Many students are working on the same passages, so it is likely you'll need to share some of the same commentaries in our collection. We ask that you do not check the books out. Instead, use them in the library, photocopy or scan the sections you need; this is easy to do because of commentaries' linear outline of a Biblical book. (Note there is a great scanner at the Help Desk on the third floor.)
When you are finished with a book in the library, please don't reshelve it! It is easy to misshelve an item and make it hard for your classmates to find it later.
If you're using it on the second floor, just leave it on the large tables near the BS 2600 area (near the spiral staircase).
If you're using it on the third or fourth floor, drop it off at the Circulation Desk and they'll take care of it.
If you can't find a book that we own, ask Circulation staff to help you find it!
Some starting ideas:
To search for New Testament commentaries or criticism in our catalog, use the following method:
First, search the catalog using a Subject at this link;
then enter your search like this example:
Bible. N.T. Mark
or
Bible. Mark. (this is the newest form, but there may be books under both forms of the subject phrase)
and browse the entries for both Commentaries and Criticism.
Note especially that you should browse down the list of subject terms to find any books on shorter pieces of your Biblical book, such as
Bible. N.T. Mark XIII or Bible. Mark XIII
You may also find it useful, after selecting a subject heading and getting a list of books, to sort the results by date (newest first).
Note that most of the scholarly books about Biblical books will be shelved together and readily browsable.
If you try keyword searching, keep searches to just two or three keywords; too many keywords give zero results (you're searching a limited number of words, not the full text of the books):
bible romans christ
paul apostle marriage
Use the catalog truncation symbol * after the root of a word to search for any of its forms:
apocalyp* retrieves apocalypse, apocalyptic, apocalypticism
When you find a useful book, check the subject headings in the catalog entry and click on any of them that look useful.