Library Collections and Facilities

Collections

The library provides access to many hundreds of thousands of items, including print volumes, microforms, audio-visual materials, and a wide array of electronic resources, including full-text books and journals. The annual library statistics report includes a very brief tabulation. The collection is strongest in the field of biblical studies. Special collections include rare volumes in eschatology and premillennialism. But our goal is to provide a balanced collection that serves all areas of the seminary curriculum. The library attempts to identify and acquire all important scholarly literature currently published in English in the main fields of Christian theological study, supplemented by selected scholarly works in European languages, particularly German, and representative popular religious materials in English, especially evangelical works. See our collection development policy for details. The print collections are shelved by "call numbers" based on the Library of Congress classification system.

Facilities and Service Points

The library complex consists of two connected buildings, Turpin and Mosher. The only public entrance/exit is on the north side of Turpin. The library calendar contains complete information about days and hours of operation. (See also information about Emergency and Unscheduled Closings.) The basic layout is evident in Turpin floorplan and Mosher floorplan. The main facilities and services points are as follows.

Circulation Desk and Course Reserves Desk. The main circulation desk is on the first floor of Turpin adjacent the entrance. Circulation staff process all borrowing transactions including course reserves. Return borrowed items here.

WorldCat and Online Resources. WorldCat (the library catalog) lists everything the library owns (books, journals, microforms, AV materials, etc.) except materials in the CE curriculum lab and documents in the seminary archives. Registered library users may renew loans or place holds. Scores of commercial databases are available at the library website, including the ATLA Religion database, Religious and Theological Abstracts, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts, JSTOR, ERIC, PsycINFO, and AcademicSearch. Workstations are available on the first floor across from the circulation desk, in the computer lab, and throughout the buildings. Nearly all electronic resources are available via the Internet at http://library.dts.edu/.

Reference Collection. The main reference collection occupies the SE corner of the first floor of Turpin. Encyclopedias, handbooks, directories, exegetical tools, and several hundred of the better biblical commentaries are in this section. Reference materials must stay in the building. However, some books in reference are also in the general stacks, available for loan, including all of the commentaries in reference. A small satellite reference collection is also on the second floor of Turpin near the elevator.

Bibliographic Center; Index Tables. Specialized bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts are housed in the bibliographic center on the first floor of Turpin. Use these resources in tandem with on-line databases.

Gunther Alcove; Microform Files. Gunther Alcove on the first floor Turpin provides access to CD-ROM and other digital resources. Microfilm and microfiche are filed along the back wall, and microform reading equipment is adjacent, including microform printers.

Periodical Stacks. Periodicals are shelved on the first floor of Mosher. They are arranged alphabetically by title. All print periodical volumes owned by the library, bound and unbound, are listed in WorldCat. Holdings information is updated daily. Be sure to check the online listing of ejournals, too.

Christian Education Curriculum Lab. Curricular materials such as teachers' guides, workbooks, discussion guides, exercises, and activities are housed in the CE lab on the first floor of Mosher. These materials are not cataloged in WorldCat.

Faculty and doctoral carrels. Four faculty carrels are on Mosher second floor. Numerous reserved doctoral carrels are on Mosher second floor and Turpin third floor.

Bookstacks. All general circulating books are shelved in Turpin. Books classed A-BT197 are on the second floor; and BT198-Z are on the third. Folio (oversized) books are also on the second floor.

Study rooms. Small group study rooms are available on Turpin second and third floors on a first-come, first-served basis.

Special Collections. Special collections are housed on Turpin third floor, including archives, rare books, faculty publications, theses and dissertations, and other materials. See the Special Collections page for a description of these collections and policies governing access and use.

Mosher Basement: Media Center, Computer Lab, AV Lab. The Media Center is in the basement of Mosher. To reach it, use the stairs at the south end of Mosher periodical stacks. AV production facilities and a computer lab are located in the Media Center. The Media Center closes 30 minutes before the rest of the building. Media staff will help students use sound room and digital video editing facilities. Please make an appointment for complex projects. AV equipment is available for rental. The lab has Internet connected Mac and Windows computers with a wide assortment of software. Clip art, and sound and photo libraries are available. Scanning, OCR conversion, color printing and color photocopying are supported. Lamination and comb bindings are available.

Miscellaneous Facilitites