Our Library

Our library is on the shelves in the meeting house entry area and the hallway to the small meeting rooms.

See the library catalog here.

Organization of the Library

The regular collection is organized into 13 categories identified by colored spine labels and by section on the library shelves.

  • Bible Study Aids — light blue
  • Biography & Memoir — yellow
  • Children & Youth — bright pink
  • Education — purple
  • Fiction — orange
  • Meeting Nuts & Bolts — white
  • Nonviolence & Peace — red
  • Philosophy & Theology — yellow green
  • Poetry — light pink
  • Quaker History — kelly green
  • Sacred Writings — black
  • Social Justice — magenta
  • Spirituality — dark blue

The library’s collection of Pendle Hill pamphlets is not currently entered into the online catalog.  We’re working on adding a few pamphlets to make our collection complete.  The goal is to have at least one copy of every one in that series.  There are also some pamphlets we have multiple copies of.  These will be stored separately, on a higher shelf above the main collection, with a list of which ones we have multiples of and how many we have.

Many of the pamphlets are available for viewing online at   http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/PendleHill.html.

An online index from 1934-2012 is available at http://www.pendlehill.org/pendle-hillpamphlets-index and a printed index of the pamphlets published from 1934 -1996 is available in the library.

In addition, there are three special collections:

  • Reference — items that can only be used in the meetinghouse because we want them available for quick lookups or because they are rare or fragile.
  • Seekers — items that can be loaned out to newcomers interested in learning about Quakerism.  These items are duplicated in the regular collection and although we expect them to be returned, we understand that they may not be.
  • Classroom Bibles — a set of Bibles for study groups. These Bibles are not in the catalog.

Borrowing Items

Materials, except references, may be signed out of the meeting’s library for a period of three weeks. On request, items may be renewed once for an additional three weeks.

Each item has a card in a pocket inside the front cover, or on the outside in the case of the rare item like a cd where there isn’t a “front cover.”  The card has the item’s title and author at the top. 

To check out the item, print your name, a contact number (phone or email), and the date you’re taking the item, in the space below the title & author.  Please, oh please, make every effort to make this information easy to read.  Then put the card in the box marked “BOOKS CHECKED OUT” on top of the library cupboard.

Return Procedure

Place all returned items in the Returns Box. This box is on top of the library cupboard, between the front doors and the hallway. The Library Committee will check the items in and shelve them.

Donations

If you have an item you would like to donate to the OMM Library, please place it in the Returns Box, along with a note indicating that you wish to donate it.  Multiple items to be donated will be easier to manage if they’re placed in a bag or envelope.

Lost Materials If an item is either lost or not returned, the meeting will ask that a replacement fee be paid to the meeting. The fee will be the replacement cost of the item; if the replacement cost cannot be determined, fees will be assessed as follows:

  • hardcovers: $30.00
  • paperbacks: $15.00
  • pamphlets: $7.50

Library Committee

The Library Committee maintains the Meeting’s collection of books and other materials (Pendle Hill pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, etc.) and oversees circulation and shelving of the collection.

Specifically, the committee:

  • Enters new items in the catalog and prepares them for circulation
  • Maintains a searchable online catalog of library holdings
  • Oversees the circulation of items, checks with borrowers if an item is overdue, and attempts to retrieve or arrange for replacement if necessary
  • Purchases new items
  • Conducts periodic inventories of the collection and attempts to keep books in order on the shelves
  • Considers if there are items which should be discarded from the collection
  • Promotes the collection through displays, reviews, reading lists, etc.
  • Accounts for expenditures from the library budget
  • Prepares regular committee reports

Revised 6/17/22