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UM church library gains recognition David W. Reid, Aug 11, 2009
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOUANN REID
Anna Grace Hoffman, left, and Katie Torrey are completely engrossed in reading at the Northern Colorado Faith Library.
By David W. Reid Special Contributor
FORT COLLINS, Colo.— A United Methodist Church that turned its library into a community resource has received international recognition.
The Northern Colorado Faith Library (NCFL) was named the Outstanding Congregational Library for 2009 by the Church and Synagogue Library Association (CSLA) at its annual conference July 26 in Canton, Ohio.
CSLA members include individuals and libraries from most states and a dozen countries. Judaism, Catholicism and more than 30 Protestant denominations are represented.
The library was cited for improvements in collection development, outreach and publicity, funding, staffing, facilities and library use.
Pat Shufeldt, of Greenville, S.C., who submitted the nomination, wrote: “Through visionary long-range planning, focusing on service beyond their own congregation and recognizing what is needed in infrastructure for a 21st century library, Fort Collins First United Methodist Church is supporting the development of an ecumenical faith-based library, which far exceeds the scope of service normally expected from a congregation of moderate size in both membership and annual budget.”
The library committee launched a project in 2006 to create an online catalog, allowing users to browse the church library’s catalog from their home computers.
Three years later, the church boasts a rejuvenated library with a new focus to serve the region by sharing its resources online and onsite.
New furnishings include traditional library tables and chairs, comfortable furniture, two lookup PCs, self-serve gourmet coffee and wireless Internet service. Collections for children and young adults were moved to prominent locations and a study room created for research and reflection.
Library membership is free and open to anyone and self-checkout is available when the church is open.
A new network of partner congregations currently includes Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (ELCA) and Blessed John XXIII University Parish (Roman Catholic) in Fort Collins.
The network is building links between the libraries and leveraging their strengths, such as hosting a common calendar of book-related events and creating specialized collections at each partner library. Long-range goals include developing a common registration system, the ability to search across all NCFL online catalogs simultaneously and a common system for reserving and renewing library items.
“The transformation of a good library into one that that is perceived to be a resource for the entire northern part of Colorado has resulted in a culture shock here at First Church,” said the Rev. Charles Schuster, senior minister.
The library is one of the few that can claim that every book in its collection has been checked out in a little more than a year. But that’s what happened when a team of 10 volunteers took home boxes of books to assemble the library’s new online catalog. The volunteers researched the books, primarily at the Library of Congress Web site, and downloaded the information into the new catalog, which debuted in October.
The congregation began to see the library as an important part of the church’s ministry, said Mr. Schuster.
“Now, with the addition of Eddie Hopkins, our paid librarian, we are sensing our church is on the cusp of a whole new way of looking at learning, theological growth, and ministry beyond our walls,” he said.
Mr. Hopkins was hired as resource center director in 2008. He holds a master’s degree from Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., in interdisciplinary studies, including philosophical and biblical hermeneutics; literature and theology; and Hebrew Bible.
The library has purchased hundreds of new books, DVDs and magazine subscriptions under a focused acquisition strategy that Mr. Hopkins developed. It includes materials on theology, spirituality and Bible commentaries, but also novels, poetry and drama. There are books about history, interfaith dialogue, prayer and the intersection of faith with the arts, ecology, politics, poverty, race, science, sexuality and other topics.
Funding for library improvements has come primarily from three sources: the Good Is Not Good Enough program that was funded by an anonymous member at First UMC; other designated gifts from church members; and a grant from the church’s own foundation.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOUANN REID
New furnishings include traditional library tables and chairs, comfortable furniture, two lookup PCs, self-serve gourmet coffee and wireless Internet service. Collections for children and young adults were moved to prominent locations and a study room created for research and reflection. 
