After *several* years of entering minimal level catalog records, the microfiche backlog is diminishing. All those records, though, will require updating.
Currently I am working on the Flugschriftensammulung Gustav Freytag. This collection is eclectic. We have it due it sections on Luther/Eramus/Reformation-Counter Reformation. Also noteworthy for us is collection on the Thirty Years War.
For the good of the church, I recently started some pro bono work for the library of our sister seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN. I’ll be working with the digital library there, called “CTS Media Server.”
While in library school, I took a class on digital libraries and a class on information storage and retrieval. Ever since then, I had wanted to dive in and get some experience working with digital libraries. When this opportunity arrose, I couldn’t pass it up.
Here is the link to the library resource page at Concordia Theological Seminary: http://www.ctsfw.edu/Page.aspx?pid=330
Here is the link to the CTS Media Server: http://media.ctsfw.edu/
The holdings of the Center for Reformation Research (CRR) are housed in the Concordia Seminary Library. CRR’s collection, as it’s name implies, is rich in Reformation studies. One of its strengths is its bibliographies of 16th century materials.
Another strength unique to CRR is its micorfilm collection of the Philipp of Hesse Political Archives. CRR has over 500 roles of microfilm containing over 3,000 individual documents from the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg. As far as we are aware, CRR is the only library in the US to hold copies of these archives.
The American Theological Library Asssociation (ATLA) began the Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative (CDRI) in the early 2000s. The ALTA CDRI is a digital repository of member libraries’ selected special collections.
ATLA CDRI: http://www.atla.com/digitalresources/
Concordia Seminary Library contributed five manuscript items to the project.
Medizinisch-astrologisches Hausbuch. Germany, ca. 1429. [written in German]
Thomas a Kempis. Libellus consolatoris … de imitaitione Christi. 1484. [Imitatio Christi] [written in Latin]
Passio Domini. Netherlands, ca. 1500-1520. [written in German]
Deutscher Kalender und Praktik auf das Jar 1466. [written in German]
12th Century Bible Manuscript containing James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude and Revelation. [written in Latin]
For more information regarding Concordia’s contribution including links to the digital images: http://www.atla.com/digitalresources/#concordia
Concordia Seminary owns a three volume bible commentary, the Bach Bible, which Johann Sebastian Bach once owned. The Bach Bible is Luther’s translation of the Bible with a commentary by Abraham Calov. What makes Concordia’s holding extraordinary, is that the Bach Bible contains Bach’s handwritten annotations scattered throughout the three volume set.
The seminary obtained the Bach Bible in 1938 from the Reichle family in Frankenmuth, Michigan. For more history of the Bach Bible see: Leaver, Robin A. J.S. Bach and Scripture: Glosses from the Calov Bible Commentary. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House, 1985.
A Dutch company is producing a facsimile edition of the Bach Bible. Associates from Libraries Without Walls(http://www.librarieswithoutwalls.org/) came to St. Louis in Aug. and Sept. 2008 and took digital photos of the Bach Bible for the purpose of making the facsimile. The latest update for purchasing the facsimile is late 2010.
(See here for a link to the Dutch company: http://www.uitgeverijvanwijnen.nl/index-agenda.htm.)
The library has a set of IDC microfiche of pamphlet writings from the early (1500-1530) and late (1530-1600) 16th century: Flugschriften des frühen 16. Jahrhunderts and Flugschriften des späteren 16. Jahrhunderts. IDC determined the time frames.
All of the earlier Flugschriften currently in the library catalog are *now* searchable by IDC fiche number under the series “Flugschriften des frühen 16. Jahrhunderts.”
The later Flugschriften currently in the library catalog are searchable by IDC fiche number under the series “Flugschriften des späteren 16. Jahrhunderts.”
Concordia Seminary Library possesses several IDC microfiche collections in Reformation studies. We purchased the majority of our fiche collections long before I started. I have been creating short records, i.e. author and short title, for the fiche for the past several years.
An overview of our fiche collections is available here: http://refresearch.org/.
See here to get our catalog: http://www.csl.edu/resources/library/using-the-library/
The webpage for IDC is here: http://www.idcpublishers.com/
