MISSION & VISION

Rubem Alves, a Brazilian theologian, says:

“A historian is someone that recuperates lost memories and distributes them as if they were a sacrament to those that have lost their memory. Is there a better communal sacrament than the memories of a common past marked by pain, sacrifice and hope? Gather to distribute! He is not only an archaeologist of memories but also a sower of visions and hopes. Can a historian be objective and lack passion? Doesn’t he research and search as someone looking for the letters of a lost love, a letter that would make the lover happy forever, or as someone looking for a forgotten will, a will that would make the one poor rich?”

Dr. Mariel Deluca Voth

I believe that the metaphors he uses for historians can also be applied to libraries, librarians and its users. So, as we enter, as we use and as we continue to grow this new place may we function, act and be like: 

A priest that carefully distributes what he or she finds

A sower of personal and communal visions and hopes 

A lover of truth for the wellbeing of others

An archaeologist of memories, diggings and findings

The mission of the Pacific Theological Library is to provide services and resources to meet the educational needs of the entire seminary family through a balanced collection in a variety of formats.