This LibGuide provides an overview of the resources provided by Meadville Lombard's Library and Archives and outlines how faculty can utilize them within a course. The page below contains an overview of the resources themselves, and the tabs above detail how these resources can be incorporated into a course's structure.
Wiggin Library
Meadville Lombard's library is called the Wiggin Library. Consisting of 35,000 volumes, the Wiggin Library comprehensively collects all published Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist material. It collects at an advanced level in the subjects of American Religious History, Congregational Leadership, Ecology, Ethics, Hebrew and New Testament Bible, Humanism, Liberalism (Religion), Paganism, Neo-paganism, Occult, Earth Religions, and New Religions, Practical Theology and Worship Arts, Religious Education, Theology, and Transcendentalism.
I-Share
For research and interests that extend beyond Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism, and/or the subject areas collected at the advanced and basic levels of study, Wiggin Library provides I-Share access to students and faculty. I-Share is a merged, union catalog of the holdings of all I-Share libraries in CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Library in Illinois). Accessed via the online catalog through the same interface as the Wiggin Library, I-Share provides easy access to 35 million volumes from 92 different academic libraries. Practically speaking, most students use Wiggin Library and I-Share interchangeably.
Before and After On-campus Week
During this time, most books are circulated through the mail. Students request books through the online catalog and we mail the book to them. Turnaround time is generally less than a week. Because I-Share is integrated into our catalog, most students use Wiggin and I-Share books interchangeably. Functionally speaking, students have access to a 35 million volume library.
On-campus Week
During the on-campus week, library circulation occurs onsite in the library on the 6th floor. Because I-Share books take roughly 2-4 days to arrive to the library, students tend to use more material held by the Wiggin Library during Intensives. Some students plan ahead and will request I-Share books to be sent to Meadville Lombard and they pick them up on campus. Often, students will begin a research project on campus and request I-Share books to be shipped to their home so that when they return, they will have the books they need. The library is open Monday-Friday from 8:00am to 6:00pm CST during on-campus week, as well as from 10am to 4pm the Sunday before and Saturday after classes.
Wiggin Library provides access to over 50,000 ebooks. At this point, ebooks are not acquired to replace print resources for research, but rather are an essential part of coursework and course reserves. More information can be found in the Course Readings tab.
The Wiggin Library provides database access to ATLA Religion Database (ATLA RDB) with ATLASerials (ATLAS), and JSTOR-Religion and Theology. These three databases include access to the vast majority of academic journals dedicated to the study of religion and ministry. To learn more about these resources or to use them, click here.
The Wiggin Library provides access to the compete online Routledge Religion Handbooks, the Oxford Religion Handbooks, and the Cambridge Companions to Philosophy and Religion. These resources provide academically grounded, graduate level introductions to topics related to religion and philosophy. To access them, click here. To learn more about using them within a course, click here.
Oxford Biblical Studies Online: Oxford Biblical Studies Online is a continually updated and comprehensive biblical studies resource. It contains six difference translations of the Bible, and thousands of entries from various biblical dictionaries, encyclopedias, and commentaries - including entries from resources such as the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies.
A-Z Resource List: The Wiggin Library hosts a searchable list of over 300 digital resources, most of which are open access and do not require a Meadville Lombard account to access. This list is organized alphabetically, but can also be keyword searched or narrowed down according to subject, resource type, or method of access.
LibGuides is a web service designed to help librarians create websites with curated and easily accessible library content. Outside of the catalog itself, nearly every library page hosted by the Wiggin Library is on LibGuides, including this page. The Wiggin Library has dozens of LibGuides, organized both by resource type and by resource content. A complete list can be found here.
Meadville Lombard has over 400 physical and digital archival collections, stretching from Puritanism to Paganism and everything in between. Our emphasis is liberal religion in the west, 20th century Unitarian Universalism, and communities underserved and excluded by traditional archives. We are particularly proud of the UUA Congregational Records, which tell the story of every Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist congregations from the 1920s to the 1990s. To learn more about the Archives and Special Collections, click here.
We don't just have books! We also circulate things like board games and tarot cards to students. The Wiggin Library is constantly exploring ways to augment our collection to enhance student experience when on campus.
Wiggin Library staff are subject specialists in Unitarian Universalism and have experience in assisting students in theological, historical, and social scientific research related to the study of religion and religious communities.
To learn more about how library staff provides in-classroom instruction, click here.
To learn more about research and reference support, click here.
Meadville Lombard Wiggin Library
180 N. Wabash Ave.
Suite 625
Chicago, IL 60601
Library and Archives Phone: 312-546-6488 Library Email: library@meadville.edu Archives Email: archives@meadville.edu