Building our religion section with used books

We have a small library in a new building.  We are wanting to build up our religion section;.  We have been given a ton of those kinds of books but I'm afraid to put them on the shelf unless we've read them or I'm familiar with the authors.   It would be helpful if I could go to online libraries of churches with similar doctrines to ours (Southern Baptist) to see what authors and titles you have.  How can I find the online libraries of fellow librarians on this site?

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  • you can go under Springfieldfirstbaptist.org and click resources to find ours. Laurie
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      • I thank all of you for directing me to your church library, they are such an inspiration to me. I'm already finding some books that I'd like to buy for our library. I'm so glad that I found this website!
        Barbara
  • Barbara! I did it again. Intended to underline only the word,"fourth" and proceeded to underline the entire doc. Well, OK. so mote it be. I can't find out how to edit! Fiddlesticks! You will just delete it in your mind. That's good exercise for your imagination and you need plenty of that in this life as a church librarian! I used to sit and stare at the shelves and imagine myself in the library that the church planning committee had proposed for a ten-year prospective. Wow! It was to extend through the entire left side of the church LONG hallway down the main drag! It was to have glass walls on the inner side, and the present classroom windows would remain, which faced the huge lawn with flowers and landscaping to look out upon! I would have room for the children's separate from the other shelving, and sunken seating on their level, etc. Now you can see that I needed a brain where the imagination was allowed to roam around at its own pace and conjure up anything it wished to amuse me and to inspire me, and to let me in on the secrets of my guardian angel! Yes indeed! What do you say, Barbara, shall we imagine my book on the NY best seller list, and the chagrin of all the publishers who said, "Nay?" Yes! I need another fertile imagination to join me in this and maybe it will not be imaginary one of these days! Yes! luv. mbl
    • Yes, I will imagine your book on the NY best seller list! I can't wait to read it. Barbara
  • I have written a reply which is chock full of errors which I wish to correct and do not know how to use the editing software here. It does not allow me to go in and take out words that I wish to omit, such as muliple ands, etc. I just wrote it off the top of my head as usual and now I am in a pickle and can't find a way to keep from appearing a total idiot! Sorry! Please forgive these errors and I promise never to write another reply until I have mastered these techniques. It lacks a lot of being "Word." Maxine Bersch-Lovern
    • Thank you Maxine for your advice, I was absorbing your advice, not grading it, and was glad to hear it. I do understand what you're saying though, I just recently wrote something for our church's anniversary with out letting someone proof it and later found that it had so many mistakes that I had to reprint it.

      What you are saying was something that I commented about recently. If the Bible doesn't change I can't see why these types of books should be taken off the shelf just because they are old. Although its a fact in our library that an old discolored book will almost never be checked out. Recently I bought a replacement book for such a book because I thought it should stay on the shelf..

      About "Story Telling in a Nutshell," are you the author? I'll be watching for it.

      Barbara
      • Thank you for this thoughtful reply. Yes, the book "Storytelling in a Nutshell" Lifeway. Maxine J. Bersch. , was published when I was 79 and still going strong. It is now in its fourth printing! I am not boasting for myself, of course, for the Lord read over my shoulders as I wrote. I am now in the process of writing my autobiographical story--stories, and I have four chapters written. I don't think Lifeway wants it this time, but they are making a big mistake! I hope someone reads this! Yes, they should remember all the many, many people and institutions who are using the book, and would buy this one with a snap of the fingers. I am already, however, busy submitting proposals to others, and they do not have the platform for sales that Lifeway already has built through the years now that I am 91 and still going strong. I was the program for the first meeting of the year of Arlington, Texas, Storyteller's League, of which I am an active member! This is a chapter of the National, and I have been active in that since 1952--count that up! You be sure and remind me to notify you as soon as the book is off the press. It should be done within a year. Hallelujah! P.T.L.! Love in any language, Mackie B.Lovern (was married again in old age!) I have a hard time thinking I am a grown woman, much less an old lady! Luv again, mbl
  • I wish to add that I remember when we studied this with Jackie Anderson. I believe she taught that one thing we always feel free to use, and by the way, we do not discard, is the Bible commentary. They are usually by an eminent scholar, and they bring insight on the original text as only a scholar can. When they are donated by a retiring Baptist pastor or his wife, or children, they are probably going to be good for study. We may find in them comments from another viewpoint, but we know they are going to be an excellent resource and no one will be led astray by any Bible commentary, for the author is taking the actual text and is opening it to a better understanding by bringing the light of his/her wisdom to bear on it, and the Holy Spirit guides the reader in the study of it. Sometimes in such gifts we receive entire sets of these wonderful commentaries such as Barclay's which is fantastic for the lay person, and now hard to find except in these used sets. It will help tremendously to look at the collections found in the libraries of churches such as Rita's and you may be sure that when we use the word conservativeit means that we hold on to the traditional Baptist doctrines. Nevertheless, we do not exclude the work of great scholars, and in fact, rely on them for their works uphold the tenets that we so zealously guard. Regarding the mission books, they are being updated constantly. The only book in that classification that remains on the shelf is the missionary biography or those in current use. . If you stumble across a copy of Storytelling in a Nutshell by Maxine J. Bersch, even if it is well marked, go on and keep it, for it is a great resource for the church from A to Z. It is used in nineteen seminaries at this time! Maxine J. Bersch-Lovern
  • Our collection is available to search online. www.wbcc.net > Grow > Library >Search HERE. You are welcome to look around. If you haven't been doing this long, I think you will find that very quickly you become familiar with certain authors and even publishers. You will begin to see the same publishing houses and often can have a general sense of whether or not the book will be acceptable from that.
  • You are welcome to go on First Baptist Church Euless on line and click under resources and that will bring up our library and you can look at the things I have in the religiom (200's). We are conservative and we do have some things to show differences in religions.

    Rita Kirkland
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