LibGuides: Bethel University Library : A Guide for Seminary Alumni: Free Resources

Kesler Circulating Library - Vanderbilt University

The Kesler Circulating Library at Vanderbilt University provides theological materials to individuals for whom those materials are not readily accessible. They will mail books to you from the collection of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. Membership is open to any person engaged in ministry (or retired from ministry) in the continental United States or Canada. It is intended to provide access to a theological library for those not having access through other means.

Free Online Databases

BIBIL (Biblical Bibliography of Lausanne)
BIBIL is the bibliographical database produced by the University of Lausanne's Institut romand des sciences bibliques. It offers the scholar reliable, constantly increased and freely available information on publications in the field of Biblical research.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL)
CCEL seeks to build up the church by making classic Christian literature widely available and promoting its use for edification and study by interested Christians, seekers and scholars. The CCEL accomplishes this by selecting, collecting, distributing, and promoting valuable literature through the World Wide Web and other media.
Directory of Open Access Books
The primary aim of DOAB is to increase discoverability of Open Access books.
Directory of Open Access Journals
The DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) was launched in 2003 at Lund University, Sweden, with 300 open access journals. Today, the independent database contains ca. 12000 open access journals covering all areas of science, technology, medicine, social science and humanities.
Hartford Institute for Religion Research
This website has three primary purposes: (1) To present summaries of current religion research by Hartford Institute for Religion Research faculty as well as the research done by other sociologists of religion. (2) By making this research available online, they hope to educate pastors, denominational leaders, religion reporters and the general public in a better understanding of research on religion in order to help create stronger communities of faith and a more informed society. (3) They hope to assist the site's users in understanding the use of statistics and poll data, designing church web sites, on searching the web for information, and the implications of the Internet on religious life.
Open Access Digital Theological Library
The mission of Open Access Digital Theological Library (OADTL) is to curate high-quality content in religious studies and related disciplines from publisher websites, institutional repositories, scholarly societies, archives, and stable public domain collections.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Post-Reformation Digital Library (PRDL)
PRDL is a select database of digital books relating to the development of theology and philosophy during the Reformation and Post-Reformation/Early Modern Era (late 15th-18th c.). Late medieval and patristic works printed and referenced in the early modern era are also included. The PRDL is a project of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research of Calvin Theological Seminary.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy (SEP)
SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up-to-date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public. Consequently, the dynamic reference work maintains academic standards while evolving and adapting in response to new research.
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG)
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) offers access to the new online version of Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ), the premier lexicon for classical Greek. The TLG version represents five years of intensive work to produce a fully edited and searchable version of LSJ with links to the TLG corpus.
Wabash Center
The Wabash Center website is a selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are involved in the study and practice of religion, including syllabi, electronic texts, electronic journals, web sites, bibliographies, liturgies, reference resources, and software. The purpose of the Guide is to encourage and facilitate the incorporation of electronic resources into teaching.
WorldCat
WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat.org allows you to search many libraries at once for an item and then locate it in a library nearby

Public Libraries

Your local public library provides access to many online databases and other services. Check your local library for more information.

Minnesota residents: You have access to the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM). ELM provides access to many databases including Academic Search Premier and Business Source Premier.