European theology libraries
The European Libraries of Theology (Bibliothèques européennes de théologie, BETH) is an ecumenical , institutional library association , which was founded in 1961 and is based in Nijmegen ( Netherlands does). The aim of the association is to contribute to the development of theological libraries in Europe and to promote the cooperation of its members.
history
In 1957, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Working Group of Catholic Theological Libraries (AKThB), some librarians met in Frankfurt am Main , who laid the foundation for an association that anticipated the later association BETH. These librarians, Father Luchesius Smit from the Vereniging voor Seminarie- en Kloosterbibliothecarissen (VKSB, Netherlands), Father Francis Courtney from the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries (ABTAPL, United Kingdom ) and Father Paul Mech from the Association des bibliothèques de sciences religieuses in France were concerned with contributing to the development of the Christian faith by promoting professional exchange between theological libraries.
It seemed essential to them to improve professional qualifications , advocate international bibliographies , and encourage mutual support in order to fully accomplish their mission. One could respond to them with the quote from Johan van Wyngaerden , who referred to the founders of the VKSB: “They saw it as an apostolic mission not only to take care of the preservation of valuable collections of books from seminaries and monasteries, but also this to make available to a wider public. "
On October 18, 1961, the Conseil international des associations de bibliothèques de théologie (International Council of Theological Library Associations) was founded in Frankfurt , where initially librarians from Germany, France and the Netherlands met. In 1970 the Comitè became the Conseil international des associations de bibliothèques de théologie, by adding several national theological library associations, and from 1971 to 1986 a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Joint publications were published: the Scripta recenter edita: Bibliographie courante des ouvrages philosophiques et théologiques were published from 1959 to 1973, as well as the Bibliographia ad usum seminarorium sélectionna les outils nécessaires aux études théologiques (liturgy, missiology, ecumenism) from 1959 to 1965 .
Desiring to highlight the European activities in particular, the Council became the Bibliothèques Européennes de Théologie / European Theological Libraries / European Libraries for Theology, which settled in Nijmegen and was administered by the Catholic University of Leuven .
In 2010, BETH had twelve national member associations and 13 extraordinary members.
With the support of its national organizations and the exceptionally rich holdings of their libraries, BETH organizes an annual conference . The association's official languages are French and English , with communication mainly in English. BETH supports its members in joining forces for the acquisition of database licenses and distributes information about exhibitions, conferences and ongoing digitization projects throughout the year .
Symbolic meaning
In Hebrew, Beth is the second letter of the alphabet and the first of the Bible , starting the text with the word "Bereshit" (in the beginning). The letter Beth has the meaning of house, building, construction.
A Hungarian graphic designer designed the association's logo in 2008 . It expresses the tradition of studying and “ lectio divina ”, represented by the lectern , as well as the modernity of the librarianship, represented by computer keyboards with the four letters.
List of full members
- Association des Bibliothèques Chrétiennes de France - France (ABCF)
- Associazione dei Bibliotecari Ecclesiastici Italiani - Italy (ABEI)
- Asociación de Bibliotecarios de la Iglesia en España - Spain (ABIE)
- Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries - United Kingdom (ABTAPL)
- Working Group of Catholic Theological Libraries - Germany (AKThB)
- Egyházy Könyvtárak Egyesülése - Hungary (EKE)
- Federacja Bibliotek Kościelnych - Poland (FIDES)
- Forum for Teologiske og Religionsfaglige Bibliotek - Norway (FTRB)
- Unione Romana Biblioteche Ecclesiastiche - Italy (URBE)
- Association of Church-Scientific Libraries in the Working Group of Archives and Libraries in the Protestant Church (AABevK) - Germany (VkwB)
- Vereiniging van Religieus-Wetenschappelijke Bibliothecarissen - Belgium , Flemish-speaking part (VRB)
- Vereiniging voor het Theologische Bibliothecariaat - Netherlands (VTB)
List of extraordinary members
- Bibliothèque de la Société de Port-Royal , Paris, France
- University Library Tübingen / Index Theologicus (IxTheo) - Germany
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ André J. Geuns, Barbara Wolf-Dahm: Theological Libraries - An overview on history and present activities of the international council of associations of theological libraries. (Archive; PDF; 71 kB) In: International Journal of Special Libraries (INSPEL) 32 (1998) 3, pp. 139–158 f.
- ^ J. van Wyngaerden: Vereniging voor het Theologische Bibliothecariaat (VTB). In: Conseil International des Associations de Bibliothèques de Théologie. Leuven, 1961-1996. Library van de Faculteit Godgeleerdheid van de KU Leuven, 1996.
- ^ O. Dupont: Les réseaux français et européens de Bibliothèques religieuses. (Archive) In: Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France (BBF), 2010, t. 55, n °