General Information

The College's library contains holdings of over 28,500 books. In addition, the library subscribes to a wide variety of scholarly journals and church magazines. The library collection supports all of the curriculum areas studied at the College, while at the same time it provides a strong emphasis on Reformed theology and church history.

The holdings of the library are classified using the Library of Congress system and the catalogue is computerized. Bibliographic research is further facilitated by offering access to the American Theological Library Association's Religion Database on CD-ROM. Students are offered free access to the Internet via the library's computers, which enhances their access to the holdings of other university libraries. Interlibrary loan service is also available.

Students have access to all the works of Calvin as published in the Corpus Reformatorum series, as well as a collection of rare sixteenth-century books, many of which have never been republished. Students interested in early church history and theology can make use of several hundred volumes of the Sources Chrétiennes edition of the early church fathers. The library also contains an extensive commentary section, providing easy access to many commentaries published as part of major commentary sets.

The library collection has been almost entirely funded by the members of the churches which support the College. The agency which spearheads and collects all these funds is the Women's Savings Action, founded in 1969 to support the library.

The library is housed in a modern facility offering ample study space. Individual study desks (carrels) as well as large tables offer students a variety of choices. The library is well-lit, and has numerous windows looking out onto the quiet residential setting of the College.

Administrative Staff

Margaret Van der Velde, B.A., M.L.I.S., Librarian
Dr. C. Van Dam, Associate Librarian
Catharine Mechelse, Dip.Lib.Tech., Library Technician

Collections

General Circulation Books

• Only a library patron holding a valid library card is allowed to check out books.
• Books are due on the date printed on the receipt at the time of check out.
• Books may be renewed in person, online or over the phone.
• Library patrons are responsible for the condition, proper use, and the safe return of all library materials and equipment they check out and any fines incurred for late, damaged, unreturned, or lost library materials.

Reserve Books

• At the request of professors, library materials are placed on “reserve” for the use of students in a particular class.
• All reserve materials must stay in the library, unless permission has been received from the librarian to sign the material out.

Reference Books

• General reference books such as encyclopedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, indexes, handbooks, concordances, almanacs, atlases, and some commentaries are kept in the Reference and Commentary sections and do not circulate.
• Reference books can be recognized by the red sticker on the spine and a call number that starts with “REF.” Commentaries which do not circulate can be recognized by the orange sticker on the spine and a call number that starts with “COM.”

Pamphlet and Rare Book Collection

• The library of the Theological College also has an extensive collection of pamphlets relating to significant events in the history of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, during the 19th and 20th centuries. All the pamphlets are listed in the library catalogue and are available for consultation in the library.
• The library also has a collection of rare books. These books may be made accessible for scholarly research at the discretion at the library staff and are available for use in the library only.

Periodical Collection

• The library subscribes to over approximately 100 periodicals. The current issues may be found on the display shelves located in the library near the door. They are arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the periodical. Back issues from the current year are located behind the current issue under the periodical shelves. Issues from the previous volume are arranged alphabetically in the stacks on the upper floor of the library, in the section marked "Periodicals."
• The library subscribes to the Religion Database Index, produced by the American Theological Library Association, which provides indexing of journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion.
• The librarian also maintains an index to a number of Reformed periodicals, such as Clarion, Reformed Perspective, Diakonia, Koinoinia, and the international Lux Mundi. This project is a work in progress with some of the data requiring additional editing, and coverage varies. This index can be accessed via the Reformed Periodical Index.