The Faithful Librarian

What do Christianity and librarianship have in common? Netherlands Prime Minister and theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) was among the first in the modern era to attempt to rejoin the dichotomy of sacred vs. secular study when he said, “no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest.” Over the years a number of publications have followed Kuyper’s lead yet little has been written on the subject since Greg A. Smith’s notable Christian Librarianship (2002).
Building on Smith’s work, this volume seeks to bridge the sacred/secular divide with an exploration of how Christianity and the gospel are manifested through the profession of librarianship.

Garrett B. Trott is the university librarian at Corban University in Salem, Oregon and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Librarian: Journal of the Association of Christian Librarians.

Edited by Garrett B. Trott
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 245
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7116-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3757-0
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword (Gregory A. Smith) 1

Introduction (Garrett B. Trott) 3

Integrative Pastoral Librarianship in a Flipped Church: Equipping Laity for Ministry with Missional Faith Learning (Rebecca Klemme Eliceiri )9

With Quiet Diligence: How Claude Elbert Spencer Formed an Archival Tradition in the ­Stone-Campbell Movement (McGarvey Ice) 27

Libraries in the New Creation: Christian Librarianship as an Extension of the Christian Temple and Priesthood (Jacob W. Gucker) 45

In a Manner Worthy of God: Hospitality and the Christian Librarian

(Denise D. Nelson) 66

Information Overload, Information Anxiety and Theological Ethics (Paul A. Hartog) 76

Scholarship as Conversation: Using a Shared Research Method (ALEA) to Help Students Seek Truth and Wisdom in a ­Post-Truth World (Patricia R. Harris, Michelle Norquist, Dianne Zandbergen and Andrew Zwart) 87

Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom: A Biblical Model of Information Literacy (Jeff Gates) 103

Faith, Freedom and Information: A Christian Perspective on Intellectual Freedom (Steve Silver) 123

Communities of Scholarship, Communities of Faith: The Academic Library as Place (Nancy ­Falciani-White) 138

Loving Your ­Co-Worker as Christ Expects: Personnel Practices Through the Eyes of Faith (Esther Gillie) 154

Discerning and Following Christ’s Call to Leadership (Nadine P. Ellero) 170

Christian Faith and Its Impact on Library Interpersonal Relationships and Professionalism (Dana M. Caudle) 179

The Relational Interaction: A New Look at Glorifying God through a Reference Interview (Garrett B. Trott) 189

The Information Therapist Is In (Robin R. Hartman) 206

Holy Listening in Reference Work: A Sacred Aspect of the Christian Librarian’s Calling (Cynthia Strong) 223

About the Contributors 235

Index 237