Library Update - New Old Books!

Post by Karlissa J.

When ordering books for the church library, it’s tempting to keep a constant eye out for the '“hottest new releases.” Finding the “latest and greatest” things is a bit of a preoccupation in our time and place. But I’m realizing how often we forget the past, and those who have gone before us.

As a remedy to that, I’ve been expanding the Theology section by adding classical works. From Augustine, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nyssa (who all lived in the 300s), to Martin Luther and John Wesley, to Catherine of Sienna and Teresa of Avila, I’ve added a diverse selection of voices from the past. And, as part of my own spiritual growth, I’ve been reading some of these books myself.

Those aren’t the only books I’ve added this year! My goal for next year is to expand the Fantasy collection - let me know if you have any recommendations on great Christian fantasy and sci-fi!

A Resting Librarian

It’s been a while since I posted a librarian update!

As a reminder: years ago, I offered to take over the running of our church’s library. Since I love books, it seemed the perfect fit!

Well, as of late, due to the pandemic restrictions, our little church library has sat unused. (The books at least are unused: our pastors have been using the room itself as a place to record their online sermons.) And due to the continued restrictions on gatherings, the books will likely sit unused for a while yet.

When I first realized this, I was hit with a feeling of loss.

I’ve done so much in that library.

One thing I changed early on was the fiction section: dividing it into separate genres, and sorting the books by author. It took a lot of work - and some dear helpers - to get that done. And since it’s been finished, I’ve noticed readers picking out their favourite genre, or taking out books from a particular author.

Since then, I’ve done so much re-organizing, moving, buying, and removing of books in the non-fiction genres, I don’t even remember what it was like before I became the librarian.

I’ve spent many hours caring for the library’s hundreds of books, driven by a vision to “connect people with books that are meaningful to them.” I feel I’ve succeeded in this vision: answering people’s questions, directing them to various titles, and making the organization easier to follow.

I’ve missed that, and the purpose I felt there.

However, I’m also convinced God knew I would need the break, and the chance to step back and take joy in what has been done - instead of only seeing what still needs doing.

Fall 2018 Librarian Update

It's done! The adult fiction bookshelves, once containing a random assortment of genres, have now been organized. I've tried to keep the categories vague, since being too specific seems to confuse people, and the point of this project was to clear up confusion and make it easier for guests to find the kinds of books that they like.

Romance, Drama, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Apocalyptic Fiction, Suspense, and Christmas (yes, we had enough novels about Christmas to fill a shelf)... I can rest easy and hope that library visitors will benefit from the new system.

One thing I've come to realize in the course of this exercise: that there doesn't seem to be many currently-writing, Christian fantasy authors for adults. Granted, there are various fantasy series, but these tend to be aimed at youth (probably an easier market to sell to); and there are classics like the Lord of the Rings, but Tolkien stopped writing a long time ago (at least in this world).

Our fantasy shelf was sparse, so I've added several books. Some could honestly be said to be a little more aimed at youth, while others were written by authors of the past (CS Lewis' Space Trilogy is there).

However, there are two currently-writing, Christian fantasy authors whose works seem more aimed at a mature audience (though youth could read them, they may not fully appreciate some aspects). I've included their books in our Adult Fantasy shelf, and I'm going to follow up this blog by posting reviews for them: Scott Appleton's Sword of the Dragon series, and Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Tales of Goldstone Woods series.

This is my fourth blog about running my church’s library! Read my previous posts to find out how I became a librarian, what I’ve learned from running the library, and my vision for the library.

A Librarian's Vision

I’m excited about how things are going in the church library that I run! (You can read my past blogs on being a librarian here and here.)

I’m glad my husband suggested I volunteer to take charge of our church's library, since it’s given me more opportunity to explore books and reading. My love of books and my experiences as an author have both linked together in this little library to bring me fresh perspectives on what people read and what people write.

My ‘vision,’ as you will, is to do more than just keep the library running. I feel called to help people connect with books that will be meaningful to them.

There are a few practical ways I intend on making this vision a reality.

The main task that’s taken up the bulk of my time in the library is reorganizing the Adult Fiction shelves. All fiction – from fantasy to thriller to romance to mystery – was amalgamated upon one vast collection of shelves. Understandably, I’ve heard more than one of our church attendees complain that our fiction collection is entirely composed of romance.

Not so, as it turns out. There’s a lot of romance novels, so as a fellow non-romantic-reader, I understand their repulse at even bothering to look through the shelves. But as it turns out, there are some titles that fascinate me hidden within our collection.

Putting all the romance books together, all the mysteries together, all the fantasies together, etcetera, will hopefully make it easier for readers to find fiction books that are meaningful to them.

One book I read recently, “What God Does When Men Lead” (by Bill Peel), made the statement that churches these days tend to be over-feminized, turning off men and leading many to avoid attending church. I’m not sure that’s the case with our church; but after reading that book, I considered which books make up the vast majority of our library. We have, as it turns out, a very feminine-oriented collection!

Since one of our (male) pastors is an avid reader, it is a bit odd that many of the types of books he reads just aren’t on the shelves.

I did a little investigating, and this is my current conclusion: while Christian women are most likely to passionately devour romance novels, Christian men are most likely to casually consume theology books.

When I first started in the library, our Theology and Reference collection fit upon one shelf. I, as a lover of reference books, was quick to separate Theology and Reference and buy some additional reference titles. I’m hoping to expand our Theology section to two shelves (as a start); both by finding theology books that have been mislabeled and hidden in other categories, and by buying theology books that have been recommended by people I trust.

Another potential setback of our library is that many of the books are older titles. I personally believe books don’t have an ‘expiry date;’ but at the same time, it’s welcoming to discover a newly-released book that speaks to today’s issues in a way that is modern and easily relatable. So I’ve been making a point of purchasing newer titles with current topics, such as “12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You” (Tony Reinke) – a look at how to wisely make use of smartphones – and “Planted” (Leah Kostamo), a down-to-earth biography about the environmental movement.

I’ve been kept very busy with these tasks, but can say with joy that the Adult Fiction sorting is coming along nicely, and I’m finally seeing a new order taking shape: one where romance novels are not the only easily-located stories!

Do you agree with my conclusions about what men and women read? Do you prefer reading newer books or older books?

A Librarian Part 2

A librarian’s work is never done.

Back in the blog post A Librarian, I mentioned that I’m now running the library at my church.

I’ve learned a few things about the people in my church just from working in the library.

One, the children love reading; which is a mixture between the blessing of “Yay, children who get excited about books!” and the curse of eternally untidy children’s book shelves.

And two, the adults love to donate books, often in large amounts; which is a mixture between the blessing of “Wow, we have a very giving congregation!” and the curse of piles of books to sort through and prepare for entry into the collection.

All in all, the work isn’t bad, but a more gargantuan task than I expected it would be. Though at the end of the day, how gargantuan it is depends on just how organized you want to keep things. Do you care if the children’s books are facing every which direction on the shelf? That fiction titles aren’t organized by the author’s last name? That we have two or three copies of the same DVD? That someone left the lid off on the hot chocolate powder by the sink and now the ants are devouring it?

If nothing else, running the library has thus far been a fun learning experience, both about the people in our church and about myself.