Library

The VST Library is temporarily closed to the public until further notice.

During our closure, we offer curb-side pick up for print books as well as scan services for book chapter(s).

Library Cards

Current students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the Vancouver School of Theology can obtain a free library card. Free borrowing is also available to clergy and members of our sponsoring churches who are working on a church project. Our sponsoring churches are: The Anglican Church of Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and The United Church of Canada.

Students, faculty, and staff of the following institutions may also obtain a library card without charge:

• University of British Columbia
• Simon Fraser University
• Trinity Western University
• Regent College

St. Mark’s students, faculty, and staff can use their library cards to borrow items from the H.R. MacMillan Library.

Please visit the Circulation Desk at the library to receive your library card. The barcode number on your library card is your access number and is required for all library transactions. Please note that the Circulation Desk closes five minutes before the library closing.

Members of the wider community are welcome to use the library’s resources  onsite. Those wishing to borrow titles from The VST Library collection would contact either their university library or branch of their public library to submit an interlibrary loan request to search other libraries  Regardless of the size of the branch, the library is searching libraries worldwide to retrieve your request. There is normally no charge for this service.

Borrower Responsibilities

Your responsibilities as a borrower are to:

• Return or renew items promptly.
• Renew items:
  • Online through your library account (see My Account)
  • By emailing the Circulation Desk, circ@vst.edu
  • By phone, 604-822-9382
  • By visiting the library in person
• Treat all materials with care – there is a charge for lost or damaged items.
• Ensure the library receives timely updates of your contact information.

Need Help?

If you need help using computers, finding information, or locating a particular book or article, please do not hesitate to ask any staff member.

Accessing Your Library Account

• To view your library account, you will need a user ID (barcode number on your library card) and password.
• To obtain a password, go to Theolog, click Sign in, and then choose the Set/Reset Password option. Please note that VST library staff cannot do this for you.
• Enter your library barcode/user ID in the box when prompted, and click Request New Password.
• You will then receive an email with instructions for creating a new password, the link for which will expire after 24 hours.

Renewing an Item

• You can renew your items online through your library account; you can also email the Circulation Desk (circ@vst.edu), call 604-822-9382, or visit the library.
• If you do not have an online library account, you can create one by following the instructions in the section above.
• Once you have your password, sign in to Theolog.
• You will see the items you have checked out with a Renew button next to each.
• Click on the button beside the title of the checked-out item to renew it.

Placing Holds

• Holds can only be placed by library staff on items owned by the VST library, and only on items that are checked out.
• If you would like to place a hold on an item that has been checked out, please email the Circulation Desk (circ@vst.edu), call 604-822-9382, or visit the library in person.
• If the requested item is required for reserves or has gone missing, you will receive an email informing you of this and the hold will be dropped.
• Once a hold becomes available, you will receive an email notifying you that the item is available at the Circulation Desk.
• Items held by VST can only be picked up at the VST library; holds cannot be routed to our partner libraries.
• The hold will be kept at the Circulation Desk for 7 days.
• If the hold is not picked up within a week, the item will be re-shelved and available for general use. You will be sent an email informing you that the hold has expired, and the item has been re-shelved.

UBC Campus Libraries Reciprocal Borrowing Privileges

Students, faculty, and staff of the Vancouver School of Theology have borrowing privileges at the UBC library, Dr. John Micallef Memorial Library (St. Mark’s College), and the John Richard Allison Library (Regent College). They may access both print and electronic resources through the University of British Columbia libraries. All three libraries are within walking distance of the school and provide important resources for theological and religious studies. Their holdings can be searched using our online catalogue, Theolog 2.0.

ATLA Reciprocal Borrowing Program

Alum & Sponsoring Churches

As a VST alumnus, you have free access to the Atla Religion Database.

• The database is the preeminent tool for theological research and ministry providing full-text access to journal articles, essays and book reviews from over 1,000 theological publications.
• For easy access please contact the library at circ@vst.edu, or by calling 604-822-9382.

Free print book borrowing privileges for VST Alumni and members of Canadian Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches with a signed letter form his/her congregational clergy.

• You will have access to the 35,000 curated items of the VST Library,
• We add hundreds of new items annually
• Browse our catalogue here: https://theolog.on.worldcat.org
• To borrow from the Library, visit us during open hours to sign up for a library card.

Late Fees

• Loans become overdue the day after the due date.
• The overdue charge for all items is $0.50 per day.
• Overdue charges in excess of $10.00 will result in the patron’s account being blocked and borrowing privileges suspended.
• Once the fine has been paid, borrowing privileges will be reinstated.

Lost Items

• After seven days, an item will be deemed lost and the borrower will be billed for replacement and processing costs.
• Borrowing privileges will be suspended until the item is returned, or the replacement and processing fees have been paid.

Thomas Merton Collection

In partnership with the Thomas Merton Society of Canada, the library houses the second largest collection of Mertonalia in North America. Books, journals, media, and theses by and about Thomas Merton may be found in the library’s Thomas Merton Reading Room. Items in the Merton Room itself do not circulate, but copies of select titles are available in the library’s stacks for circulation.

Rare Books Collection

The library’s Rare Book Collection consists of Bibles published as early as the fifteenth century, prayer books from the seventeenth century onwards, and realia from the latter period. Items from the Rare Book Collection are retrievable upon request and must be handled according to archival protocols.

Online Libraries

• Open Access Digital Theological Library (OADTL), contains 250,000 eBooks, 50,00 dissertations and nearly 50,000 million scholarly articles as of September 2019
• Internet Archive contains 330 billion web pages, 20 million books and texts, 4.5 million audio recordings (including 180,000 live concerts), 4 million videos (including 1.6 million Television News programs), 3 million images and 200,000 software programs
• HathiTrust Digital Library contains 17 million digitized items

Tutorials & Links

• Chicago Style Youtube tutorial from Memorial University Libraries
• Search in WorldCat Discovery by OCLC Training
• Searching AtlaSerials (Atlas) by DeWitt Library
• Atlas Database Scripture Search by AMBS Library

Weblinks

• Websites on Religion by ATLA committees

Daniel Baek (백봉근), Library Coordinator & Head of Technical Services

Email: dbaek@vst.edu, phone: 604-827-3763

Faye Chisholm, Coordinator of Library Public Services

Email: fchisholm@vst.edu, phone: 604-822-0675

Mailing address

H.R. MacMillan Library, Vancouver School of Theology 6015 Walter Gage Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1 Canada

Teleconferencing

Students can ask for reference support through Zoom and MS Teams sessions. Please contact either Daniel or Faye to set up an appointment.