excited about this grant," said the Rev. David Wartluft, Director of the Krauth Memorial Library in Philadelphia. "Technological developments over the past decade have really eliminated many geographic obstacles to library cooperation. Electronic catalogs are searchable worldwide via the Internet. We can share resources via FAX and electronic files by computer. Paralleling these developments is the geometric growth of online databases, full-text electronic periodicals and the dispersion of scholarship through such developments as distance education."

Librarians at the three seminaries have been working for some time toward a cluster understanding of library services. A study identified ten potential areas of cooperation. An early undertaking will be to evaluate the three automated systems currently in place at the three schools to choose the most appropriate approach for unifying data into one catalog and developing a unified system for acquisitions. The libraries will also seek to increase the availability of electronic reference tools and full-text periodicals for the whole East Coast, coordinate their journal holdings in print format, and enhance together their reference and interlibrary loan services. A goal is to eliminate certain unnecessarily duplicated materials and to coordinate the storage of lesser-used but important materials.

"In these days, the seminaries of the ELCA are called to be wise stewards of the Church's resources," said the Rev. Dr. H. Frederick Riesz, the President of Southern Seminary who also serves as Executive Director of the Cluster. "The Henry Luce Foundation Grant provides the means to create a Cluster library system for students, pastors and laity and even homes around the world, offering access to deeper and richer resources for research and study."

"The grant opens exciting possibilities for all of us," said Gettysburg's Library Director, Bonnie VanDelinder. "We should be able to achieve unprecedented cooperation among the libraries of the three seminaries and make a wider range of materials available to all three campus communities and beyond," she said. Dr. Lynn Feider, Director of Southern Seminary's Lineberger Library, said, "A common catalog and mutual access to holdings and orders enables us to cooperate in acquisitions and coordinate our collections. This grant will advance our efforts to access the American Theological Library Association on-line catalog."

The three seminaries have primary missions to prepare professional leaders for the Church. Their programs offer a mix of academic and field work and internship preparation. Their scholars ready themselves to be pastors, Directors of Christian Education, Diaconal Ministers (a specialized form of service ministry), musicians or counselors or outreach coordinators of various kinds.

Founded in 1826, the Gettysburg Seminary is a member of the Washington (D.C.) Theological Consortium. The Seminary features a Lutheran Center for Theology and Public Life in Washington, D.C., a Town and Country Church Institute, the Institute for Luther Studies, and the Stewardship of Life Institute. It serves as the ELCA Center for Diaconal Ministry and offers an extensive program of theological education for laity. Southern Seminary, founded in 1830, emphasizes formation for ministry in the parish setting and cooperates in a consortium with the University of South Carolina and two other colleges to offer the Master of Arts in Religious Studies preparatory for doctoral level study. The Philadelphia Seminary was founded in 1864 and features a 20-year-old Urban Theological Institute, with a focus on continuing education for African American leaders. The Seminary sponsors the Academy of Preachers, emphasizing continuing support in sermon preparation and also has Latino and urban concentrations. It is a member of the Philadelphia Consortium on the Study of Religion.