The ways in which the news media depicted racial differences over time has played a significant role in shaping both American history and the African American experience. Black Life in America’s comprehensive database including over 19,000 news sources updated daily covers every issue involved in America’s ongoing conversation on race. This contemporary third series provides primary source coverage of historic changes such as Barack Obama’s election and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Current students, faculty and staff can access Black Life in America here and on the library’s Online Databases page.
The Black Life in America database features include a basic and advanced search as well as Suggested Searches curated by era topic, person, or event.
The left side of the search results page in this database offers a number of search sort options which enable the user to narrow their search by date, source type, name, location and language. Another unique feature is the Preview button which gives the reader a closer look at the text of the article before opening it.
Also at the top of each search results page you will find important citation, download, print and save tools:
For more information on Black Life in America see the following video:
On Saturday, June 26, 2021, Ebook Central will be offline and all the library’s Ebook Central holdings will be unavailable to users for approximately eight hours from 10:00am to 6:00pm for a scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.
As a reminder users can download individual chapters of Ebook Central eBooks by clicking the ‘Download PDF’ link next to the pertinent chapter in the ‘Table of Contents’ section. Chapters can then be saved and viewed using any standard PDF software such as Adobe and they do not expire.
The library is excited to announce significant progress has been made on an inter-institutional effort to publicly share records, writings and interviews by the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, a founding contributor of Womanist/feminist/mujerista theology in a single online location.
Thanks to the Center for Womanist Leadership much of Union Presbyterian Seminary’s part of Dr. Cannon’s collection has already been digitized by the Presbyterian Historical Society and is available for access here.
The goal of this collaborative effort is to provide a single digital presence for personal records that Dr. Cannon intended to distribute among PHS, Union Presbyterian Seminary and Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Check back with the Katie G. Cannon Collection often as the collection continues to grow and take shape, offering invaluable access and insight into the work and legacy of such an important voice in Womanist theology.
A comprehensive, searchable database of the works of theologian Karl Barth in German. A recently updated more refined search interface allows you to locate specific terms or passages in Die kirchliche Dogmatik or the first 36 volumes of his Gesamtausgabe, including hundreds of letters, sermons, lectures and articles. Some treatises and personal papers are also available on the site in English translation
Although the featured collection of the Digital Karl Barth Library is an English and German translation of Church Dogmatics additional DKBL works include, The Theology of John Calvin, The Theology of Schleiermacher, Rudolf Bultmann: Letters 1922-1966 and Evangelical Theology and many others.
The new interface has an Advanced Search and Browse option that enables users to navigate resources by works, series or document type.
The DKBL document viewer includes cite, email, share options as well as a navigation toolbar including a Search inside option enabling users to search keywords, names or places within the text.
The contents bar on the right side of the document allows users to easily navigate from one chapter of section of a document to another.
The Digital Karl Barth Library is available to current students, faculty and staff of Union Presbyterian Seminary. You can access it on the UPSem Library website by selecting Online Databases from the Library Resources menu. You will need your library barcode and PIN to access this resource off-campus. If you have any questions about access or any of the resources in Ministry Matters please contact Ryan Douthat by email at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
Encompassing over 5,000 A–Z reference entries, chapters from scholarly and introductory works, Qur’anic materials, primary sources, images, maps, and timelines, Oxford Islamic Studies Online offers a multi-layered reference experience designed to provide a first stop for anyone needing information and context on Islam. The current core content titles include the following :
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Politics, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, The Oxford History of Islam, Makers of Contemporary Islam, two Oxford World’s Classics versions of the Qur’an: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem’s The Qur’an (a prose translation), and The Koran Interpreted (a renowned verse translation by A.J. Arberry), Hanna Kassis’ Concordance of the Qur’an, and many other resources.
Tools include a Side-by-side view of two Qur’anic texts:
Also, the Learning Resources menu offers many additional Islamic reference resources:
Current students, faculty and staff can find OISO on the UPSem Library website by selecting Online Databases from the Library Resources menu. Oxford Islamic Studies Online is also available to our alums in the Alumni Research Portal. You will need your library barcode and PIN for accessing this resource from off-campus.
If you have any questions please contact Ryan Douthat by email ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
Ministry Matters™ offers practical and immediate inspiration for preachers, teachers, and worship leaders. With thousands of original articles and blogs, unique book reviews, and weekly worship and preaching helps in the This Sunday area, MinistryMatters.com provides both resources and inspiration for church leaders.
Tens of thousands of pages of full-text research and reference materials are available in the library’s premium subscription including excellent reference resources like The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, the complete The New Interpreter’s Bible commentary, the Abingdon Old and New Testament Commentaries as well as devotions, prayers, and sermon starters.
A good place to begin exploring the wealth of reference and worship resources Ministry Matters offers is the Browse section of the Research Library. Here you can click next to resource types to access lists of individual resources.
From this page you can choose from any of the Main Menu headings that contain a variety contemporary worship and lectionary resources for diverse audiences. Also, don’t miss the Sub-Menu headings located under each of these sections that allow you to focus your search even more.
Ministry Matters is available to current students, faculty and staff of Union Presbyterian Seminary. You can access it on the UPSem Library website by selecting Online Databases from the Library Resources menu. You will need your library barcode and PIN to access this resource off-campus. If you have any questions about access or any of the resources in Ministry Matters please contact Ryan Douthat by email at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
The JSTOR Religion & Theology Collection covers the history and philosophy of religious thought spanning traditions, periods, and critical approaches. The collection contains more than 80 titles, drawn exclusively from existing JSTOR Arts & Sciences collections. It supports religious studies research as well as scholarship in archaeology, literature, philosophy, and more.
More than 30 journals in the collection are dedicated to the general study of religion. Another 30 journals are focused on Christianity studies. Theology journals are well represented, and the collection also boasts clusters in Judaic studies, Islamic studies, and African and Asian religions.
JSTOR’s Religion & Theology collection offers more than 15 journals whose archives on JSTOR extend over 100 years. More than a dozen journals are from outside of the United States, including clusters from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
Notable Titles include:
• Journal of Religion (1921-)
• Religious Studies (1965-)
• Church History (1932-)
• Modern Judaism (1981-)
• Islamic Studies (1962-)
• Harvard Theological Review (1908-)
• Religion and American Culture (1991-)
Tools & Resources:
The Browse menu enables users to search by subject, title, collection and publisher.
Under the Tools menu, Workspace is a tool that helps you save, organize, and share your sources. You can also add important notes and generate citations in many popular formats.
Text Analyzer that enables you to use your own document to search for other articles and books.
For more information on the JSTOR Religion & Theology Collection checkout the following video:
The JSTOR Religion & Theology Collection is available to current UPSem students, faculty and staff as well as alumni of UPSem and BTSR. For more information about JSTOR or assistance accessing this resource please contact Ryan Douthat by email at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
Our institutional subscription to The New York Times Online has unfortunately expired and access has ended for all who have used the institutional subscription currently.
To ensure (and to assure our Library users) that access to timely news is still available for research purposes, four digital news databases accessible to current students, faculty and staff have been added to the Online Databases page on the Library web site:
Newspaper Source Plus – Provides more than 1,200 full-text newspapers, including more than 86 million full-text articles. In addition, the database features more than 2 million television and radio news transcripts.
Newswires – Provides near real-time access to top world-wide news from Associated Press, United Press International, PR Newswire, Xinhua, CNN Wire, and Business Wire on a continuous basis. Full text content is held for a rolling 30-day archive, so users can enjoy the previous 30 days of news relating to their search interests.
Regional Business News – Provides comprehensive full text coverage for regional business publications. Includes more than 80 publications covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.
EBSCO Web News provides near real-time access to thousands of top news feeds from around the globe. This collection includes over 14,000 feeds covering a range of business and general news topics. End users can immediately access the full text of the web content, by following the link in the record.
While we regret that we were not able to renew our subscription to The New York Times Online in light of other priorities, we hope that you will get to know these other news databases, which may be searched either individually or all at once through the EBSCO platform. Once logged in to search any one of them, you may click the “Choose Databases” link above the main EBSCO search field to choose additional EBSCO databases to search at the same time, including the four databases listed above.
For help with finding and accessing these resources, please contact Ryan Douthat, Electronic Services Librarian, at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu.
Developed in conjunction with Atla, a membership association of collectors and connectors in religion and theology, African American Historical Serials Collection is the product of more than ten years of organizing and collecting materials. It is a complete, centralized and accessible resource of formerly fragmentary, widely-dispersed and endangered materials. Titles were collected from 75 institutions, including small institutions that had not previously participated in preservation projects.
Content Includes:
More than 170 unique titles related to African American life and culture
Approximately 60,000 pages of searchable primary source content
Reports and annuals from African American religious organizations and social service agencies, as well as African American periodicals
Extensive coverage of African American religious organizations, churches and institutions
Organizations represented include:
Institute for Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Colored Youth of the State of Texas
Gammon Theological Seminary
Institute for Colored Youths
Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons
Now compiled and accessible to researchers in one digital collection, this unique resource documents the history of African American life and religious organizations from 1829 and 1922. Content features multiple religious denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Zion Church and many Baptist churches.
Unique AAHS Database Features:
The AAHS database includes several unique features including a Document Map tool that enables users to easily navigate periodical issues, book marking individual pages, showing pages with illustrations and notes as well as pages with keyword search matches.
Use the Search and Contents tools to navigate periodical issues and locate specific keywords, names or places.
The African-American Historical Serials Collection is available to current students, faculty and staff of Union Presbyterian Seminary. You can access it on the UPSem Library website by selecting Online Databases from the Library Resources menu. You will need your library barcode and PIN to access this resource off-campus. If you have any questions about access or any of the resources in AAHS please contact Ryan Douthat by email at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
Oxford Biblical Studies Online is an excellent resource for the study of the Bible and biblical history. It provides a number of resources that delve into the background, context, and issues related to the Bible including:
Six Bible texts, from the King James version to the Jewish Study Bible
Apocrypha, commentary, and concordances
Over 6000 A-Z articles from Oxford encyclopedias, companions, dictionaries, and handbooks
Over 1000 maps and illustrations
Thematic guides and lesson plans
View Bible texts singularly, or use the side-by-side feature illustrated below to compare a Biblical text with commentary or another translation.
The Tools & Resources menu enables users to explore Biblical themes through background essays and in-depth content within the site, compare specific synoptic passages and subject matter as well as deepen their research by accessing the bibliographies of Bible and commentary texts.
For students, teachers, clergy, and any reader seeking an up-to-date ecumenical resource. Take a deeper look at Oxford Biblical Studies Online by utilizing the guided tour located under the About menu.
Current students, faculty and staff can find OBSO on the UPSem Library website by selecting Online Databases from the Library Resources menu. Oxford Biblical Studies Online is also available to our alums in the Alumni Research Portal. You will need your library barcode and PIN for accessing this resource from off-campus.
If you have any questions please contact Ryan Douthat at ryan.douthat@upsem.edu or phone (804) 278-4217.
