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Rocky8311
Guest
Carolyn, what do you do when you reject a book? Do you return it to the donor? Do you dispose of it?
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CB_Catholic
Guest
If they are in bad shape, they are disposed of. For many of the others, the Methodist church up the street has been having a semi-annual used book sale for years now, and the lady who chairs the library committee gives them to them for their book sale! They are happy to have them, as they take donations from the entire community and the book sale is quite popular. Or if someone wants one of the books, they can have it, but that does not happen too often.
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Toribus
Guest
Sounds a lot like this seminarian was either a future saint or an idiot with one good idea.
Either way, bravo!
S
Shin
Guest
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Mimi
Guest
Hi Rocky8311 and other posters,
I’m involved in getting our parish library going also. People donated a lot of non-religious stuff, and when we decided to weed them out, people got ticked off. Then, a bunch of books by dissidents started showing up. I have made use of www.catholicculture.org site as a “Who’s Who” in orthodoxy. That has been very helpful, and I’m learning a lot.
We have a donation policy; guess we need to make it more well-known. A parishioner generously made and donated 2 bookcases, so we will have more space for materials.
I love reading about Catholicism, and have collected quite a few books as well as DVD’s and talks on CD I have donated. They more than replace the books we have had to withdraw.
I’m not sure about what to do with the dissident books – some I have returned, but there are not names on a few others. I suppose I will have to see our priest about this. He has quite a full plate, and I don’t want to bother him with details, but think he should know this stuff is coming in and the committee is united in weeding it out.
I wouldn’t want books which do not uphold the teachings of the Church to go to a book sale, or used book store, or even sell them online. Guess I could possibly send them back to the author??
We have posted a Mission Statement which is an addendum to the Parish Mission Statement (library exists for evangelization & education basically).
The other problem we are having is not many people are patronizing the library. I put out a monthly flier, and will probably go to bi-monthly in the fall. The location may be a bit of a problem, as people have to go to the basement level; it is a nice sized room, carpeted and well lit.
We plan on trying to attract families by stocking DVD’s for kids, like Veggie Tales and movies about Saints.
If anyone has suggestion, I’d appreciate it!
God bless,
Mimi
I’m involved in getting our parish library going also. People donated a lot of non-religious stuff, and when we decided to weed them out, people got ticked off. Then, a bunch of books by dissidents started showing up. I have made use of www.catholicculture.org site as a “Who’s Who” in orthodoxy. That has been very helpful, and I’m learning a lot.
We have a donation policy; guess we need to make it more well-known. A parishioner generously made and donated 2 bookcases, so we will have more space for materials.
I love reading about Catholicism, and have collected quite a few books as well as DVD’s and talks on CD I have donated. They more than replace the books we have had to withdraw.
I’m not sure about what to do with the dissident books – some I have returned, but there are not names on a few others. I suppose I will have to see our priest about this. He has quite a full plate, and I don’t want to bother him with details, but think he should know this stuff is coming in and the committee is united in weeding it out.
I wouldn’t want books which do not uphold the teachings of the Church to go to a book sale, or used book store, or even sell them online. Guess I could possibly send them back to the author??
We have posted a Mission Statement which is an addendum to the Parish Mission Statement (library exists for evangelization & education basically).
The other problem we are having is not many people are patronizing the library. I put out a monthly flier, and will probably go to bi-monthly in the fall. The location may be a bit of a problem, as people have to go to the basement level; it is a nice sized room, carpeted and well lit.
We plan on trying to attract families by stocking DVD’s for kids, like Veggie Tales and movies about Saints.
If anyone has suggestion, I’d appreciate it!
God bless,
Mimi
J
jmcrae
Guest
Just make sure that your general policy is made very clear - this library is not a dumping-off place for your unwanted books; we reserve the right to not shelve your donated books. Books that are in poor condition, that don’t have anything to do with the teachings of the Catholic faith, and books that teach contrary to what we find in the Catechism, will most likely be rejected. We reserve the right to reject your book without telling you.
I think that you can probably just go ahead and pitch them out or whatever, unless your priest has specifically told you that he wants to make the final decisions. (Check with him, first, of course - just pop your head into his office and ask him whether he feels the need to be informed of every book that you reject or accept in the Library.)
If they are the sort of books that you would never want anyone to read (as opposed to just being irrelevant to your library), make mash out of them and turn them into home-made paper for the Children’s Liturgy kids to draw on.
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Tepeyac
Guest
Consider hosting a book group that meets there regularly. Make it inviting with nice seating and potted plants. Invite parish groups to use it as meeting space, make them aware it exists. Maybe you can host a coffee hour in there after mass. If it’s a nice sized room maybe you could invite (talented
) parishioners to hold music recitals in there.
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Rocky8311
Guest
I have to disagree with a policy of selling off dissident books, even to non-Catholics. If I couldn’t return them, I’d destroy them. If you consider them to be harmful, would you truly put someone else at risk?
I mean, if you know there’s a razor blade in a piece of candy and you don’t want to eat it, are you going to sell it to someone else so that you can buy a new piece of candy?
I think a university library might be justified in keeping dissident books for the purpose of refutation, but a parish is not the place for that.
I mean, if you know there’s a razor blade in a piece of candy and you don’t want to eat it, are you going to sell it to someone else so that you can buy a new piece of candy?
I think a university library might be justified in keeping dissident books for the purpose of refutation, but a parish is not the place for that.
S
Shin
Guest
Well said, dissident books should normally be thrown in the trash.
In the past such books were properly viewed only with permission. We still have to seek permission from God, whether it is in fact wise and prudent to have anything to do with what He, after all, despises.
In some cases, that is with people who are truly of sound fidelity and knowledge, they can be read to refute what is within them. But for most people, giving them a book like this will lead them into error.
So they should not be sold or given as gifts, and it can be sinful in fact to do this.
Some of the basic principles about books and media are not hard to understand, that is what is permitted and what is not. But for further insight into it, I suggest a fascinating look at history:
The Roman Index Of Prohibited Books, by Francis Betten, S.J.
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Mimi
Guest
Thanks for all the replies & advice! I will look for that history book, The Roman Index Of Prohibited Books, by Francis Betten, S.J. It would fit well in my personal library.
I do know that there are some modernist/liberal types in our parish, and perhaps they think they can influence more by offering their books; well, they are finding some resistance.
The room is only about 12’ x 8’. It is sometimes used as a meeting room. People just do NOT like going out of their way in our parish. We thought maybe a book truck would work; load it up with selections for various ages and interests and bring it out during dinners, or anytime there is a bake sale in the adjacent (large) dining hall. We are struggling financially, and this would be a big ticket item to purchase. We’re thinking of taking some books up into the sanctuary to draw a few people after Masses, too. One suggestion was a red wagon with kid’s books and videos, and maybe a few parenting items.
We have a good number of pro-life materials. There is no gathering space in the sanctuary; the church building is 100 years old! We are going to re-dedicate the library to a past parish priest and would ask parishioners for (name removed by moderator)ut on that (in the fall). So hope that brings more attention.
I thought hosting an author would be good, too. I already contacted one.
Thanks again; I’ll check back soon.
God bless,
Mimi
I do know that there are some modernist/liberal types in our parish, and perhaps they think they can influence more by offering their books; well, they are finding some resistance.
The room is only about 12’ x 8’. It is sometimes used as a meeting room. People just do NOT like going out of their way in our parish. We thought maybe a book truck would work; load it up with selections for various ages and interests and bring it out during dinners, or anytime there is a bake sale in the adjacent (large) dining hall. We are struggling financially, and this would be a big ticket item to purchase. We’re thinking of taking some books up into the sanctuary to draw a few people after Masses, too. One suggestion was a red wagon with kid’s books and videos, and maybe a few parenting items.
We have a good number of pro-life materials. There is no gathering space in the sanctuary; the church building is 100 years old! We are going to re-dedicate the library to a past parish priest and would ask parishioners for (name removed by moderator)ut on that (in the fall). So hope that brings more attention.
I thought hosting an author would be good, too. I already contacted one.
Thanks again; I’ll check back soon.
God bless,
Mimi
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
We’ve been trying to get our parish library going for years. We inherited a convent building and professional library when the sisters who once taught in our schools departed. Our stumbling block was how to organize the 1000 plus collection … with no money. Year after year a new victim tried to get our books organized only to go down in defeat. Finally, a professional librarian took on the project as a work of charity. With the help on a volunteer staff (the only kind we can afford), we are now getting all the books organized and cataloged. The hardest part was following her advice to suspend judgement on any book until everything was processed.
We found the easiest part was agreeing within our committee what kind of books we wanted in our library. It was an eyeopener to find out that the system of granting an imprimater and nihil obstat to books on theology is now optional. We found the best use of our committee time was to come up with a clear mission statement. Wish we were so high tech in our little parish that I could give you the address to our web site and you could see our mission statement, policies, et cetera…
We agreed that our library existed to serve the average parishoner. That makes it easy to eliminate books that would lead him or her astray. We also agreed that we wouldn’t compete with other libraries and have any books that are strictly secular. That eliminated pop psychology, parenting or relationship advice, education methods, and so on that weren’t written from a explicitly Catholic perspective. We don’t shelve Christian, but not Catholic authors, even though some of them are good. Library patrrons can go elsewhere to get them and we are saved the bother of reading each book and asking, “Is this or that OK.”
We have some few books of Catholic fiction and poetry and are looking forward to getting much more.
We welcome donations of any books because we tell donors that we reserve the right to dispose of the books as we see fit. Such books are divided into three catagories; stinkers get thrown in the recycle bin, the few explicitly Catholic books are kept (if they will enhance our collection), and the rest are gratefully taken by the St. Vincent de Paul store.
Critics are invited to join the library committee. The bitter and argumentitive ones drop out right away when they see how much work it is. We have one final and secret tool. The old convent library shares a wall with our parish’s hidden gem. The sister’s beautiful little adoration chapel is in the same building. One of us prays while the others work.
The theology section is more difficult. Our pastor doesn’t want to get in the book business. Even though some of us have some formal background in theology and scripture studies, none of us are experts. Sorry to say, we can’t just ask the archdiocese. They don’t want to get in the book business at the parish level either.
What do you folks out there do about this problem?
We found the easiest part was agreeing within our committee what kind of books we wanted in our library. It was an eyeopener to find out that the system of granting an imprimater and nihil obstat to books on theology is now optional. We found the best use of our committee time was to come up with a clear mission statement. Wish we were so high tech in our little parish that I could give you the address to our web site and you could see our mission statement, policies, et cetera…
We agreed that our library existed to serve the average parishoner. That makes it easy to eliminate books that would lead him or her astray. We also agreed that we wouldn’t compete with other libraries and have any books that are strictly secular. That eliminated pop psychology, parenting or relationship advice, education methods, and so on that weren’t written from a explicitly Catholic perspective. We don’t shelve Christian, but not Catholic authors, even though some of them are good. Library patrrons can go elsewhere to get them and we are saved the bother of reading each book and asking, “Is this or that OK.”
We have some few books of Catholic fiction and poetry and are looking forward to getting much more.
We welcome donations of any books because we tell donors that we reserve the right to dispose of the books as we see fit. Such books are divided into three catagories; stinkers get thrown in the recycle bin, the few explicitly Catholic books are kept (if they will enhance our collection), and the rest are gratefully taken by the St. Vincent de Paul store.
Critics are invited to join the library committee. The bitter and argumentitive ones drop out right away when they see how much work it is. We have one final and secret tool. The old convent library shares a wall with our parish’s hidden gem. The sister’s beautiful little adoration chapel is in the same building. One of us prays while the others work.
The theology section is more difficult. Our pastor doesn’t want to get in the book business. Even though some of us have some formal background in theology and scripture studies, none of us are experts. Sorry to say, we can’t just ask the archdiocese. They don’t want to get in the book business at the parish level either.
What do you folks out there do about this problem?
R
Rocky8311
Guest
Actually, could you PM me the website for the mission statement?I’d really like to see what you put together. My first thought is that a library should pursue the goal of facilitating the New Evangelization at the level of the parish.
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
Dear Peter;
I’m too much of a klutz to PM (private message?) you and we’re too primitive at our little parish to have a parish library site on our website. Heck, the person who set up the parish website moved out of town and we don’t know how to update things. “sigh” For what it’s worth I printed out the Library Policies below. The language is a little klunky but it works for us. We see our job as catechesis - desperately needed for our church in these days. Our watchword is faithfulness to the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Thanks for your interest. Are you a librarian?
LIBRARY POLICIES
2009
The Holy Family Parish Library serves all members of the parish. The board seeks to provide Catholic books, periodicals, electronic media and music for enjoyment and instruction. We propose the following policies to fulfill this mission:
• The library is open to parishioners of all ages.
• All materials will faithfully reflect the teaching of the Catholic Church.
• Materials will be checked out by an ‘honor’ system.
• The library is open whenever the Parish Center is open, however, books may not be checked out while the library is being used for meetings or classes.
• The library will be professionally organized and cataloged.
• Rules for checkout and care of materials will be drawn up and published.
• A volunteer staff will keep checkout records, re-shelve books, keep the library tidy and keep track of overdue books.
• The Library Board reviews all media for suitability. The staff of the Seattle Archdiocesan Library will be consulted when necessary. The pastor has final authority on library content and policies.
I’m too much of a klutz to PM (private message?) you and we’re too primitive at our little parish to have a parish library site on our website. Heck, the person who set up the parish website moved out of town and we don’t know how to update things. “sigh” For what it’s worth I printed out the Library Policies below. The language is a little klunky but it works for us. We see our job as catechesis - desperately needed for our church in these days. Our watchword is faithfulness to the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Thanks for your interest. Are you a librarian?
LIBRARY POLICIES
2009
The Holy Family Parish Library serves all members of the parish. The board seeks to provide Catholic books, periodicals, electronic media and music for enjoyment and instruction. We propose the following policies to fulfill this mission:
• The library is open to parishioners of all ages.
• All materials will faithfully reflect the teaching of the Catholic Church.
• Materials will be checked out by an ‘honor’ system.
• The library is open whenever the Parish Center is open, however, books may not be checked out while the library is being used for meetings or classes.
• The library will be professionally organized and cataloged.
• Rules for checkout and care of materials will be drawn up and published.
• A volunteer staff will keep checkout records, re-shelve books, keep the library tidy and keep track of overdue books.
• The Library Board reviews all media for suitability. The staff of the Seattle Archdiocesan Library will be consulted when necessary. The pastor has final authority on library content and policies.
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Mimi
Guest
I’m so happy to see another poster who is working on their parish library!
Also that the policies me and my committee have set are almost exactly the same. We have had a few problems (as I mentioned in a previous post), but we’ll stick to what has been set. The enemy just wants us to throw up our hands and think it’s too much work & not want to cause controversy, but I am determined.
I was blessed to have a librarian join our committee, and the other member is skilled at setting up the database. We will eventually have it on the parish web site.
Parish Mission Statement
Parish Mission Statement
St. ________ Parish, a Catholic Community of Faith,
Strives to be the HANDS of Christ
by reaching out to others through service;
the EYES of Christ
to see the good in others;
The HEART of Christ
to share God’s love;
The MOUTH of Christ
in prayer and worship;
the MIND of Christ
to educate in God’s work
so that we may reflect the SPIRIT of Christ
in all that we are.
Our **library **mission statement follows:
In keeping with our Parish Mission Statement,
This library exists to bring the “mind of Christ” to all who use it.
Also, in keeping with Pope John Paul II’s New Evangelization, we join his mission “to proclaim christ to all peoples” (Redemptoris Missio).
Also that the policies me and my committee have set are almost exactly the same. We have had a few problems (as I mentioned in a previous post), but we’ll stick to what has been set. The enemy just wants us to throw up our hands and think it’s too much work & not want to cause controversy, but I am determined.
I was blessed to have a librarian join our committee, and the other member is skilled at setting up the database. We will eventually have it on the parish web site.
Parish Mission Statement
Parish Mission Statement
St. ________ Parish, a Catholic Community of Faith,
Strives to be the HANDS of Christ
by reaching out to others through service;
the EYES of Christ
to see the good in others;
The HEART of Christ
to share God’s love;
The MOUTH of Christ
in prayer and worship;
the MIND of Christ
to educate in God’s work
so that we may reflect the SPIRIT of Christ
in all that we are.
Our **library **mission statement follows:
In keeping with our Parish Mission Statement,
This library exists to bring the “mind of Christ” to all who use it.
Also, in keeping with Pope John Paul II’s New Evangelization, we join his mission “to proclaim christ to all peoples” (Redemptoris Missio).
Code:
Apparently, that was not clear enough for some, who have continued to donate pop psychology and other books, so we will likely add on another sentence to clarify all materials will be checked for fidelity to the Magisterium.
Aquinas and More books will not sell anything that is not orthodox.
[www.aquinasandmore.com](www.aquinasandmore.com)
If I can't find a title on EWTN's catalogue OR the above one, I think that will also have to be part of the criteria of whether a book is good enough to go on the shelf.
I do, however, have a problem with books by Fr. Joseph Girzone. Amy Wellborn has a critique of his novels, and I wanted them removed, but the person donating them has some leverage and so they are shelved for now. I don't know if this site will come up:
[amywelborn.com/reviews/joshua.html](http://www.amywelborn.com/reviews/joshua.html) The Gospel According to Girzone.
If you read it, JoanREDirector, I would like to know if this critique would make you disallow or withdraw Girzone's books. Thanks in advance -- and if you don't care to read it, no problemo. We're all busy!
Mimi
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Mimi
Guest
As for not accepting books by non-Catholic authors, I think I would make an exception for those by C. S. Lewis. I have heard them recommended by people on EWTN (I recall Patrick Madrid may have recommended Mere Christianity to a caller on Open Line).
As for another, The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom is a great read, and although she is (was?) not Catholic, she truly depended on the Lord and loved Jesus. She and her sister were in a concentration camp during WWII.
Mimi
As for another, The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom is a great read, and although she is (was?) not Catholic, she truly depended on the Lord and loved Jesus. She and her sister were in a concentration camp during WWII.
Mimi
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
Thanks for the websites. That’s just the information I’ve been looking for. I will certainly read Fr. Grizone’s work.
You are quite right … the fact that an author is a Catholic, even a Catholic priest, doesn’t automatically make the book suitable. Fr. Andrew Greely comes to my mind. A couple of his books, both fiction and non-fiction, were in the collection when we took it over. As far as I know, his bishop han’t seen fit to issue any statement about his work, for example “A Modern Priest Looks at His Outdated Church.” Should I presume to know better than those in authority over Him? In my opinion as an amatur literary critic, his novels are inferior examples of that literary form, never mind my opinion of the spirit and theological grounding from which they arise.
We’ve agreed to subject certain books to the “eeuw” test. If anyone on the committee saws"eeuw" we don’t shelve it. By the way, I won’t say if Fr. Greely passed. You have to read our catalog to find out.
I love your mission statement. Wish we had thought to tie ours to our parish mission statement, which I love.
Anyone out there have mission or policy statements? I’d love to see them.
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
I know what you mean about blanket statements that say only Catholic authors. It’s safer to say “no Catholic authors, as a rule.” But there are exceptions, that’s the purpose of a committee. Both of your examples are on our shelves. We have a lovely children’s book about a little girl who was one of the first to intergrate public schools in the South because of the lesson on forgiveness … don’t know the author’s church afiliation.
We had a lively discussion about including a translation of the Koran and a copy of the Book of Mormon in the reference section. We voted to include. What would you folks out there do?
Here’s what I’d love to do … have a large selection of Catholic fiction, biographies, and poetry. For example, I think Sigrid Undset’s historical fiction should be there. I’ve also heard that there is a crop of Catholic romance novels. Does anyone know more about this?
I know there are Christian, but not Catholic, romance novels on the supermarket bookshelf. I’ve read a few but they are heavy on the Protestant theology … once saved, always saved, sola scriptura, divorce is OK if he’s really a louse … I actually think these could cause confusion for sincere but poorly catechised parishoners.
People out there tell me. What Catholic works of fiction and poetry would you like to see in a parish library?
T
Tepeyac
Guest
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
I looked at Amy Wellborn’s critique and realized that I had already read one of these books, in fact the book is already on our shelves. I agree with you and Amy. I know that librarians have a horror of censorship as in “I (the librarian) don’t like this book,” or “I don’t like this author’s point of view.” But we have to go back to the purpose of a parish library. Our readers must be able to assume that whatever they read from our library faithfully reflects the beliefs of the church that sponsors it. They are free to go to a public library whose mission is something else.
Wer can still Boolk of Morman or a translation of the Koran in the reference section where readers know in advance that that the purpose of this section is to study the ideas of those who believe differently than we do.
J
Joan_REDirector
Guest
Thanks for the Loyola Great Books suggestion. Just the thing I was looking for.
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