My Bible Reference Resources - Print & Digital - Q&A

Morlee Maynard has ask me to lead a session on Bible Reference Resources at Equipping Church Librarians for Ministry Conference March 18-20 at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center.

I would like your help in preparing for this time.

Have you begun to acquire Bible reference resources in digital form? If so, what digital resources have you added to your collection? What has been the response of those who use these resources? What are your plans for acquiring digital resources over the next two years?

On a scale of 0 to 10 , to what extent are your Bible reference resources used by church staff, Bible teachers, and church members? Zero means these kinds of resources aren't used. Ten indicates they are used to the max.

If your Bible reference resources are well utilized, what are some of the factors that have contributed to their being well used?

If, on the other hand, you feel your Bible reference resources aren't used to the extent they should be, what do you see as the obstacles to their being used more fully?

I welcome your response to these questions and any additional information you would like to provide on how church libraries can better serve church members, Bible teachers, and church staff with Bible reference resources.

Steve Bond, Editor

B & H Publishing Group

LifeWay Christian Resources

In all my years of library work, we chose the very best Bible reference books and we kept adding to them. We used every means of promotion that we could devise! To name a few there were displays, bulletin boards, media lists mailed to every teacher, then media lists according to the units of study for each department and on and on, including visiting the departments with examples of the various reference books and maps, etc. I regret to say that in spite of the fact that our faculty was made up of highly educated people, our circulation of Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, maps,etc. was never what it should have been for a large church and S.S. such as we had. Now, I know that several of them had home libraries that they used, but I am quite sure there were many who did not. Since this is a knotty problem, it seems to me that our churches are lax in training teachers so that they would not dream of preparing to teach without in depth study of of the text they will be dealing with.

Replies

Maxine Johnson Bersch Lovern January 16, 2011 16:18

In all my years of library work, we chose the very best Bible reference books and we kept adding to them. We used every means of promotion that we could devise! To name a few there were displays, bulletin boards, media lists mailed to every teacher, then media lists according to the units of study for each department and on and on, including visiting the departments with examples of the various reference books and maps, etc. I regret to say that in spite of the fact that our faculty was made up of highly educated people, our circulation of Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, maps,etc. was never what it should have been for a large church and S.S. such as we had. Now, I know that several of them had home libraries that they used, but I am quite sure there were many who did not. Since this is a knotty problem, it seems to me that our churches are lax in training teachers so that they would not dream of preparing to teach without in depth study of of the text they will be dealing with.
- Steve Bond > Maxine Johnson Bersch Lovern January 17, 2011 8:36
  
  Thank you for mentioning the specific ways you have been proactive in promoting Bible reference resources in your church. Bringing the "knotty problem" that remains to my attention is helpful to me and to librarians.The first step in addressing problems is identifying them. You have pointed in the direction of possible solutions and have given me something to think about.
  
  Thanks,
  
  Steve
Anne Walker January 14, 2011 5:09

My church library is getting up and running again after laying fallow for a few years. It is being used quite a bit, which I am very happy about, but I do not find that the congregants use it for research at all. In years past, when we had members taking in-depth courses and we had several sets of resource materials, I know it was used quite a bit for research. Now, the classes are not being taken, and despite my efforts to locate those sets of resource materials, they appear to have been scattered. I believe most everyone goes online for their research if they need to, and the clergy have materials they use and will let the congregation use if desired. l am asked most often for commentaries for Bible studies, and we do have these, plus I plan to buy a new set, but haven't chosen one. Might not need to buy one - my pastor has tentatively offered to place one that is more likely to be used by the general congregation from his shelves into the library. Nice!
- Steve Bond > Anne Walker January 14, 2011 8:20
  
  Anne,
  
  Thanks for your response to my questions. You have pointed to a key factor in Bible reference resources being used extensively and that is the existence of courses within the church that call for consulting these Bible reference tools. In the absence of such courses, demand for Bible reference resources diminishes. You have made another point that pastors and educational leaders can be helpful in assessing the kinds of Bible reference resources that best match the needs and interest of congregants.
  
  These two clues will be value as I prepare for the Bible reference session at the Ridgecrest Librarians Conference.
  
  Thanks,
  
  Steve
Sandra Fitts January 10, 2011 16:37

I'm looking forward to seeing the replies you get from asking this question! I hope that those of us who will not be able to attend your class will be about to get a list of the resources that you find.
- Steve Bond > Sandra Fitts January 11, 2011 7:24
  
  Thanks, Sandra.

This reply was deleted.