Library Review – In the Face of Mystery: Faith and Reason ...



Introduction After reviewing the proposed syllabus for this course in light of the library resources available for its implementation, I think it would be best practice to review the entire collection (especially those materials available through interlibrary loan) in all its various formats to see if the breadth and depth of those materials available for research in this subject.This review is best performed by investigating the Library of Congress Subject Headings which would best describe this course and making judgments concerning the quality and quantity of each document type; in the following narrative, each unique document type will be covered and a conclusion presented at the end of this report.Monographs: Stacks & ReferenceThere are a number of Library of Congress Subject Headings which describe the many facets of research covered by this topic. I have chosen the most prominent nine (9) subject headings to give an idea of the breadth and depth of available materials. The library collection currently contains approximately 430 titles in these subject areas. While the union catalog Link+ (the union catalog of over 120 libraries in California and Nevada of which Saint Mary’s College is a member), contains over 5,800 monographic titles in these subject areas, it is important to remember that a library resources review of this type should only be concerned with those materials currently held by Saint Mary’s College. A breakdown of the library’s collection is given below:LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGMonographs in ALBERTFaith137Reason95Faith and Reason44Revelation48Agnosticism15Deism3Pantheism2Positivism27Rationalism60TOTAL =SUM(ABOVE) 431There are also a number of excellent reference titles in this subject area which are available to students in the Saint Albert Hall Library; these titles are listed below:282.03.New Catholic encyclopedia [electronic resource]Detroit: Gale; Washington, D.C.: In association with the Catholic University of America, c2003.REF 230.203 B396.Handbook of Catholic theology / edited by Wolfgang Beinert, Francis Schüssler Fiorenza.New York: Crossroad, 1995.REF 230.03 panion encyclopedia of theology / edited by Peter Byrne and Leslie Houlden.London; New York: Routledge, 1995.REF 230.03 F753.Ford, John T.Saint Mary's Press glossary of theological terms / John T. Ford.Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, c2006.REF 230.03 H251.The dictionary of historical theology / general editor, Trevor A. Hart; consulting editors, Richard Bauckham ... [et al.]Carlisle, Cumbria, UK ; Waynesboro, GA : Paternoster Press ; Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2000.REF 230.03 H279.The Oxford companion to Christian thought / edited by Adrian Hastings, Alistair Mason and Hugh Pyper.Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2000.REF 282.03 M122.The HarperCollins encyclopedia of Catholicism / general editor, Richard P. McBrien ; associate editors, Harold W. Attridge ... [et al.]New York : HarperCollins, c1995.REF 282.03 N420.New Catholic encyclopedia.Detroit : Gale ; Washington, D.C. : In association with the Catholic University of America, c2003.REF 282.03 Od5.O'Donnell, Christopher.Ecclesia : a theological encyclopedia of the Church / Christopher O'Donnell.Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, 1996.Audiovisual Materials There are also a number of excellent audiovisual titles in this subject area which are available to students in the Saint Albert Hall Library; these titles are listed below:DVD S492.Bill Moyers on faith & reason [videorecording] / a production of Public Affairs Television ; a presentation of Thirteen/WNET New York ; series producer, Sally Roy ; director, Mark Ganguzza.Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences : FMG Home Video, [2006]DVD S689.Listening for God [videorecording] : contemporary literature and the life of faith / the Luce Program and Literary Arts, Boston University.Minneapolis : Augsburg Fortress, c2003.Online Video.The Ground of being [electronic resource (video)] : approaches to conceptualizing god / KTWU-TV (Television station : Topeka, Kan.)New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2008], c2007.Online Video.A Personal philosophy [electronic resource (video)] / Public Affairs Television (Firm)New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2007], c1996.Online Video.The Quest for God [electronic resource (video)] / Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen.New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2006], c2000.Online Video.The Question of God. Program 1, Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis, with Dr. Armand Nicholi [electronic resource (video)] / Public Broadcasting Service (U.S.)New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2012], c2004.Databases:The two major journal databases in the field of theology are Philosopher’s Index and CPLI (the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index). Saint Mary’s College subscribes to both of these databases and they provide the chief resource for journal articles in this particular subject area. Using the subject headings previously investigated for monographic works, we can see the following results for a search of the journal literature:SUBJECT HEADINGArticles in Philosopher’s IndexArticles in CPLIFaith3,4061,336Reason7,934140Faith AND Reason76219Revelation23322Agnosticism801253Deism1298Pantheism2369Positivism1,43921Rationalism1,50449TOTAL =SUM(ABOVE) 16,444 =SUM(ABOVE) 1,857Conclusion and Recommendation: Students doing research in this course will find generally more than adequate journal literature to use, measured both in quantity and quality. However, there are areas which are in serious need of strengthening, should this course be offered. There is an extremely small number of reference and audiovisual titles available for students in the Saint Albert Library, a fact which calls for further expenditures in both areas to fortify both collection formats. Probably most serious is the monograph collection, for which there are only about 431 titles available in the Saint Albert Library. While interlibrary loan can support this collection, it may not be adequate in and of itself to bring the circulating collection to the point of supporting this course. Also, it must be remembered that materials obtainable through interlibrary loan are not always available in a timely manner. Certainly, extra collection funds will have to be expended to support this area of the collection, should this course be approved. ................
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