Rita Mayne England and John Carol England, Ministering Asian Faith and Wisdom: a Manual for Theological Librarians in Asia - Book Review

Quezon City, New Day, 2001, 206pp., US $16.95.

It is always a pleasure to review a book which one immediately discerns to be both unique and necessary. This is especially true for the Asian theological librarians, but also for the professors and theologians of the many schools and institutes, and their students, some of whom could think about a career as a specialist in documentary information in the field of theology. It must be stressed at the outset that the authors write from their experience of working, and with great dedication, for the churches in Asia. Their desire is to make better known the Christian cultural wealth of Asia which has accumulated since the beginning of a Christian presence there. They are also very attentive to recent developments in the life of the churches within each country.

This book is composed of three parts. The first offers the description of the historic context of the presence of theological libraries in Asia. Many of them have been established there with a solid tradition for many decades. They are ready to face new challenges. Above all they must serve the churches of Asia, defending their heritage, sustaining their intellectual work, preparing their future. The second part of the book is technical. It deals successively with ongoing themes such as the acquisitions of books, especially from Asia, the administration of periodicals and the indexing of the articles, and with special collections such as ephemera, booklets and nonbook materials. It has also an important chapter on archives, considering the problems of preserving documents of different kinds. Here the authors insist on the responsibility of Asian archivists to protect their resources in Asia. In the past, many historical documents were transferred to other places in Europe or elsewhere, and were lost. But the same occurred in Asia as well. The authors recommend not following blindly the rules and procedures used in the West, but seeking methods which would better serve the local users. This is a legitimate and correct concern, but the authors fail to offer convincing concrete proposals. The third part of the book is called "listing and tools". It includes a large bibliography of Asian works, several lists of useful addresses and an index; unfortunately there is no mention of internet resources.

I believe that this manual will be of interest to many theological librarians and archivists in the rest of the world. It will introduce them to the Asian scene, providing useful information. It is thus appropriate that Mr Karmito, the convener of the Forum of Asian Theological Librarians, has written a preface for the volume. He is in touch with colleagues active within similar associations in Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and the USA. Certainly this manual can help librarians to collaborate better as it offers new possibilities of contact among them. It is thus to be recommended on many counts.

Pierre Beffa, former WCC librarian, is currently president of BETH (Bibliotheques europeennes de theologie), European Theological Libraries.

COPYRIGHT 2003 World Council of Churches
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group