The Intellectual Heart of the Seminary
The Library is the intellectual heart of our seminary community, serving as the chief academic resource for the students and faculty of Mid-America. In addition to the circulating collection of books, the reference and special collections, and the bound periodicals, the library has a number of resources—primarily computer databases, A/V materials, microforms, and other digitized information—that well serve the cause of theological education. We continue to develop the collection in support of our primary goal: preparing men for gospel ministry in the Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
When classes are in session
- Monday
- 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Tuesday
- 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Wednesday
- 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Thursday
- 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
- Friday
- 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Saturday
- 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Summer hours
Monday–Thursday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Friday: 8:00 am – noon
Weekends: closed
Location
229 Seminary Drive
Dyer, IN 46311
Contact
Bart VoskuilTheological Librarian
For research
Books
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library A digital library of hundreds of classic Christian books selected for edification and education.
- Project Gutenberg Thousands of free online books.
- WorldCat Holdings from over 10,000 libraries worldwide. More sophisticated search options are available if you search WorldCat on the Indiana Inspire web site (it’s listed as “OCLC WorldCat”).
Journal Articles
- ATLAS An online collection of major religion and theology journals selected by leading religion scholars and theologians. Users can read articles or research the history of a topic from as early as 1924 to the present. Available only to currently enrolled students and seminary alumni; see the Associate Librarian for the password.
- Religious and Theological Abstracts Summaries of articles appearing in scholarly journals in the fields of Religion and Theology. Available only to currently-enrolled students; see the Associate Librarian for the password.
- Christian Reformed Church Periodical Index (CRCPI) Over 100,000 bibliographic citations for the Banner and other CRC-related publications.
- Bavinck Review A peer-reviewed electronic journal published annually by the Bavinck Institute at Calvin Seminary.
- Indiana Inspire Indiana’s Virtual Library (free registration required), available to any state resident. For journal articles, select Academic Search Premier. The database indexes approximately 280 theology journals; a number of them have full-text coverage.
Theological Resources
- Calvinism Resources Database Articles, essays, lectures dealing with John Calvin and Calvinism. Maintained by the H. Henry Meeter Center.
- The Post-Reformation Digital Library A collection of resources relating to the development of theology during the Post-Reformation / Early Modern era (ca. 16th-18th c.). Maintained by the H. Henry Meeter Center.
- Digital Library of Abraham Kuyper A collaborative project of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library and the Free University’s Historical Documentation Center for Dutch Protestantism.
- The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University A comprehensive, fully-searchable, critical, annotated online edition of the papers of Jonathan Edwards, a corpus of some 100,000 pages of sermons, notebooks, letters, and treatises.
- Princeton Theological Seminary’s Digital Collections More than 150,000 digital pages of monographs and serials, in addition to portraits and photographs.
- Perseus Digital Library Online collection covering the history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman World. Includes both texts (original language and translations) and digital images.
- The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entries from specialized philosophers around the internet.
Citing Materials
- Purdue’s Online Writing Laboratory (OWL) Writing resources and instructional material, including a guide to the Chicago Manual of Style.
Using the library
Who may use the library?
The Mid-America Reformed Seminary Library primarily serves current students, faculty, alumni, and board members. The Theological Librarian may also grant access to local pastors. Only current students and faculty are able to use resources such as online databases, interlibrary loan, and wireless internet access.
I’m taking classes from an online seminary but I live within driving distance of Mid-America. May I use your library?
The use of library materials will not be extended to students from other institutions, whether enrolled in traditional or online programs.
How can I renew my books?
Books can be renewed by email, phone, or in person.
How do I print and make copies? How much does it cost?
The library has a printer/photocopier available for student use. The general public may use the machine for making photocopies of library materials such as journal articles or reference book entries ($0.10 per page). For photocopying jobs that are unrelated to the Seminary’s theological collection, you are asked to make use of the copiers at the Lake County Public Library or a commercial copying source.
How is the Library organized?
The Library uses Library of Congress Classification. Use the following guide for browsing:
- A
- General Works
- B
- Philosophy and ReligionB Philosophy · BF Psychology · BJ Ethics · BM Judaism · BP Islam · BQ Buddhism · BR Christianity · BS The Bible and Exegesis · BT Doctrinal Theology · BV Practical Theology · BX Christian Denominations
- C–F
- History
- H
- Social Science
- L
- Education
- M
- Music
- P
- Philology and LiteraturePA Greek · PJ Hebrew
- R
- Medicine
- Z
- Bibliography
What books may be checked out?
All books in the main collection (no call number prefix) may be checked out, in addition to audio-visual materials (call numbers starting with “AV”) and items from the Christian Education section (call numbers starting with “CRL”). Reference books, journals (bound or paper copies), indexes, and books from the Reformed Heritage Collection may not be checked out or removed from the library.
What happens if I lose a book?
You’ll be charged the amount necessary to both replace and process another copy. Your borrowing privileges will be suspended until the necessary fees are paid.