About the Library

The library enhances the mission of Phillips Theological Seminary to cultivate vital communities, vital conversations, and the public good by providing resources and services that support the work and interests of the faculty, the students of Phillips, and the larger public.

We also provide assistance to:

• professional & lay religious leaders
• students from other schools of religion or seminaries
• all other visitors

Phillips is an ecumenically-oriented institution & the library’s collections reflect the non-sectarian mission of the school. The library’s focus is on the core materials necessary for Christian ministerial education, critical thinking, historical understanding & ethical judgment.

Our library collections comprise holdings of approximately 100,000 items, making it the largest graduate theological library in the region extending from Dallas to Kansas City & St. Louis to Denver. It serves as an important resource for theological students, religious professionals & researchers in the area.

The circulating library is housed primarily in the Main Library Stacks. Circulating materials less frequently used are shelved in our compact storage area. Most of the Reference, Course Reserves & selected preaching materials are kept in the Reading Room to facilitate access & ease of use. Current print copies of several journal issues & magazines are displayed in an area of comfortable seating.

This is a collection of approximately 700 rare & valuable titles, many originating from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Some noteworthy tomes include:

• • • • • A 1479 Vulgate Bible
        • A 1529 Great Byble
        • A 1596 Hamburg edition of the Polyglot Bible
        • Alexander Campbell’s Christianty Restored dating from 1835

Construction on this special, climate-controlled room was completed in November 2010, & was underwritten by the Beasley Foundation. This room connects students, faculty, patrons, & scholars with primary sources, other documents of note, & memorabilia in their original formats to the end that they support the mission of the Phillips library & enhance understandings of the way of Jesus through the literature & history of Christian faith. The library is dedicated to making these materials accessible to all while caring for their safety & security.

Security procedures to know before entering the Beasley Rare Book Room:

• All visitors must sign in at the main library circulation desk
• Computers are allowed in the room, but bags, briefcase, coats, & umbrellas are not. (your belongings will be kept securely in the main library)
• You will be asked to clean your hands with alcohol gel after entering the room. Gloves must be used in handling the materials in the horizontal display case.
• Pens are not allowed.
• No eating or drinking is allowed.
• No smoking is allowed. (The seminary is a smoke-free environment.)
• No materials may leave the room without express permission of the library staff.
• Some duplication of materials may be possible, but must be done by library staff at the discretion of the Director of the Library, as materials are degraded by exposure to light.
• The room may be used as a study & writing space.
• The room is under constant & recorded camera surveillance.

The library has developed a sizable collection of Discipliana – materials relating to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – from the many years of Phillips’s affiliation with the church. Materials cover many formats including books, journals, ephemera, electronic resources, and other pieces of importance to the history of the Disciples of Christ.

Some of our Disciples materials requiring a special archival environment are located in a special section of the Beasley Rare Book Room.

In 2005 Phillips received alumnus Rev. Daniel Merrick’s hymnody collection from his widow, Mrs. Dagmar Merrick. Housed in the Charles W. & Helen L. Edwards Special Collections Room, the Merrick collection is comprised of over 1,100 titles, including monographs, journals, & ephemera. Most books in the collection are available for circulation. The library continues to develop materials in this collection.

Noteworthy are Merrick’s records from his tenure as editor of the Chalice Hymnal for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).