New College Library welcomes the General Assembly 2016

New College Library welcomes attendees of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which will take place between 21 and 27 May 2016.

New College Library

Church of Scotland visitors to the Library are encouraged to apply for a free reference access card, for which photographic ID, proof of address and colour passport-size/style photograph is required. If you are applying for a reference card you may fill in the application form online before visiting the library, and you can check the online library catalogue, DiscoverEd, in advance of your visit. Borrowing access is also available, please ask Helpdesk staff for details. Alumni of the University of Edinburgh are entitled to additional library benefits, including free borrowing and access to JSTOR online journals.

Both reference access and alumni library cards entitle the holder to use not only New College Library but all of the University of Edinburgh libraries, including the Main Library at George Square. This year General Assembly visitors may be interested to visit the Given in Good Faith exhibition being held at the Main Library’s Centre for Research Collections. This highlights some of the treasures of New College Library, through themes of church history, worship, science and scripture which would have been familiar to the staff and students of New College in 1843.

Giveningoodfaith

Researchers wanting to trace previous discussions of this year’s debates can consult the Reports to the General Assembly or Blue Books, which are held in New College Library at sLX 50 B.  This year’s Blue Book is available to download from the Church of Scotland website.  For further information on Church of Scotland resources see Researching the Church of Scotland at New College Library.

New College itself will be very busy during this period, with all of the teaching rooms occupied by the Assembly. This includes the David Welsh Reading Room in New College Library which is being used for Assembly purposes. Library users are advised to carry their UoE staff/student card with them at all times as there may be a security presence at the entrance to New College.

Christine Love-Rodgers – Academic Support Librarian, Divinity

Given in Good Faith : Science

The School of Divinity has recently been receiving praise for the MSc in Science and Religion programme. Visitors to the Given in Good Faith exhibition on the 6th floor of the Main Library in George Square can see how this excellence in the field of Science and Religion is also one of the key themes explored  through the historic treasures of New College Library. From its foundation in 1843, the new Free Church of Scotland actively engaged in current learning and debate on scientific topics such as geology and astronomy, and Free Church ministry students at New College followed courses in natural science. This is one reason why New College Library’s Special Collections reflect this dialogue between religion and science.

Brookes, Richard. A new and accurate system of natural history ... London: J. Newbery, 1763. Nat. 109

Brookes, Richard. A new and accurate system of natural history … London: J. Newbery, 1763. Nat. 109

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Given in Good Faith : Worship

Currently open on the sixth floor of the Main Library at the University of Edinburgh, the  Given in Good Faith exhibition explores themes of church history, worship, scripture and science through some of the treasures of New College Library.

We chose the second of these themes, worship, because New College Library’s historic collections preserve many examples of individual and collective forms of worship. And the New College community has come together for religious worship since its beginning, and continues to do so today.

Hore beatissime virginis Marie ad legitimum Sarisburiensis ecclesie ritum … Paris: Francis Regnault, 1534. MH 193

Hore beatissime virginis Marie ad legitimum Sarisburiensis ecclesie ritum … Paris: Francis Regnault, 1534. MH 193

Sixteenth century devotional works such as the printed Book of Hours ‘The Salisbury Rite’ are valuable examples of aids for private worship. Continue reading