Introducing Karl Barth

I have no idea who Karl Barth is.

I spent the majority of this past summer working in the Masland Library.  Okay, insert reader commentary:

Reader: “WHATTT? The library is open during the summer???”

Why, yes, dear reader!  The library is open for Monday-Saturday during summer classes and Monday-Friday for the rest of the summer.  If you do decide to stop in anytime after summer classes are completed, you will likely see student workers among the bookshelves, preparing the library for the coming school year.  This past summer, myself and several other student workers were given the task of shifting almost every book in the main section of the library.  In the course of this tedious-but-necessary task, one man’s name seemed to appear over and over:

KARL BARTH.

No matter what section we were shifting that day, Karl Barth had either written a book on it or someone had written a book about Karl Barth’s thoughts on the matter.  I have done no research on who exactly Karl Barth is and why he has so many opinions about everything, so it does not really make sense that I am writing a blog post about him.  However, I believe in you, reader, and your researching ability.  I just searched his name in the library catalog and was given over 300 results, so he is probably an important person.  So, go! Find out who this man is!  Maybe write him a letter asking him to please calm down and stop writing so many books that I have to shelve.  Here’s a couple books that are in our library collection about good ol’ Karl:

Karl Barth in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer –  BX4827.B57 P3615  2000

 

How Karl Barth changed my mind –  BX4827.B3 H59 1986

 

The Humanity of God –  BT28 .B273 1996

*This one is actually by the man himself!*

 

Christianity and Barthianism –  BX4827.B3 V36 1962

Okay, so apparently Barth has a whole school of thought named after him.

 

Hopefully those books can get you started on the journey of Barth knowledge on which I have never traveled.

~Valarie Meiser

Summer reading

Looking for a book this summer? Student worker Ryan Eshelman provides us with a view into e-books.
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It seems like every time a new piece of technology is introduced, people are quick to jump on the bandwagon and proclaim it as “The next big thing”, often supposedly rendering whatever it replaced obsolete. This happened somewhat recently, with the introduction of electronic books, or “eBooks” for short.

eBooks were not regarded as much of a threat to physical print at launch, as they had to be read on a bulky home computer. However, in 2007, Amazon released the Kindle, a portable eBook reader. Able to store over a thousand books, this changed everything. Although not the first eReader, the Kindle was so wildly popular that it sold out within 5 hours of launch, and libraries everywhere started integrating technology to allow patrons to “check out” eBooks, which would then delete themselves after a set period. 6 years later, eReaders have become mainstream, with many people owning one, or a tablet with an eBook reader app.[For more information see our Libguide on Tablets.]

Yet this doesn’t necessarily mean that physical books are dying. There are many reasons to still head to Masland Library to check out a book. For one thing, it’s free. While there are a few classics that can be downloaded onto a reader for free, the majority of eBooks cost money. Another wonderful feature of the physical book is that it can’t run out of power. Some people just prefer the feel of turning the pages of a physical book in their hands, or even the satisfying “thud” of slamming a finished book closed. Whatever your preferences, the Masland Library has both physical and electronic resources available to you, to suit any need or inclination.

To see what the Masland Library has available you can check the Library Catalog for more information.  To download ebooks from the Masland Library you will need to download the ebrary app from either Google Play or the iTunes store.   

Completing the Course

The end of the semester is finally here! The final challenge awaiting all of the students is finals week. There is something about finals week that is just so, well, final. To put it simply, finals week is the culmination of all of the hard work that has been done all semester long. For each class, it comes down to one final paper. What better place to write your final papers then the library? To help the student body, the library is staying open until 12 AM from Sunday to Tuesday.

This week will be a little hectic for the library since everyone is finishing up with books that they checked out. For final papers, the library has an immense selection of books for students to use as resources. I am working on a final paper for my New Testament class, and I have selected a number of helpful books to guide my argument. I have chosen eight commentaries that I thought would be helpful. The BIB REF section on the lower floor of the library includes many commentaries and books on Hebrew and Greek translations. I may use some of these books as well, however books from the BIB REF section may not be checked out.

The paper concerns I Corinthians 8-11 and the idea of food that is sacrificed to idols. I cannot say anymore in regards to this paper because I have not started it. However, the idea of food sacrificed to idols has appeared in other places in the New Testament (Romans 14-15 and Revelation 2 for example). For other classes, the final may come down to one more class presentation. The computer labs on the lower and upper level of the library supply the sufficient technology for students to use on their presentations. If any of the students need any help with operating one of the systems or finding resources, there will normally be a student worker in the computer lab on the lower floor. Perhaps some of the finals next week are exams (possibly cumulative). The librarians and sometimes student workers work hard trying to keep the library a quiet and productive environment for people to do their work. The student can even isolate himself from everyone by going to one of the small cubicles in the library to try to concentrate on studying for his exam.

The library will also provide students with coffee and hot chocolate so that they may take a short break. Truly the library is prepared to help students get through finals week. The remaining question is this: are the students prepared to finish this semester strong? The final grades on Self-Service represent a semester’s worth of hard work, or maybe not so hard work…

-Daniel Wright aka Superfly

Future of the Library?

The only true equalizers in the world are books; the only treasure-house open to all comers is a library; the only wealth which will not decay is knowledge; the only jewel which you can carry beyond the grave is wisdom.
– J. A. Langford

No furniture is so charming as books.
– Sydney Smith

There has been a lot of debate in the media about ebooks, ereaders and tablets. It has become a badge of honor to be in a certain camp for either digital or print media, kind of on par with the Twilight obsessed fans of Team Jacob or Edward (insert eye rolling here). Personally I find myself in both media camps. I cannot say one media source is better than another, in fact I will probably be working with both for the remainder of my life. Will I buy an ereader? I believe I may, but I will be waiting for a reader that accomplishes all of my goals and wishlist of services. Will I give up my print library? For certain books I believe I may, but will I give up my classics? The books that I wish my future friends and children to read? Not at all.

{Geekiness warning} Growing up I watched whatever my dad had on and my most vivid memories are of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jean Luc Picard is in my opinion the most awesome of all Star Trek captains, he has a amazing voice, he was kind to children and his crew, and he appreciated the Arts. In his quarters he played classical music and even had physical books lying around, but when we saw him reading he was always on his “tablet” reader. To me as a child that was the epitome of cool (that and when I discovered that Jordy was that guy on Reading Rainbow). When I hold a Kindle or Nook, I feel like I am on Star Trek reading awesome Classic books with style, much like Cpt. Picard.

So now you are probably wondering why I have brought up this meandering midst of memories? As a student at Philadelphia Biblical University you have been blessed with receiving an education that takes an interest in you and your worldview. We want our students to succeed, all the faculty and staff are here to invest ourselves in your future., That is a gift that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Part of that investment is the Library and its databases and its physical offerings. Regardless of whether you prefer print or digital media we have resources for you. With over 70 databases and more than a 100,000 physical items on our shelves, we have and continue to develop our offerings to meet the needs of our students and their programs of study. So if you want to immerse yourself in the print resources you may do so, or if you are busy commuter who prefers working online you can conduct your research from your favorite wireless location. Whichever way suites you best than we are here to accommodate you. If you need pointers or have suggestions on how we can improve our services we would love to hear from you. You can contact us through “Ask a Librarian” or you can also make suggestions about items to acquire.

~Laura Saloiye

Ebrary

There has been a lot of talk in the press and news-boards about e books lately. With the arrival of the iPad and other tablets to the market, electronic books are highly visual lately. One of the many debates about e books are the cost, e books are digital representations of books, they aren’t something you can stick on your shelf, and yet the cost the same as many paperbacks. However as a PBU student, you have the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from the immediacy of electronic books for your work, and the cost to you is part of your tuition. What is it? Ebrary Academic Complete.

Last year the Masland Library added over 40,000 electronic books to our collection. The books range from Religion to Science, from Literature to Business and everything in-between. The books available are searchable through the PBU Library Catalog and readable on your computer or mobile device. If you create an account for yourself in Ebrary you can also make notes, and highlight sections of a book as necessary.

So if you are in the market for a tablet computer, have a web enabled device, or you are longing for something to read, instead of purchasing a book through the Kindle or BNreader App, use Ebrary- it’s free and wonderfully informative. Watch for more reviews of books that can be found in Ebrary!

Thanksgiving

The Library will be closed Wednesday November 25- Saturday November 28. We will reopen on Sunday November 29 at 6:00 pm.

Let me take this opportunity to re-present our databases. For all of the students who will be working on their studies this Thanksgiving, please remember that we have an entire digital library for you to use this holiday. With over 40,000 electronic books, and at least twice that many articles you should be able to still complete many of your assignments without ever having to step foot in the physical building.

Some people really do not like reading digital items, I understand and sympathize. However as a graduate of a online Master’s program, I was able to use databases from here and from my school’s university in Pittsburgh to complete my program. Here at PBU we have a number of full-text and e-book databases that can help you complete your studies while away from campus.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library– read Calvin’s Commentaries, or Edward’s Religious Affectations from your computer!

ebrary Academic Complete – This database of electronic books has over 40,000 sources covering a number of different disciplines.

netLibrary– Another source of full text books.

Make sure you also check out our Online Database page for additional databases.

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