The JECS Core Journal Collection

An understanding of core journal collections is important for the development and management of periodical collections. This investigation explores the structure of a core journal collection related to the Journal of Early Christian Studies, a relatively new periodical in the sub-discipline of church history. Citations of journals extracted from three randomly selected volumes were tabulated and ranked. Library of Congress subject headings were used to categorize the subjects covered by the top-ranked cited journals. It was concluded that a core of nine journals contributed twenty-five percent of all citations. Church history journals predominated as the source of cited material; Roman and Byzantine subject journals were also highly cited. The core journal collection is concentrated around these three subject domains and, wherever early Christian studies is a prominent curricular focus, it is recommended that these nine journals be available in the library.

The Importance of Linguistically Diverse Collections

Although theological libraries in the United States serve speakers of many languages, they exist in a higher education environment where linguistic diversity is often absent from conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion. This article argues for the importance of linguistically diverse library collections, surveys the state of holdings and acquisitions today, reports the results of a study of student, alumni, and faculty perceptions of their schools’ support for multilingual and non-English speaking students, examines the barriers to adequate non-English acquisitions, and proposes actions and strategies to improve access to non-English materials.

Putting God on the Map: Theology and Conceptual Mapping

This is a review of Kidd, Erin and Jakob Karl Rinderknecht, eds. Putting God on the Map: Theology and Conceptual Mapping. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2018. 268 pp. $105.00. Hardback. ISBN: 9781978703964.

Copyrighting God: Ownership of the Sacred in American Religion

This is a review of Andrew Ventimiglia. Copyrighting God: Ownership of the Sacred in American Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), vii + 247pp. $115 hardcover; $34.99 softcover. ISBN: 9781108420518 (hardcover); 9781108430371 (softcover).

Global Wesleyan Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology

This is a review of Robert D. Branson, ed. Global Wesleyan Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology. Kansas City: The Foundry Publishing, 2020. 463 pp. $55.99. Hardcover. ISBN: 9780834138230.