by Jo hn A. Bolli er in religion . (Library and Book bibliographic skills and research Trade Almanac, 34th ed., 1989-90, methods. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1989, p. To equip students with such 425) And second, the rapidly skills for life-long learning, Yale accelerating rate of change since Divinity Library offers a series of

Knowledge of the Second Kind

S amuel John on on April 18, 1775, was perusing the books in the library of a beautiful English country es rate when his host said to him, "But it seems odd that one

should have such a desire to look at the back of books." Dr. Johnson, aroused from his reverie , replied insrandy, "Sir, rhe reason is plain. Knowlege is of [wo kinds. We know a subjeer ourselves, or we know where we can find informa­rion upon it. When we enquire in­

to any subjecr, the firsr rhing we have to do is to know what books

have rreated it. This leads us to

look ar catologues, and at rhe back of books in libraries." (Boswell's

Lift a/johnson, Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1934, p. 365) Today rhis second kind of

knowledge is even more imponant

rhan ir was in Dr. Johnson's day for [wo obvious reasons. Firsr, rhe

number of books currendy avail­

able has increased so dramarically since his time. For insrance, in

1988 rhe U nired Srares alone pro­duced 47,489 rides, 2,306 of rhem

Dr. Johnson's rime requires the reader consrantly ro select new publications to keep current. Rich­ard B. Case, as I.B.M.'S director of

rechnical personnel development,

srares rhar the pace of rechnological change has" reduced rhe half-life of a rechnical educarion to no more than five years." (New York Times, Nov. 16, 1986, IlIA) Thar is, wirhout coI1.Srantly absorbing new

knowledge, rechnically rrained per­

sons five years after graduaring from college are only half as effec­rive in their work as rhey were

when embarking on their careers. One hesirates to estimate rhe

half-life of a rheological educarion. H owever, no one will dispure the fact rhar clergy soon become in­effective if they srand srill in rheir

professional growth. Ministry, therefore, as mosr orher profes- . sions, now offers numerous oppor­tunities for continuing education. But even wirh rhese learning op­portunities, inevirably the time comes in every career when the ap­prentice musr become the masrer or rhe pupil the preacher. Th n, when one no longer enjoys me daily guidance of wise mentors, knowledge of rhe second kind, knowing where to find information on a subjeer, is crucial for profes­sional survival.

In an age of increasing special­izarion, libraries are particularly

well equipped for providing rhis

second kind of knowledge. For libraries deal with knowledge as a

to rali ty. They collect the literature

of all fields, organize it as a single

colleerion and develop biblio­

graphic systems to access rhe whole corpus. Thus, academic libraries

are not only repositories for book

and manuscriprs to support in­struerion and research, but, of nec­essity, have become centers to teach

2 1

bibliographic workshops and a full semesrer course on rheological bib­

liography. In rhese classes students learn to identify the "universe" of

booksand articles on any subject, evaluate rhese works and then sel­eer those which best meer rheir

needs. They are also introduced to the major reference tools for rapid retrieval of information or litera­ture cirations on any subject.

Cited below are seleered exam­ples of such tools which form rhe

foundation for continuing self­ed ucation in theology and min­istry. Some of rhese works one would want to own. Orhers are intended as library resources be­cause of rheir size, cosr and con­tinuous publication. However, even rhese larger, more expensive resources are ofren readily avai lable in nearby academic libraries and larger public li braries as well as in rheological libraries. Fortunately, academic librar ies consider the

Today this second kind of

knowledge is even more important than it was in

Dr. Johnson's day ....

mi nistry as one of the "learned

profes ions" and usually are gener­

ous in offering clergy access to their resources.

The first step toward developing Johnson's second kind of knowl­

edge is mastering the specialized

dierionaries and encyclopedias in one's own discipline. Such works

usually present the histOry of the study of a subject, a discussion of its key figures , a "snapshot" of its

stare-of-the-art and selected bibli­

ography of its pivQralliterature. The most recent, comprehensive and authoritative work which

REFLEC TIONS' WINTE R 1990

covers the field of all religions, including Christianiry, is The Ency­clopedia ofReligion, 16 vols., Mir­cea Eliade, ed. in chief (New York: Macmillan, 1987). When using such multi-volume works, it is wise

first to consult the index volume ro

find the exact location of the infor­

mation one is seeking.

The major multi-volume ency­

clopedia dealing specifically with

Christianiry is the still-in-progress

Theologische Realenzyklopaedie, vols

1-< 17>, A-Katchismus, and vol.

26 (Berlin; New York: de ruytet,

1976--<1988». Volume 26, which

was acrually the first volume pub­

lished, consists enrirely of ab­

breviations used for theological works. It is the most complere such

list available.

Among the one volume com­pendiums, The Oxford Dictionary ofthe Christian Church, 2d ed. F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingsrone, eds. (London: Oxfo rd U niversiry Press, 1974) is a good place ro starr for finding brief discussions and select

bibliographies on theological top­ics, ancienr and modern. Bur no one work contains everything, and thus, for rreatmenr of American

church movemenrs and leaders, the

reader must be prepared ro rum ro

orher sources, such as J. G ordon

M elton, Encyclopedia ofAmerican Religion, 3rd ed. (Detroit: G ale

Research, 1989) and Encyclopedia ofthe American Religious Experi­ence: Studies in Traditions and Movement, C harles H. Lippy and

Peter W. Williams, eds. ( ew

York: Scribner, 1988). Other

recenr one-volume dictionaries

which should prove ro be highly

useful for many years ro come both

for their concise articles and schol­

arly bibliographies are: Westminster Dictionary ofChristian Theology, 2d ed. Alan Richardson and John

Bowden , eds. (Philadelphia: West­

minster Press, 1983), which repre­

senrs a Ptotestanr perspective; and

The New Dictionary ofTheology, Joseph A. Komonchak, Mary

Collins, Dermot A. Lane, eds. (Wilmingron: Glazier, 1987), which is Catholic in orienration. Recent specialized one-volume dic­tionaries are: Westminster Dictionary

... libraries deal with

knowledge as a totality.

ofChristian Ethics, 2d. ed., James

F. Childress and John Macquarrie, eds. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986); Westminster Dictio­naryl ofChristian Spirituality, G ordon S. Wakefield, ed. (Phila­

delphia: Westminsrer Press, 1983)

and The New Westminster Dic­tionary ofLiturgy and Worship, J. G. Davies, ed. (Philadelphia: West­minster Press, 1986).

For those wi th deeper interest in

certain confessional groups, some

multi-volume denominational

encyclopedias provide richer resources than anyone volume work. l; or example, The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 16 vols.

(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967) is the first place (0 rum for informa­

tion on all things Catholic. Wrinen in the spirit of Vatican II, its ani­

cles have been right on target when I have rurned to them for in form a­

tion about the writings of such

figures as Augustine or Aquinas. Likewise, The Encyclopedia judaica, 16 vols., Uerusalem: Encyclo pedia Judaica Jerusalem; New York: T he

Macmillan C o., 1971) is the first

place ro rum for information on all

things] ewish. It has long signed

anicles, scholarly bibliographies

and attractive ill ustrations. It also

signals the importance of its index

by designating it as Vol ume 1. Less

voluminous, but equally scholarly,

are Encyclopedia ofthe Lutheran Church, 3 voL,] ulius Bodensieck,

ed. (Minneapolis: Augsberg Pub­

lishing House, 1965) and The Mennonite Encyclopedia, 4 vols. and

index (Hillsboro, KS: Mennonite

Publishing House er. al.,

1955-59).

22

In the field of biblical srudi\:s, the most comprehensive, albeit aging, encyclopedia is The Inter­preter's Diction(l1J1ofthe Bible, 4 vols., George Anhur Buttrick, ed.

(New York and Nashville: Abing­don Press, 1962) and its Supple­mentary Volume, Keith Crim, ed. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1976).

A more recenr popular one volume work is Harper's Bible Dictionary, Paul J. Achtemeier and Roger S. Boraas, eds. with the Sociery of

Biblical Literature (San Francisco:

Hatper and Row, 1985.)

In other related fields, such as

an, music, education. philosophy

and the social sciences . there are

also authorirarive single- and

multi-volume encyclo ped ias. The

best source for identi fying these, as

well as other reference tools in any field, is Guide to Refirence Books, 10th ed., Eugene P. Sheehy, ed. (Chicago and London : American

Lib ra ry Association, 1986). Also useful is irs Bri t ish counrerpart: Social & Historical Sciences, Philos­ophy & Religion, voL 2 of Walford 's

Guide to Refirence lv/am'lais, 4th. ed., Albert John Walfo rd, ed.,

(London: T he Library Association, 1982) . Or if one is seeking

Catholic reference works, especially

in such areas as lirurgy. doctrine, canon law or C hu rch cou ncils, the

best aid is certainly James Pat ri ck M cCabe, Critical Guide to Catholic Referen ce Books, 3rd . ed . (Engle­

wood, co: Libraries U nlimited.

1980).

But when the informarion in a

relatively recem encyclopedia or

dictionary is still tOo old and one

needs the ve ry latest thought o n a parricular subject, periodical

indexes and abstracts are the tOols

of choice for "currenr awareness."

The most comprehensive and

timely such rool published in

N orth America in the field of the­

ology is Religion Index One: Period· icaLs, 197711978 to date (Chicago:

American Theological Library

Association, 1979 to date; previ-

REFLECTIONS' WIN TER 1990

ously Index to Religious Periodical Literature, 1949-1976). This work,

which is published rwice a year and cumulared annually, now indexes

over 450 periodicals by subjecr and

aurhor. The majoriry of rhe period­

icals indexed are in English,

alrhough some are in orher wesrern

European languages. Before 198G ir also included a book review

index seerion. Since rhen, however,

rhis seerion has spun off as a sepa­

rare publicarion, Index to Book

Reviews in Religion (Chicago:

American Theological Library

Associarion, 1986), which is pub­

lished bimonrhly, wirh an annual

cumularion.

The companion work ro ReLi­gion Index One: Periodicals is Reli­gion Index Two: Mufti-Author

Works, 1970/ I 975 ro dare

(C hicago: American Theological

Library Associarion, 1982 (0 dare) .

This work now provides currenr

indexing for arricles in collecrions

of essays and memorial volumes,

such as Fesrschrifren . Before rhe

publicarion of rhis new rool,

aurhors considered essay collec­

rions as graveyards for rheir wrir­

ings. This was because library

catalogs enrer a collection of essays

Before the publication of this new tool, authors considered

essay collections as

graveyards for their writings.

only under rhe ride of the whole

volume and the name of irs ediror,

and not under rhe names of rhe

authors and rides of rhe individual

essays conrained rherein.

The bibliographic informarion

in Religion Index One, Religion

Index Two, Index to Book Reviews

in Religion and Research in Min­

istry, which indexes D . Min.

research, is also available as an on­

line electronic data base searchable

retrospectively to 1975. Moreover,

in December 1989, this data base

became available as an annually

updated CD-ROM (Compact Disk­

Read Only Media) rhrough rhe H. W. Wilson Co. Unlike an on-line

search, which incurs charges for

borh compurer connecr time and

dara base owner royalry, a CD-ROM

search is usually wirhour charge as

libraries purchase rhe CD-ROM

ourrighr.

Another exrremely valuable rool

for currenr awareness is rhe

formidably sounding bur acrually

easY-[Q-use "Elenchus Bibliograph­

icus," which appears annually as

one issue of rhe periodical Ephem­

erides Theofogiae Lovanienses (Uni­

versiry of Louvain . Gemblous:

Duculor, 1924 to dare). This work

indexes borh periodical articles and

currenr books covering rhe whole

range of rheology in rhe broadesr

sense. Enrries are arranged in sub­

ject rarher rhan alphaberical order.

While published by a European

Carholic facuiry, ir is borh ecu­

menical and inrernarional in scope.

The key ro using rhis work is ro

rum nrsr [Q the rable of conrenrs,

which, as wirh many European

publicarions, is in rhe back of rhe

volume. Moreover, rhe reader

should not be inrimidared by rhe

Latin used in eirher the ti rle or the

rable of conrenrs. For without even

high school Latin, the English

reader easily recognizes that "M ar­cus" means "Mark" and quickly

discovers the exact citations of the

latest literature on the subject in

questIon.

The Catholic PeriodicaL and Lit­

erature Index, 1967/68 ro dare

(Haverford, PA: C arholic Library

Associarion, 1968 [Q dare), which

appears bimonrhly wirh biennial

cumulations, indexes approxi­

marely 135 Carholic periodicals

and also provides an annorared

author-ride-subjecr bibliography of

books by Carholics or of Carholic

interest. It is especially useful for its

currenr indexing of all papal

speeches and writings lisred under

the name of the pope, in chrono­

logical order by dare of issuance,

23

wirh citarions ro rhe current publi­

carions in which rhe:' may be found. Ofren The Natiollal Catholic Reporter, OrigillS or The Pope Speaks are rhe periodical

sources cited for rhe English rexr of

papal documenrs.

Biblical srudies has especially

good conrrol of irs currenr lirera­

rure in several indexes and

absrracrs. The mosr comprehensive

such tool is Efenchus ofBibfica,

1985- (Rome: Ponrifical Biblical

Insritute Press, 1988 ro dare). This

work began in 1920 and conrinued

unril 1967 as parr of the journal

Bibfica. By then it became so

exrensive thar ir spun off as a sepa-

Biblical studies has especially good control of its current literature in several indexes and abstracts.

rare pub lication enrirl ed Elenchus

BibLiographicus BibLicus. Even

though it has again changed irs

name slighrly, it has conr in ued irs

for m as an ecumenical and interna­

rional annual index of jou rnal a rti­

cles and books. N ew Testam ent

Abstracts (Cambridge, MA: Wesro n

College School of Theology, 1956 [Q dare) not on ly indexes over 300 currenr journals and many books,

bur as irs name implies, gives brief

resumes of the works ir ci tes. A

similar rool, Old Testament

Abstracts, (Washingron, D .C.:

Catholic Universiry of America,

1978 [Q date) appears rh ree times

per year, provides absrracts in

English and arranges enuies in

broad subject caregories. Irs present

coverage includes over 300 schol­

arly journals from many counrries.

In addition ro encyclopedias/

dictionaries and indexes/abstracts,

anorher rype of reference work

especially helpful in rhe process of

self-educarion is rhe guide/hand­

book. Such a work is usually an

annorared bibliography which in­

rroduces rhe lirerarure of a whole

RE FL E CTIO NS ' W I NTE R 199 0

:

Field or discipline and nor jusr rhar of a narrow subject. The area of

biblical studies is especially rich in

such resources. Joseph A. Firzmyer,

An Introductory BibLiography for the Study o/Scripture, 2d ed. (Rome:

Biblical Insriture Press, 1981) lisrs

and annorares basic monographs,

reference books and period icals

which a beginner in biblical srudies

should know. Orher useful guides

which borh idenrify and evaluare

rhe pivotal lirerature of the Bible

are Brevard S. Childs, Old Testa­ment Books fo r Pasror and Teacher (Philadelphia: Westminster Ptess,

1977); Ralph M arrin, New Testa­ment Books fo r Pastor and Teacher (Philadelphia: Wesrminster Press,

1984) an d D avid M . Scholer, A Basic BibLiographic Guide for New Testament Exegesis, 2d ed. (G rand

Rapids, MI : Eerdmans , 1973). O ther fields have produced simi­

lar guides and handbooks. For

example, N elson R. Burr, A Criti­caL Bibliography 0/ReLigion in America, 2 vols. (Princeron: Prin ce­

[On U niversiry Press, 1% 1) supple­

mented by rhe more recent Ernesr

R. Sandeen and Frederick Hale ,

American ReLigion and Philosophy: A Guide to Information Sources (De(foir: Gale Research Company,

Diane Hoppe, M.Div. '91, at the keyboard 0/ a terminaL to the OREIS Com­puter CataLogue. Students wilL eventuaLly be able instantly to identifj the resources 0/the entire University Library system from one o/the many termi­nals on campus.

1978) provide :J. thorough biblio­graphic introducrion [Q American

religious hisrory. Richard T. DeGe­orge, The Phlfosopher 5 Guide to Sources, Research TooLs, ProfessionaL Lift and ReLated Fields (Lawrence,

KS: The Regents Press of Kansas ,

1980), provides ready access ro the

primary and secondary literature of

philosophy. Johannes Q uasten,

PatroLog], 4 vols. (Urrecht: Spec­

(fum; Westminster, MD: The New­

man Press , 1950-198G) contains

b rief skerches and summaries of

rhe teach ing of the Church Farhers

wirh bibl iography of critical edi­

tions, rranslarions into modern

languages, sources and srudies in

English. For preaching A. Duane

Lifton and Haddon W. Robinson,

Recent HomlfeticaL Thought (G rand

Rapids, M I: Baker Book House ,

1983) lim and annotates books,

arricles, theses and disserra tions

wrirren on rh is subjecr during rhe

period 1966-- 1979. W illiam Too­hey and William D. Thompson,

Recent HomileticaL Thought, a Bib­Liography, 1935-65 (Nashville and

New York: Abingdon, 1%7) pro­

vides rhe same information for the

previous three d ecades.

In pursuing an in-depth study

on an y subject , the reader must

24

also seek separarely published .sub­

jecr bibliographies. These are quickly idenrified by turning to th,

sub-heading " Bibliography," whid­

.. . there are innumerable

"ready reference" tools....

can be entered under any subject

heading in rhe library catalog. Of

course, rh e library catalog irself is G

highly useful subjecr bibliography.

And now its power has been en ­

hanced many fold by rhe inrroduc

rion of on-line catalogs. Yale's

on-line catalog, ORB IS , for insranct

in a few seconds can search by sub

jecr, keyword, author or title irs

whole dara ba e of almOSt one mil·

lion entries cataloged since 1977 t(

rhe p resent.

In addition ro the resour es

cited above, there are innu me rab le

"read y reference" rools, some of

which are subject specific, wh ile

others cut across many disciplines.

O ne usually turns ro th ese sources for some specific inf, rmation

rather [han for detailed d iscussion

of a w pic or bibliograp hy fo r fur­

ther scudy. The fo ll owi ng are but a

few examples of this genre of refer· ence lit ramre .

The World ALmanac and Book oJ Fam (New Yo rk and C levelan d:

Newspaper Emerprise Association

Inc. , 18G8 [0 date) is an an n ual,

m od erately priced paperback pub­

licatio n wh ich contains a wealth 0

information. W hether one wanrs

to find the text of rhe United

Stares Constitution , a list of all thl

popes or the average tempera tu re

in Madrid in July, this work usu­

ally answers the ques tion . The CathoLic ALmanac (HuntingtOn , Ir­

Our Sunday Visitor, J904 to date

is an annual publication conta inir.

facts and sta tistics on Catho lic

institutions and organizations as

well as information on church dOl

trine, liru rgy, calendar, saints, hier

archy, orders, etc. For informatior

on headquarrers , officers, colleges

REFLEC T IO N S · W I NTER 199

,

\

theological schools, archives, peri ­ hours of fruitless searching and odicals, membership, arrendance and finances of most North Ameri­can denominations, Cons tam H. Jacquer, J r. ed., Yearbook ofAmeri­can and Canadian Churches (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1916 ro date . Annual) is the most com­prehensive source. Current infor­mation on confessional bodies and ecumenical organizations is also included in this work.

When seeking the exacr address of Cambridge University or a list of members of the theological fac­ulty of Heidelberg University, or similar specific facts on libraries, museums, an galleries or learned societies throughout the world, The World ofLearning, 39th ed. (London: Europa Publications, Ltd., 1989) is the place ro ru rn. O r when one needs verificatio n o f the exact tirle, ediror, address , circula­tion statistics or indexing source for any of the over 60,000 periodi­cals worldwide. Ulrich's Interna­tional Periodical Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker. 1932 ro date. Biennial) will provide the answers. A directory of the thousands of

...when all else fails, the reference librarian stands ready to join the search.

organizations in [he United States is readily available in the Encyclope­dia ofAssociations (Detroit: Gal e Research Co., 1956 ro date. Bien­nial.) And when one needs infor­mation on the exact form of foo motes or bibliographies or any other marrers concerning the preparation of a manuscript for publication , A Manual ofStyle, 13th ed., rev. (Chicago and Lon­don: The University of Chicago Press, 1982) is the authoritative

guide. Mastery of such reference tOols

and comprehension of the standard bibliographic system used by mOSt Anglo-American libraries will save

equip student and scholar alike with Dr. Johnson's knowledge of [he second kind: knowing where to

find information on any subject. And of course, when all el se fails, the reference librarian stands ready to join the search .•

John Bollier is Assistant Divinity Librarian and Lecturer in Theologi­cal Literature at YDs.

25 REFLE CTIONS · WINTE R 199 0