ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Full Text now available at University of Edinburgh

Proquest’s Dissertations & Theses database is now available for University of Edinburgh users.

We have been subscribing to Proquest’s Dissertations & Theses – Abstracts & Indexes for some time but have been able to upgrade our  access to the full subscription which offers full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. To access, look under P for ‘ProQuest Dissertations & Theses’ in the A-Z list of databases http://www.ed.ac.uk/is/databases-a-z

Thank you for all your feedback which was key to putting together a case for purchasing this  expensive resource.

For information about more resources and services for theses, see the Theses Subject Guide.

Iona Community 75th Anniversary display at New College Library

Iona Abbey
Photo taken by Jen Ross,  used by permission of the Iona Community

In May 2013 the Iona Community is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its foundation, and the 1450th anniversary of Columba’s arrival on the island of Iona.  The Iona Community was founded in 1938 by the Rev George MacLeod. It is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church, aiming to come together to work for peace and social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship.

New College Library currently has a small display of publications about the Iona Community in the Funk Reading Room, including We shall re-build : the work of the Iona Community on mainland and on island / by George MacLeod, and  issues from The Coracle, the journal of the Iona Community. Current issues of The Coracle are also available online.

J.H. Oldham (1874-1969) : Missionary and Ecumenical Pioneer

Faith on the frontier : a life of J.H. Oldham / K.W. Clements. New College Library BX6.8.O54 Cle.

Today, 16 May, is the anniversary of the death of J.H. Oldham.

Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1874-1969) was a missionary and pioneer of ecumenism. The organising secretary for the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, he also founded the journal International Review of Missions. During the Second World War the meetings of his ‘Moot’ group initiated new thinking about Christian responsibility in modern society.

New College Library holds a substantial collection of J.H. Oldham’s papers,  which include correspondence, material relating to the Moot including minutes (1938-1947), lectures, sermons, papers and reports.

You can read more about J.H. Oldham and the Oldham Papers here , or in Faith on the frontier : a life of J.H. Oldham  by K.W. Clements, in  New College Library at BX6.8.O54 Cle.

Christianity in facts and figures – Online Reference Resources

Did you know that the the World Christian Database is now available online to University of Edinburgh users? It provides access to comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations, and people groups. Use it for research on religious activities, growth rates, religious literature, worker activity, and demographic statistics. Additional secular data is incorporated on population, health, education, and communications.

Also, if you previously consulted the UK Christian Handbook, you’ll find it useful to know that it is now freely available online as the Christian Resources Directory,  listing  Christian services, agencies, businesses and organisations in the UK.  Archived print editions remain available at the National Library of Scotland.

New books at New College Library – May

New College Library has a regular display of new books at the far end of the Library Hall, close to the door to the stacks.

New in this month  is Religion on the move! : new dynamics of religious expansion in a globalizing world  edited by Afe Adogame and Shobana Shankar, on the shelf at  BL637 Rel.

Also new is Becoming frum : how newcomers learn the language and culture of Orthodox Judaism by Sarah Benor, at BM723 Ben.

These titles were purchased for Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, Edinburgh University.

You can see an regularly updated list of new books for New College Library on the Library Catalogue – choose the New Books Search and limit your search to New College Library. Here’s a quick link to new books arriving in the last few weeks. A word of caution – some of the books listed here may still be in transit between the Main Library (where they are catalogued) and New College Library, so not on the shelf just yet.

New online journals for Divinity

Two new electronic journals are now accessible to University of Edinburgh users via the e-journals list.

The Journal of Reformed Theology (JRT) is a refereed international journal of systematic, historical, and biblical theology. The JRT is an instrument for the study of living and contextual theology that provides a forum for debate on classical and contemporary theological issues and offers an update on new theological and biblical literature.

Buddhist Studies Review is published  on behalf of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies. It covers the different cultural areas where Buddhism exists or has existed (in South, Southeast, Central and East Asia); historical and contemporary aspects (including developments in ‘Western’ Buddhism); theoretical, practical and methodological issues; textual, linguistic, archaeological and art-historical studies; and different disciplinary approaches to the subject.

Happy Birthday NewCollegeLibrarian

This blog is one year old now and has had over 5,000 hits – thank you! I’d love to know a bit more about who out there is reading my blog, so I’d appreciate it if you could fill in this 5 second poll. Thanks again!