Blog

Renee Carey – 06/2020

Renee is a Solo Librarian/Accreditation Liaison at Faith Bible College in Norfolk, VA (8 FTE; where most students are nontraditional and take only a few courses at one time). She has been an ACL member since 2014.

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Hope for Life – 06/2020

“For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.” (Psalm 36:9 KJV)

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on suffering and death lately. As some of you know, my daughter suffers from a chronic, potentially fatal condition, and the year 2020 started for me with the death of my mother in January, followed by a February struggling to help my family come to grips with the suicide of my young nephew.

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Adam Solomon – 05/2020

Adam is the Visiting University Librarian at Thomas G. Carpenter Library of the University of North Florida (14,382 FTE) in Jacksonville, FL. He is a new 2020 ACL member and currently a Graduate student at Valdosta State University.

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Unexpected Blessings – 05/2020

“God said, “Let there be light.” And so light appeared. God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light Day and the darkness Night.” (Genesis 1:3-5 CEB)

I am not a morning person. I would like to be a morning person, and I occasionally feel really good and productive when I rise early, but generally speaking, I am simply not a morning person. But for one glorious week in November, I became a morning person at the Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library (WHDL) development team meeting. What compelled me to get up in the morning was the glorious sunrise, one of the many beauties of God’s created world.

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Jill Botticelli – 04/2020

Jill is the Archivist at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (1,400 FTE) in Fort Worth, TX. She has been a member of ACL since 2011.

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Certainty in Uncertain Times – 04/2020

“. . .To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: . . .” (Jude 1 ESV)

Librarians are not strangers to uncertainty. For at least a generation, developments in technology have raised serious questions about how the future of the library, and the library of the future, will look. Further, sweeping industry changes leave most librarians facing serious concerns about the future of their departments, if not their institutions. Given that uncertainty has long been so pervasive, why do we still yearn for certainty?

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Justin Lillard – 03/2020

Justin is a Reference Librarian at Harding University (4,435 FTE) in Searcy, AR. He has been a member of ACL since 2018.

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The Deeper Call – 03/2020

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:4-5 NIV)

Who are we? As we read these verses from 1 Peter, may we remember that we are not primarily librarians, and our main job—even at work—is not to provide research help, create tutorials, or select new resources. Our roles and responsibilities as Christian librarians are merely the manifestation of the deeper call on our lives. This deeper call is for all of us who “have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet. 2:3).

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Linda Brogden – 02/2020

Linda is the Head Librarian at Valley Christian Schools (2,300 JH/HS Students) in San Jose, CA. She has been a member of ACL since 2013.

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Our Refuge – 02/2020

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2 CSB)

As a librarian, I often hear how lucky I am to work in a quiet, calm place. This is true, but those of us “in the trenches” get to see a different side of libraries. We know they can at times also be as hectic and stressful as any other workplace. While most of us are wearing multiple hats and dealing with unanticipated challenges, we may not always see the library as a place of shelter and peace. However, the reality is that often our patrons see us as a refuge.

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