Holy Trinity Lending Library Information
The books and resources available in the lending library are comprised of some books owned by the parish, and others owned by members of the parish who are willing to loan out their resources as a way of helping people grow in the knowledge and practice of the Orthodox faith. Books can be checked out by anyone in the parish or the larger central PA community as long as you sign up with your contact information. We do not mail books, you must pick up and return the books on site.
The parish’s books are in the conference room in the Trinity House, most of them beside the fireplace, but a few on the other side of the room by the door. They are sorted by category (see labels on the shelves).
Books available for loan that are not owned by the parish are included in the database on the website, but remain at the owners house when not loaned out.
Checking Books Out
To check out the parish’s books please fill out a card with your name (pockets are behind the front cover) and put down the date you are checking the book out (not the due date despite what the card says.) Then put the card in the yellow box. Do not reshelf the book when you return it, please place it in the return box so that the librarian can check it back in.
When requesting an item through the website, please specify the title you would like and make sure to include your name and email. If the parish office does not have your contact information, please also include your address and phone number. We will try to have the item ready for you to pick up by the Sunday after your request. If for some reason there is a delay, the librarian will let you know.
Books are loaned out for six (6) weeks at a time and can be renewed up to three (3) times. The librarian will email you when your book is due asking if you are finished with it or if you would like to renew it. Please be prompt in returning your books when they are due. They can be returned in the return box in the Trinity House conference room. If an item accidentally gets lost or damaged, please contact the librarian to work out details for replacing it.
If you would like to make your own Orthodox resources available for other people to borrow, or if you would like to donate books to the parish, please use the contact form or talk to Anna Stickles. We are mostly interested in items that are not available in the public library and that are relevant to helping people grow in their knowledge of the faith. Due to lack of space, we are not taking books by or about heterodox Christian traditions or other religions, nor strictly culturally oriented books even if these are traditionally Orthodox cultures.
If you have any suggestions for improvements or changes that you would like to see in the lending library, please let us know.
Please check back often as we are continually updating our inventory.
Using the Search Features
You can search for books two ways. Either by category or using the search box. The search box will only take a singleexact phrase or word from either the author or title. For example You cannot type “Seraphim, Sarov” but you can type “Seraphim of Sarov” as an exact phrase to find all books by or about this saint. If you type just “Seraphim” it will bring up all the books with this word in the title, and all books by any author with the name Seraphim (for instance Fr Seraphim Rose)
Categories
Bible and Reference — Bibles, Bible studies, and any kind of reference material.
Biblical Commentary — modern and patristic commentaries on Scripture.
Biographies and Memoirs — Lives of the saints, biographies of modern elders, ascetics and others recognized as worthy of attention.
Canon Law — ancient and modern commentary as well as texts of the canons of the Church.
Children — children’s books and videos.
Christian Living — books on marriage and family, prayer, growing as a Christian, and other practical aspects of living the faith written by contemporary authors. For other books on Christian living see also the “Spiritual Counsels” category.
Contemporary Issues — How the Church is responding to modern contemporary culture in areas such as homosexuality, evolution, etc.
Cookbooks — a few cookbooks with specifically Lenten or traditional recipes are available.
History, Art and Culture — Church history, the Byzantine Empire and Russia, Slavic or Greek culture and the church, etc.
Icons — Theology, history and practice of writing icons, collections of icons, etc.
Literature and Fiction – Mostly Dostoyevsky and other specifically religious Orthodox fiction, along with some children’s fiction.
Liturgics — Service books, prayer books, akathists. Also festal sermons, commentary on the liturgical services and seasons, and personal devotions relating to them.
Lent — Liturgical commentary, texts, etc. specifically pertaining to Lent and Pascha.
Monasticism — Books written about monasticism, or those written by monastics for monastics. Also includes lives and instructions of the Desert Fathers and the ascetics of Mt. Athos.
The Orthodox Faith — Contemporary writers on the Orthodox faith. Includes mostly books geared toward introducing people to Orthodoxy.
Parish Administration — books on how to run and manage a parish.
Patristics — Writings of the Church Fathers – apologetics, theology, homilies, letters etc. that are not specifically monastic.
Patristic commentary — commentaries and reference works on patristic writings.
Periodicals —we have issues of “The Orthodox Word”, “Road to Emmaus”, and “Life Transfigured” available.
Prayer — books on how to pray and prayer books, see also Liturgics for more on prayer.
Spiritual Counsels — Words of instruction by saints and holy elders on how to grow as a Christian.
Theology — Contemporary writers on Orthodox spirituality and doctrine (as a general guideline, this category includes more intellectually dense material than “The Orthodox Faith”).
Videos — we have a large number of children’s Bible videos as well as a few other videos or DVD’s.
The Virgin Mary — writings, essay’s, prayer, and commentary by both modern and ancient authors on the Most Holy Virgin, Mother of God.
