Librarian
Databases
Try these for historical and biographical research.
- ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new windowThe American Theological Library Association gives you access to more than 1,600 religion and theology journals, many of them full-text. During your search, be sure to use the subject list in the left-hand column if you want to narrow your results.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles on most academic topics, often spanning the entire run of academic journals.
Books
Print sources for Christian history and biographies.
New Catholic Encyclopedia by Call Number: Reference BX841 .N44 2003 v. 1–15Use it online!
An exhaustive compendium of Catholic theology and practice, from the Byzantines to modern-day moral issues, with scholarly comparisons to other world religions.
Encyclopedia of Protestantism by Call Number: Reference BX4811.3 .E53 2004 v. 1–4If it's Christian without being Catholic or Orthodox, you'll find it in these four volumes.
Encyclopedia of Protestantism by Call Number: Reference BX4811.3 .E54 2005Part of the Encyclopedia of World Religions series, this is readable and compact, with a clear chronology of Protestantism from the early 1500s to the present.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation by Call Number: Reference BR302.8 .O93 1996 v. 1–4ISBN: 0195064933Use it online!
The 16th century changed the world. These four volumes cover not just Martin Luther's work, but virtually every aspect of religious life in Europe during that momentous period.
Dictionary of Christian Biography by Call Number: Reference BR1700.3 .D53 2001From the early saints, Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, and down to the present day, you'll find fascinating portraits of the personalities and actions that shaped Christianity.
A New Dictionary of Saints : East and West by Call Number: Reference BR1710 .W35 2007Everything we know about 7,000 saints and "blesseds" in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, from their family and education (if known) to their depiction in art and literature.
The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs by Call Number: Reference BR1601.2 N48 2001A 2,000-year history, in chronological order, of the men and women who gave their lives for Christianity.
The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church by Call Number: Reference X8007 .B6 v. 1–3Although it is approaching 50 years old, this three-volume set is still relevant to Protestant studies, with well-documented information about the many faces and ethnicities of Lutheranism.
Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation by Call Number: Reference BR302.8 .H55 2000A broad overview of a tumultuous time in religious history.
The Mennonite Encyclopedia : A Comprehensive Reference Work on the Anabaptist-Mennonite MovementCall Number: Reference BX8106 .M37 v. 1–5Traces the history of this important Protestant movement from the early 1500s to the 1950s.
Web Resources
- Project Wittenberg: Selected Works of Martin LutherThe beginning of "an international electronic library of Lutheranism," this database from the Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne, Ind.) aims to do for Lutheranism what Project Gutenberg does for literature. You can read, for example, Luther's 95 Theses in the original Latin and in English, as well as in Turkish and Dutch.