St. Paul’s Library is Open for Business!
Our library is self-service and may be used by any member of the church any time the church is open. It’s on the third floor of the parish hall just outside the Calhoun room. If you have had coffee before one of our formation classes you have been standing in the library.
We have a unique library in that it is focused on books about religion in all aspects—the Bible, religious art, philosophy, meditation, etc. BUT it is definitely not limited to those things. We also have a fiction collection (that we are trying to modernize without letting go of some of the classics), biographies, gardening books, history books, and others. An excellent addition to our library is a separate collection of books selected by the Caring in Community committee that concentrates on materials that help families and individuals cope with struggles that we all have at one time or another.
Our reference section even includes books that may be checked out, which is unusual in most reference collections. If it has a checkout card in the back that means it can be checked out from the library for one month like other books. If there is no card it has to stay in the library.
In addition to all of that we have a very nice children’s area that includes picture books that can be read to children, chapter books for older ones in fiction and nonfiction, and some children’s DVDs. We have a few adult DVDs and are trying to build on that.
There is a card catalog, located next to the shelf with all the plants on it (close to the stairs) in which books are filed by author, title and subject. This should help you find things for which you don’t have an exact title or author’s name. On top of the catalog is where books can be checked out and returned.
Maybe you would like to browse through our ongoing book sale (very cheap prices) that is located between the bookstore and the stairway.
We can use your help in a couple of areas:
We would like your suggestions about what things YOU would like to see in the church library that would make it a place you want to use.
We would also ask that you please check your bookshelves at home to make sure you do not have anything that was checked out before covid that might have been forgotten. We have a lot of overdue books that we would like to recover. A few were new books that were checked out for the first time!
Thank you for using the St. Paul’s library. I believe it is an important part of the parish institution.
If you have an interest in helping in the library, and/or have purchase suggestions, please email me at oandpnc@gmail.com
Nancy Metzgar
Church Librarian