Popular Religious Libraries in North America

Citation

Woodman, G. (2002), "Popular Religious Libraries in North America", Library Review, Vol. 51 No. 5, pp. 271-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.2002.51.5.271.5

This book provides a detailed analysis of popular religious libraries in North America. Based on the most extensive statistical survey ever made in this field, it provides a portrait of this sector of librarianship. Popular religious libraries are libraries providing services to users not in higher education attached to churches and church schools. A reader on this side of the Atlantic is faced with a certain conceptual difficulty. A church library here usually means a rather rickety shelf at the back of the church with a few slightly outdated popular religious paperbacks. The issue system consists of a spirally bound notebook in which such readers as exist may or may not enter any loans. In the more sophisticated outfits a biro of uncertain efficiency may be attached to the notebook for this purpose. In North America the situation is very different. Churches tend to be relatively wealthy and to have a more developed infrastructure. They are also totally responsible for religious education. These factors lead to the existence of substantial libraries with large number of holdings and staff.

The statistical survey is based on data obtained in 1978 and 1988. All parts of the USA and Canada are included. Among the variety of Christian denominations represented the only significant absentees I am aware of are Orthodox Churches. Jewish congregations are also well represented.

The author begins with an overview of the entire religious library sector. He then goes on to examine both the geographical locations of religious libraries and the varying picture of the strengths and weaknesses of library provision in different denominations. Staffing, holdings, expenditure, catalogues and classification schemes are all examined in great detail. One area not looked at in detail is automation, but perhaps developments here occurred after the time of the survey. There are also descriptions of associations for religious libraries and suggestions of developments in the sector and for further research.

Popular Religious Libraries in North America is very much intended for professional collections on librarianship. While the main interest will naturally be in North America itself, it will be appreciated by researchers interested in library collections of religious materials or in the wider field of libraries in the USA or Canada.