International Honor
MTSO awarded 224-volume science and religion library
The International Society for Science & Religion has selected MTSO as an ISSR Library awardee. At no cost to the school, the ISSR has provided MTSO's Dickhaut Library with 224 volumes, spanning subject areas from ecology to cosmology to bioethics. If the volumes had been purchased separately, Dickhaut Library Director Paul Burnam estimates the price would have exceeded $13,000.
In a Nov. 23 letter to Burnam, ISSR Executive Editor Pranab Das wrote, "Your application was reviewed under a competitive judging process and your institution will join a select group of only 150 institutions worldwide to receive a full set of the Library."
MTSO's application included letters of support from Master of Divinity student Jess Peacock and Dr. Timothy Van Meter, assistant professor in the Alford Chair of Christian Education and Youth Ministry.
"I could not have asked for better news on Thanksgiving Eve," said Burnam, who began the ISSR application process in April. "MTSO is doing more and more in terms of looking at science and religion. This came along at just the right time."
Burnam said the ISSR Library will provide valuable resources for students pursuing two specializations recently introduced by MTSO: the Ecology and Social Change specialization for those pursuing a Master of Divinity degree, and the Ecology and Justice specialization for those pursuing a Master of Arts in Practical Theology.
"In looking at all the areas this collection takes in, it fits very well with the courses that make up those specializations," he said.
The ISSR Library Project is headquartered at St. Edmund's College, University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, UK. The collection was delivered to MTSO in early December and should be available for circulation soon.
The John W. Dickhaut Library, named for MTSO's founding president, is the school's primary information and research resource. With more than 130,000 volumes onsite, the library offers borrowers access to 48 million volumes through its membership in the Ohio Private Academic Libraries and OhioLINK consortia. It also subscribes to 250 periodicals.