Create a Parish Library and

 Links to Library Suppliers

The information on this page is provided to assist parishes in establishing a library of their own.  The information and sources on this page provide a "tool kit" for starting a library, and give helpful tips based on what has worked well for us.

Acquiring Materials for Your Library

Donations

The best way to acquire materials for the library is through donations from parishioners and friends.  Appeal to parishioners to donate their Orthodox books and periodicals to the library after they finish reading them. If the parish has a website or a bulletin board, post a list of materials wanted.

Used Books

Materials may be acquired inexpensively through used book dealers.  Sources of used books and other materials are:

                                    Amazon.com

                                    Alibris.com

                                    Abebooks.com

                                    Local public library book sales

                                    Local used book stores

                                    Ebay

                                    Local Book store sale items

With the exception of Amazon, Alibris, and Abebooks the above are not strong sources of books on Orthodoxy, but they are good sources from which to acquire items to round out your collection.  Collecting subjects in addition books about the Orthodox Faith is important since these materials provide context in which to understood the Faith. Our philosophy, art, history and literature sections are the result of acquisitions from library book sales, used book stores, and sale items at local new book stores. 

Periodicals

Subscriptions to a few periodicals enhance the library collection and bring users into the library to read the latest issues.  Subscriptions to most Orthodox periodicals are usually inexpensive.  Some monastery and convent newsletters are free of charge or available for a small donation to cover postage. A list of the periodicals considered core to parish life should be developed first.  Once identified, ask parishioners to adopt one of the periodicals by subscribing to it and donating the copy to the library when each new issue arrives.  After a library budget is established, these subscriptions may be purchased.  You can download a list of the periodicals our library currently receives.

Selection Policy

Meeting with the clergy and others in the parish to decide what is important to your parish is the first step in developing a selection policy.  Regardless of the size of the library, a written selection policy is important.  It  should state what the purpose of your library is and what materials will support it.  It should reflect the needs of the parish and its goals.   Naming the specific subjects of the books and other materials you will collect is part of the policy.  The policy need not be complicated, but should be broad enough to accept donations, and flexible enough so that appropriate materials can be acquired on a shoestring budget.  Once developed and stated in writing, the acquisition of materials becomes directed and easier. You can download, and review a copy of our written selection policy.

AV materials are an important part of your library collection.  Many people prefer a film or CD to books and will check out AV materials if available instead of books.  If AV materials such as VHS, audiotapes, CDs and DVDs are part of the library's collection, the equipment needed to use the AV materials should be readily available in the library.

Environment

The location chosen for the library is important.  The ideal space has windows, good lighting, proper heating and cooling, low humidity, and adequate space for materials.  If these are not available, then a place having as many of these requirements as possible should be used.  A library should be a place where people want to come and spend time.  Making the space appealing and attractive promotes usage.  An inviting space that looks nice also shows that the parish believes in its mission, and that the library is a valuable part of that mission.

The library is housed in the parish hall adjacent to All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, in two large upstairs rooms that are well lit and ventilated, with heating and air conditioning.  To improve our space, we added large sized rugs, two comfortable chairs, and a hot water teapot along with tea, coffee and hot chocolate.  All of these items make the room inviting, and the library has received increased use as a result.

Furniture

Library furniture should be suitable to hold the library collection.  Book cases, tables, desks and chairs can often be acquired through used office supply outlets or through secondhand stores.  It is important that used furniture look nice and not be beaten up or scratched.  Inferior furniture reflects poorly on the library.

Signage

Another way to create an inviting environment in your library is through signage.  All signs in the library should be produced with a word processor, and should never be hand written.  Word processed, stand up signs should be placed in plastic sign holders available from the local office supply store.  Our library uses these sign holders to hold the directions for checking out library materials, locations of special materials such as those for the Bible Study class, and for our new books area.  Additional holders are used to display our new journals when they come in and for bibliographies which the library staff produces.

Bulletin Boards

A bulletin board hung in the library or in another location keeps parishioners informed about library-related information. Our library has one small bulletin board in the library which is used for displaying directions for checking out materials and rules for using the library.  A second bulletin board hangs on  a wall in the parish hall. This is used to display library-related information including interesting news items found in the periodicals received in the library, photos, announcements of exhibits of interest to Orthodox Christians, new acquisitions to the library, and other notices of interest. By keeping the information current and changing the content frequently, viewers will be drawn to it.

Supplies

The following describes the supplies we use to process and organize materials in the library.  Most are pictured above.

To process books

Dust jacket covers

We cannot overstress the importance of making the library and its materials inviting. One way to encourage users to look at the books is to apply clear plastic covers to the dust jackets.  These covers dress up your books and make them more appealing to readers.  They may be ordered from Demco and Brodart (see below for web sites).  Order the special filament or fiber tape along with the plastic covers.  The covers come with directions for putting them over the dust jackets. Covers come in all sizes; we primarily use 10" covers which fit books of any size up to 10" in spine length.  Twelve inch and 14" sizes will accommodate most larger materials.

Book cards and pockets

Our library places book cards and clear book pockets in every book that circulates.  To avoid covering important text and graphics, clear book pockets are used. We recommend self adhering pockets that require no glue since they are easy to install and are less messy.  Pockets are placed as consistently as possible on the inside front cover, or on the facing page of the book, making it easy for users to locate when signing out the book.  To check out any material, users sign the book card and indicate the due date in the "date" column.  Cards and pockets can be obtained from Demco and Brodart.

Book Labels

Avery labels readily available at office supplies stores, are a good and inexpensive source for book classification labels.  Both Word and WordPerfect software programs have label templates for the corresponding Avery label sheets, making it easy to generate printed labels.

We use Avery's 8160 labels for our classification labels.  For each book in our library, three labels are generated:  the first is for the book's spine, the second for the bottom of the book pocket, and the third for top of the book card.  A piece of transparent tape is placed over the spine label to keep it in place.

Each label contains the following information: the first line displays the Dewey Decimal Classification number; the second line displays the author, translator, or editor of the book (if present); the third line displays a short title of the book.  These three lines of information identify the book when it is checked out, and makes matching up book and book card easy when the book is returned.

Reference books

Books in our reference collection do not circulate and are to be used in the library. To designate that these are non-circulating items, a label "Reference Library use only" is placed above the spine label. Reference labels are available from library supply stores but this cost can be avoided by making your own.  We use Avery 8160 labels for this purpose and we print a full sheet of  labels at a time.  The word "REFERENCE" is printed out in all caps, in red ink so that it shows up clearly on the book.  No book pocket or card is placed in these books.  Our reference books are shelved together in a special bookcase.

To process pamphlets

Pamphlet binders

Materials that are small in size, or are designed as pamphlets are protected from loss or damage by enclosing them in a pamphlet binder.  Book cards, pockets and classification labels are then adhered to the pamphlet cover rather than directly to the pamphlet.  Order pamphlet covers from either Demco or Brodart (see links listed below). Most pamphlets will fit in a 9" by 6" binder, but larger sizes are available from these online retailers.

Pamphlet labels

Avery 8160 labels are used for our classification labels on pamphlet binders (these are the same sized labels as those on our books). Three labels are generated and placed in the same locations as those on our books.  An additional label is placed on the front cover of the pamphlet binder to identify the title and author of the pamphlet inside. Avery 8163 labels (2" x 4") are used for this purpose.

For most pamphlets we use single-stitched binders with gray covers.  Clear cover binders are also available. We order our binders from Demco.

To process periodicals

Periodical Labels

Most of the library's periodicals do not circulate. Periodicals that circulate are given pockets and cards.  Only two labels are generated using Avery 8160 labels:  one label is placed on the bottom of the transparent book pocket, the second is placed on the top of the pocket card.  No label is placed on the spine of the periodical.

Another label is generated using Avery 8167 labels.  This label is usually adhered to the top left hand corner of the periodical.  This label makes finding a specific issue easy when the periodicals are housed in periodical boxes. The label contains the following information: the first line contains the name of the periodical; the second line, the volume and number of the issue; the third line, the date and year of the periodical.

Periodical records

You will want to keep track of your periodical holdings since this collection is constantly changing with the arrival of the latest issues.  If gifts of periodicals are received they must be compared to the library's holdings.  Our library maintains its periodical records on our library computer using the MS Excel spreadsheet program.  Each periodical has its own spreadsheet.  Information relating to the cost, frequency, address, phone number, web site and email of the periodical is entered at the top. A grid is created below this and, for each issue of that periodical received in the library, the year, volume, number and issue date are recorded.  As new issues arrive, they are easily added to the appropriate spreadsheet.

Periodical boxes -- Housing your periodicals

Most periodicals are flimsy and tend to flop over or easily fall off the shelves if not contained. To avoid these problems, our periodicals are housed in "periodical boxes" that can be purchased from your local office supply store at a lower cost than from library suppliers.  These boxes are packaged in sets of two or four.  We use Avery 8163 labels to identify the contents and date range of each box, and adhere them to the front of the box.  Other labels that fit the front of the box could be used, but be sure the labels are word processed and not hand written.

To process AV materials

AV labels

Inexpensive labeling for AV materials is challenging because of the different packaging of diverse media.

DVDs and Videotapes

We utilize two types of labels to process these media. Avery 8160 labels are used for both DVDs and VHS video tapes. The label on the front of the box contains the property information: "All Saints of North America Orthodox Library", our address, the format of the item (DVD or videotape), the title of the item, year and length (if known). Since our DVDs and videotapes circulate the transparent pockets and cards are used.  The pockets are adhered to the back of the DVD or videotape box.  Two labels are generated for each item with the following information: format (DVD or VHS), number of CDs or tapes (if more than one in the set), and the title of the item. Transparent book pockets do not obscure the content information on the back of the box, and when the pocket card is removed the back of the box can be easily read. A smaller property label is adhered directly to each videotape using Avery 8167 labels.

CDs

Like DVDs and VHS, we use two types of labels on these.  The smaller property label (Avery 8167) is adhered to the front of the jewel case.  Since our CDs circulate, book pockets and cards are adhered to the back of the jewel case giving the title and indicating the format.

Cassette tapes

Like VHS, audio cassettes are a legacy media format, but there are a number of good lectures and music still available on magnetic tape.  Provided your library has cassette players on hand, cassette tapes should be readily accepted as donations and processed as part of the circulating  audio visual collection. The smaller property label (Avery 8167) is adhered directly onto the cassette. Because the book pockets are too large to fit on the cassette cases, borrowers must fill out a blank book pocket card identifying the specific cassette tape.

The property stamp

Every item in the library should be stamped to identify that the library is the owner of the item. Property stamps can be ordered at your local office supply store. Our stamp includes the following information: "Property of All Saints of North America Church Library," and our full address.

Books are stamped on the title page, or if there is not enough room, on the reverse of the title page. Periodicals are stamped on the table of contents page. If desired, a second stamp may be placed in the book on a page where there is room for the stamp.

Downloaded materials from Web sites

Occasionally we want to add important information found on the Internet to our collection. If the document is not too lengthy, we use two pocket portfolios with three prong fasteners to securely hold the document in place. A book pocket and pocket card are placed on the inside cover and the document is stamped with our property stamp.  Three labels (Avery 8160) are generated, each indicating the author, title and book number, and are adhered to the bottom of the book pocket, the top of the book card, and the lower left corner of the portfolio front cover.  Another label (Avery 8163) containing the title and author of the document, is adhered to the front cover to identify the item inside.

Finding and using Dewey Decimal Numbers

We chose the Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC), which is widely used by smaller libraries, public libraries, and special collections such as a parish library.  For beginning collections of a few hundred books, using the DDC is not necessary.  A better and simpler way to organize the collection is by determining the major subject areas of the materials, and then placing the books in each subject area together on the shelves.  Some subject categories to consider are: Spiritual counsel, Bible study, Scriptural commentary, Orthodox art and architecture, World and European art, Russia (or other specific countries), Lives of the saints, Orthodox Church (in general), Service books, Christian life, Jesus Christ, Sacraments, etc.

For larger collections, the DDC is a good option.  For decades the Library of Congress (LC) cataloging division has assigned DDC call numbers to most books.  These numbers should be used whenever available so that consistency is maintained in all libraries that hold the book.  Using the LC-assigned number also makes classifying books easy since time is not spent assigning numbers to books which have already been classified.  To find the DDC numbers, a number of sources are available:

1.  First look on our library's Alphabetical List of Books.  If our library owns the item, you will be able to copy off the classification number from the list.

2.  Library of Congress web site.  www.loc.gov.  Under "Catalogs" one can search this library's collection in one of three ways for the wanted item.  When you find the item, click on the "Full Record" button to display the numbers assigned to this item.  Both the Library of Congress classification and the Dewey Decimal Classification numbers are usually listed; the LC number is usually first, followed by the DDC number.  The Library of Congress classification begins with one or two letters, followed by numbers and letters.  The DDC call number starts out with three numerals followed by a decimal point and additional numerals, and does not contain letters.

3.  WorldCat (www.worldcat.org)  allows you to find items in libraries near you.  Over 10,000 libraries have input their holdings into WorldCat, and each record from that library includes the classification number of the item.  The trick of using this database is to identify libraries which use the DDC system and not the LC classification system.  When a title is entered in the search box, the system brings up all the libraries which hold this book.  By clicking on a name of a library, the system takes the user either directly to the record or to a search screen that allows one to search that library's records for the wanted item.  Many of the libraries in WorldCat are college and university libraries, most of which use the LC classification system.  However, many public library collections are contained in WorldCat, and most of these use the DDC system.  With some persistence and looking first in the public library collections, one can locate many DDC numbers.  When no number can be located, it is necessary to make up a number.  Contact us for assistance in how to do this.

Links to recommended suppliers

These links are recommended by the library staff at All Saint's for acquiring specialized, but essential, supplies for parish libraries.

Brodart Library Supplies and Furnishings

http://www.shopbrodart.com/default.us.aspx

Demco

http://www.demco.com/

The Library Store

http://www.thelibrarystore.com/

Gaylord Brothers

http://www.gaylordmart.com 

Highsmith

http://www.highsmith.com

Promoting your Library

The existence and use of a parish library will readily demonstrate its importance in the parish's Orthodox life.  The library become a hub of parish life.  It should be promoted consistently.  All Saints of North America Orthodox Library is first of all a quiet place for clergy, parishioners, and visitors to read, to study, or to do research.  The library is the location for Sunday school classes and adult Bible study classes, and its resources are used in support of these educational activities.  Administrative meetings are held in the library because it offers a pleasant, quiet environment.  It is a place of hospitality where visitors are offered the opportunity to use the library and to enjoy a hot drink while getting acquainted with parishioners and the library resources. It is a place where clergy, together with parishioners, often gather to enjoy fellowship and interesting conversations.

New additions to the collection

 A monthly list of new materials added to the library's collection is sent via Internet to those on our mailing list to encourage them to read and study, and as a means of promoting the library's new materials.

Bibliographies

Producing reading lists that support educational activities is an important function of the diocesan library and a method to use to promote your library.  We prepare a bibliography/resource guide of items available in the collection on that subject to accompany each exhibit and class. Resource lists that promote reading on subjects of interest to the library's patrons demonstrates that the library responds to its user's needs.  To see a list of these bibliographies click on the Downloads page.

Exhibits

The library occasionally serves as a gallery to mount exhibits.  An  exhibit on the Apocrypha supported the Bible study classes on that subject. Another exhibit mounted on the walls outside of our library entitled "Ye Saints of North America" was made possible because of the resources in our library on this subject. An extensive bibliography accompanies the exhibit highlighting all the library's books and periodicals relating to these saints.

Outreach

An important focus of your parish library is to heighten the awareness of Orthodoxy in our local community.   Fr. John Moses, Rector of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, has spoken to the local public librarian about our library and made our library available to patrons who are seeking information which our library can supply.  Further outreach has been made to college OCF groups, and to students and faculty of our local college religion classes, inviting them to use the library resources in their studies.

The staff at All Saints of North America Orthodox Library is happy to provide technical assistance to other Orthodox parishes interested in developing their own libraries.  Please refer to the Contact Us page and email the librarian, Katherine Alderson for more information  about starting and maintaining a parish library.