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December 15, 2025
J.H. Oldham (1874-1969) : Missionary and Ecumenical Pioneer
Faith on the frontier : a life of J.H. Oldham / K.W. Clements. New College Library BX6.8.O54 Cle.
Today, 16 May, is the anniversary of the death of J.H. Oldham.
Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1874-1969) was a missionary and pioneer of ecumenism. The organising secretary for the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, he also founded the journal International Review of Missions. During the Second World War the meetings of his ‘Moot’ group initiated new thinking about Christian responsibility in modern society.
New College Library holds a substantial collection of J.H. Oldham’s papers, which include correspondence, material relating to the Moot including minutes (1938-1947), lectures, sermons, papers and reports.
You can read more about J.H. Oldham and the Oldham Papers here , or in Faith on the frontier : a life of J.H. Oldham by K.W. Clements, in New College Library at BX6.8.O54 Cle.
Christianity in facts and figures – Online Reference Resources
Did you know that the the World Christian Database is now available online to University of Edinburgh users? It provides access to comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations, and people groups. Use it for research on religious activities, growth rates, religious literature, worker activity, and demographic statistics. Additional secular data is incorporated on population, health, education, and communications.
Also, if you previously consulted the UK Christian Handbook, you’ll find it useful to know that it is now freely available online as the Christian Resources Directory, listing Christian services, agencies, businesses and organisations in the UK. Archived print editions remain available at the National Library of Scotland. 
New books at New College Library – May
New College Library has a regular display of new books at the far end of the Library Hall, close to the door to the stacks.
New in this month is Religion on the move! : new dynamics of religious expansion in a globalizing world edited by Afe Adogame and Shobana Shankar, on the shelf at BL637 Rel.
Also new is Becoming frum : how newcomers learn the language and culture of Orthodox Judaism by Sarah Benor, at BM723 Ben.
These titles were purchased for Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, Edinburgh University.
You can see an regularly updated list of new books for New College Library on the Library Catalogue – choose the New Books Search and limit your search to New College Library. Here’s a quick link to new books arriving in the last few weeks. A word of caution – some of the books listed here may still be in transit between the Main Library (where they are catalogued) and New College Library, so not on the shelf just yet.
New online journals for Divinity
Two new electronic journals are now accessible to University of Edinburgh users via the e-journals list.
The Journal of Reformed Theology (JRT) is a refereed international journal of systematic, historical, and biblical theology. The JRT is an instrument for the study of living and contextual theology that provides a forum for debate on classical and contemporary theological issues and offers an update on new theological and biblical literature.
Buddhist Studies Review is published on behalf of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies. It covers the different cultural areas where Buddhism exists or has existed (in South, Southeast, Central and East Asia); historical and contemporary aspects (including developments in ‘Western’ Buddhism); theoretical, practical and methodological issues; textual, linguistic, archaeological and art-historical studies; and different disciplinary approaches to the subject.
Full Nelson Archive
Repertory Plays Series, Thomas Nelson Archive: These picturesque little plays are just some of the gems amongst the collection.
The Thomas Nelson collection of books arrived at the Annexe on Tuesday 14th August 2012. We were very excited to be receiving this collection of books and materials forming the back catalogue of the publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798. The books date back to the time when Nelson moved away from Scotland to become part of the Wolters Kluwer Group. Edinburgh University already acts as guardians to the Thomas Nelson business archives up to 1960, so it made perfect sense to keep the collection together.
The Interlude of Youth
We foolishly thought the packed boxes would come straight off the van and onto our shelves before lunch time. However, after only a couple of the 13 pallets were unloaded, we realised that this was unlikely to be the case. The collection is made up of a vast range of materials from cassette tapes to oversized picture books. Each pallet had to be unwrapped and unpacked individually, which involved fighting through layers of dust and dirt (most of which was many years old). The first task we had to undertake was the weeding of duplicates. At first glance there were many copies of the same item, but closer inspection revealed that each item bore tiny differences, which from a bibliographical perspective are potentially huge.
Gods Throw Incense by Katharine Trae
Many weeks later, the collection was finally in its new home at the Library Annexe. After the weeding of duplicates the collection still covered an impressive 275 meters.
Under the Skull and Bones by Ronald Gow
Whilst unpacking, Library Annexe Assistant Stephanie (Charlie) Farley discovered a first edition of “When Wendy Grew Up” by J.M. Barrie, which is an epilogue to peter Pan (dating from 1957). What made this book stand out was a signature from Mr Sydney Blow, who was not only an actor in the original production of Peter Pan, but the author of the foreword. It was dedicated to Hilda Trevelyan, who played Wendy in the production and to whom the manuscript “When Wendy Grew Up” was dedicated to in 1908. Although not overly valuable, this item is certainly unique. It was the sheer mystery and excitement of not knowing what you might find that helped us get through 13 pallets of material.
Scott Docking, Library Assistant (Special Collections and Archives)
Happy Birthday NewCollegeLibrarian
This blog is one year old now and has had over 5,000 hits – thank you! I’d love to know a bit more about who out there is reading my blog, so I’d appreciate it if you could fill in this 5 second poll. Thanks again!
New College Library is Historic Library of the Month
New College Library is currently Library of the Month on the Library and Information History Group of CILIP – have a look at the Library and Information History Group blog.
New online EndNote course now available
The IS Skills Development team in Information Services has released an online course to help University of Edinburgh staff and students get started with the reference management software, EndNote. The course is available through Learn, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as a self-enrol course. Learn can be accessed by MyEd.
Early printed works of St Anselm on display at New College Library
New on display in the Funk Reading Room is the Works of St Anselm, Opuscula beati Anselmi archiepiscopi Ca[n]tuarie[n]sis ordinis Sancti Benedicti, printed in 1497.
April 21 is the Feast Day of St Anselm (1033-1109). A Benedictine monk who lived during the reigns of William the Conqueror and William Rufus, he became the abbot of the monastery at Bec in Normandy, France. Named as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 by William Rufus, under the rule of Henry I Anselm faced the challenges of preserving the secular and spiritual rights of the Church in the face of the authority of the King. Despite these political difficulties, Anselm held two great ecclesiastical councils at Lambeth and York where many decrees for church reform were made.
Anselm’s prayers and meditations (accessible online to University of Edinburgh users in the Patrologia Latina) had a lasting influence through the middle ages, but his writings also made a significant contribution to theological debate into the twentieth century and beyond.
New College Library holds two copies of Anselm’s works in the Incunabula Collection, which was recently catalogued online as part of the Funk Cataloguing Projects.
Sources
D.H. Farmer, ‘Anselm (1033-1109)’, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford University Press, 2011; online edn 2012 [http://www.oxfordreference.com, accessed 17 April 2013]
R. W. Southern, ‘Anselm [St Anselm] (c.1033–1109)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/572, accessed 17 April 2013]
New Divinity digital resources available
New Divinity digital resources are now becoming available. New Brill resources already added to the A-Z list of databases are Context of Scripture Online, Coptic Gnostic Library, Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures and Religion Past and Present. Due to appear shortly are World Christian Database, World Religion Database and Library of Latin Texts.
All Divinity databases are available on the Divinity Databases by subject list at http://edin.ac/115ga9T.
Collections
Hill and Adamson Collection: an insight into Edinburgh’s past
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Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
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Projects
Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
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Archival Provenance Research Project: Lishan’s Experience
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