Library

LOCATION: Both the main library and the children's library of Central are on the third floor near the elevator. There are special sections for United Methodist Women books and Stephen Ministry books.

HOURS: The main library is open in the afternoon during the week and Sunday morning except during the Sunday School hour.

MISSION: The mission of the Central United Methodist Church library is to be a resource center for church staff, teachers in our various programs and members of our congregation.

HISTORY: In the fall of 2002 Char Hoxie, asked for volunteers to form a library committee. This small group of 6-8 people examined each of the several thousand books in the library and weeded out those that were beyond repair or were not in keeping with the Mission Statement developed by the committee. The following policies and procedures were developed by the library committee to guide their work in implementing the above "Mission Statement":

LIBRARY FOCUS: Church libraries, in terms of their purpose, are limited in scope. Therefore, the primary focus of the CUMC library will be providing books, videos, DVD's, audio-tapes/CD's, and religious magazines/publications related to our Christian heritage and faith. Because we live in an increasing multi-cultural and multi-ethnic world, the library shall also provide resources regarding other world religions to help us better understand and relate to the diversity of faiths that we encounter.

SELECTION CRITERIA: To achieve the goal of the mission statement, the library committee has determined that the CUMC library shall include resources that fall under, but are not necessarily limited to, the following categories:

Christian history and theology, United Methodist history and beliefs, biblical commentaries, biblical dictionaries, general biblical references, current social concerns, current scholarly debate regarding the Christian faith, Christian ethics, Christian art, fiction with a religious theme, biographies of religious figures, different versions of the Bible, books containing maps and charts related to the Christian faith, resources to help us cope with everyday concerns of living in relationships. and some of the classics of world literature.

DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY: When considering donating materials to the library please use the above criteria to determine if your donation is appropriate for the library. If not, books and other items can be donated to the semi-annual rummage sale.

The library budget plus a grant from Wills and Memorials have made it possible to add over 200 hundred books to the main library and the children's library since 2002. In addition, we have received a large number of donations which are now in the library.

PUBLICATIONS: The library also subscribes to the following religious publications: Christianity Today, Good News, The Christian Century, and The Progressive Christian. Current issues are located on the shelves in Central Perk.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Each Sunday there is a section in the Bulletin called "Library News" which describes a current article from one of the above magazines. Copies of these articles can be found on the tables in Central Perk. The Flame also has a "Library Corner" which contains a review on one of the books that has been recently added to the library.

MISSING LIBRARY BOOKS: See the list of missing titles

An inventory of the library was recently completed and a number of books have come up missing. If by chance you have one or more of the books, please bring the title(s) back to the church library’s return box – or –properly check the book(s) out using the book card found in the card catalog pocket in the back of each book, fill out the card with your name, telephone number and date of checkout, then place the card in the green box located on top of the card catalog cabinet.

Please contact the Library Coordinator - Will Poland wdpoland@charter.net if you have questions.