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The Unique Contributions of the 
Theological Librarian in Campus-
Wide Programs of Faith Integration
Liz Leahy, Azusa Pacific Seminary and University Libraries, Azusa Pacific 
University

ABSTR ACT Many Christian colleges and universities have academic 
programs that emphasize “faith and learning” or “faith integration.” 
The religious or theological studies librarian can have a unique role 
in assisting faculty across the disciplines to develop a better aware-
ness of theological writings and resources that might reflect spiri-
tual themes within their discipline. This paper will suggest ways for 
theological librarians to collaborate with colleagues, highlighting 
integrative work at Azusa Pacific University—including one-on-one 
and classroom resource instruction, the development and use of 
faith integration and special collections, integrative coursework, and 
reading groups—and concluding with a few suggested resources. 

FAITH INTEGRATION: AN ATTEMPT AT A DEFINITION

“According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are 
more than 4,300 degree-granting institutions of higher education 
in the United States. These include nearly 2,600 private institutions, 
just over 1,000 of which define themselves as religiously affiliated. Of 
those, 140 Christian colleges and universities in the U.S. have found 
common cause in the mission of the Council for Christian Colleges 
and Universities (CCCU).” (Council of Christian Colleges and Univer-
sities, n.d., “Our Place”)

A common theme at many of the CCCU campuses is the impor-
tance which is placed on faith integration or faith and learning. The 
campuses share three common goals: 1) to integrate biblical truth 
throughout academics, 2) a commitment to the moral and spiritual 
formation of students, and 3) a commitment to graduating students 
who will be a redemptive voice in the world (Council of Christian 
Colleges and Universities, n.d., “What Is Christian Higher Educa-
tion?”).



Listen and Learn Sessions  391

 “For Christian academics, faith integration begins with investigating 
research questions and methodologies that will contribute to 
the advance of the discipline and the gathering of meaningful 
content for teaching, scholarly projects, and performances. It is 
here that the curious Christian intellectual (whether prepared 
in the sciences, liberal arts, the fine or performing arts, or 
the professions) will discover places where the knowledge 
of their discipline and the themes from the Christian faith 
intersect and invite further development.” (Azusa Pacific, n.d.)  
Paul Kaak, Executive Director, Office of Faith Integration, Azusa 
Pacific University

This requires significant work on the part of faculty—to consider 
the questions that faith brings to their academic disciplines—in an 
area of research often new to those outside the theological disciplines. 
This is where the theologically trained librarian can contribute 
to conversations and partner on faith integration.

PARTNERING WITH SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS ACROSS YOUR 
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY

Librarians have a unique vantage point to view their institu-
tions across the various disciplines taught. Service on committees, 
research instruction, and campus-wide activities provide opportuni-
ties to get to know other faculty and to learn of their research inter-
ests. This awareness can be particularly helpful as the theological 
librarian can serve as a connector between theological resources 
(what I refer to as the “great cloud of witnesses” [cf. Hebrews 11 and 
12, NRSV]) and the research or teaching interest. If your campus 
publishes a list of recent faculty scholarship and grants, this can be 
an excellent resource in which to make connections. Make an effort 
to read recent articles published by colleagues and gain an aware-
ness of research interests in your community.

UNIQUE TOOLS A THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIAN BRINGS

Theological librarians bring their theological training and resource 
knowledge into dialogues with their colleagues. Recognize that 
faculty have expertise in their disciplines but may have limited 
academic background in biblical or theological studies. Your bibli-
ographic and theological knowledge as well as an awareness of 
resources in your collections might be just the ticket to connect the 
dots between theology and a specific discipline. 



392  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

THEMES

One way to do this is to consider themes that might be present in 
syllabi or in department goals. Offer to come alongside colleagues 
to help determine themes that connect with scripture or theologi-
cal study with ideas that are important within their discipline. For 
instance, in a nursing program, consider themes of healing, compas-
sion, hope, anger, prayer. How are these themes depicted in the 
scriptures? In the history and literature of the church? In a busi-
ness program, consider perhaps themes of riches and poverty, bibli-
cal justice, or organizational behavior. In social work programs, 
consider people made in the image of God, what the scriptures teach 
about families or marriage, justice, poverty. Each of these themes 
have rich resources, and the theological librarian can instruct on 
the use of commentaries and dictionaries, writings from the early 
church including sermons and letters, and ways in which contem-
porary denominations are considering specific issues by looking at 
theologians in their denominational traditions. 

As departments become more comfortable in considering themes 
in their disciplines, promote the idea of themes across a degree 
program with buildable goals for each semester. As an example, 
APU’s Masters of Athletic Training has a six-semester Master of 
Science degree in which students study in cohorts. Each class has 
integration themes such as mind-body-spirit, service and compas-
sion, healing, truth and wisdom, etc., which have been developed 
by the program faculty. By the time the program concludes, relevant 
themes are studied and assignments given across the curriculum 
(Azusa Pacific University 2021). The theological librarian can collabo-
rate with the discipline faculty to provide resources and ideas based 
upon these identified themes as well as provide in-class instruction 
for students. 

COLLECTIONS

A second way to do this can be through collection development. 
Consider developing a special collection of faith integration mate-
rials across all disciplines taught at your campus, along with good 
overview resources. Placed together (instead of, or in addition to the 
disciplines), the collection can assist faculty whose discipline inter-
ests might span more than a single idea or theme. It is also helpful for 
disciplines where there has not been much published. For example, 



Listen and Learn Sessions  393

in librarianship, a few books are specific to faith and learning, but 
we might also consider resources on pedagogy or technology as well.

At APU, we were able to begin this collection with an external 
grant from an organization with an expressed interest in integrat-
ing faith and learning. The collection is housed in the theological 
library and adjacent to the reference collection, so that a theological 
librarian is available for questions and collection recommendations. 
Faculty members are often surprised at the number of resources 
written in areas of their interest, but they can also see where the gaps 
are and find encouragement for their own scholarship. While exter-
nal foundations with this shared interest might be difficult to find, let 
your development office know of this interest; this might be some-
thing to which a university donor would like to contribute funds.

If your campus maintains special collections related to the insti-
tution’s religious roots, this can be a wonderful resource for faculty 
and students seeking primary sources. Often faculty outside of the 
theological department will not be aware of these holdings, but 
they might have relevance for courses in history or literature as 
well. Offer a tour for faculty and have items pre-selected to high-
light. Encourage them to consider assignments that students might 
be able to accomplish and potentially give assignment suggestions.

At APU, we have Holiness denominational collections including 
a large collection of Salvation Army and Friends churches materi-
als. We also have a growing collection of Clapham saints materials 
(William Wilberforce and friends). Our social work, history, and polit-
ical science faculty have been encouraged to view these resources 
and connect the biographical dots of people of faith.  Students learn 
how their faith informed their work to change legislative policies 
related to slavery and abolition, usury, and working conditions 
among the poor. Our literature students can consider what it means 
to be a part of a community and how to encourage faith development 
as they reflect on materials from the Oxford Inklings collection (C.S. 
Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and friends). 

INSTRUCTION

Consider offering a series of workshops that will inform faculty of 
resource tools that might be helpful in their work. If your campus has 
an office responsible for faith and learning, seek out opportunities 
to teach short bibliographic sessions. At our new faculty workshop 



394  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

series on faith integration, an hour is set aside for hands-on review 
of biblical dictionaries, commentaries, theological tools and the 
Atla database. A second workshop, taught by my colleague Lindsey 
Sinnott, features more in-depth instruction on biblical tools. This is a 
great opportunity for faculty across your campus to get to know you 
and the work you do, as well as to set up future one-on-one appoint-
ments or classroom visits. 

Plan one-on-one appointments with faculty colleagues for syllabi 
discussion—perhaps figuring out assignments that might aid a 
student’s understanding/application of faith. If your campus faculty 
prepare a research paper for promotion or tenure related to their 
application of faith and learning, see if you can get a few ideas in 
advance from them, such as their denominational background (if 
your campus has a variety of denominations represented) and infor-
mation related to the courses they regularly teach or research they 
are conducting. Then do some of the connecting work in advance 
and have resources pulled from your collections or articles available 
which might help in using time together well. Once faculty learn of 
you as a resource—and your collections—cross-disciplinary collabo-
rations can begin. 

Bibliographic guides to the literature, such as LibGuides, are 
useful teaching tools as well. My former colleague, Michelle Spomer, 
created a LibGuide for faith integration resources that connects rele-
vant LC Subject Headings with the disciplines taught at our univer-
sity. As new titles are added to the collections, they are readily located 
through this helpful guide. 

READING GROUPS

Some of the departments in your institution may choose one or more 
readings each semester to encourage faith integration dialogue. You 
might encourage this by passing along books and articles that are 
relevant. The Economics faculty at APU were delighted to receive my 
note about a recent Christian History magazine issue entitled “When 
the Church Goes to Market” and now plan to purchase print copies 
for all of their majors. Our Nursing and Biology faculty received 
information about another Christian History issue, on “Plagues and 
Epidemics” and several plan to include readings in their classes this 
fall (thank you to Atla member and Christian History editor, Jennifer 
Woodruff Tait, for this excellent publication!). Often, books with faith 



Listen and Learn Sessions  395

integration themes appear in vendor catalogs that cater to religious 
and theological collections and may not find their way to faculty in 
other disciplines, so sending along the information with a note is a 
great way to connect! 

A FEW RESOURCES

Christian Scholars Review: https://christianscholars.com 
Publishes peer-reviewed scholarship across the disciplines 
that advances the integration of faith and learning. Journal is 
published quarterly and weekly blog posts.

For information on Christian professional societies: 
https://christianscholars.com/resources/#societies

Christian History magazine: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/
magazine 
Written by historians and scholars for a lay readership, it is a 
wonderful introduction to people and ideas across the span of 
Christian history.

The Trinity Forum: https://ttf.org 
The Trinity Forum “endeavors to cultivate, curate, and dissemi-
nate the best of Christian thought, to equip leaders to think, work, 
and lead wisely and well.” The Forum regularly hosts speakers 
on Christian thought and culture (https://www.ttf.org/video/). 
Membership includes a wide range of curated readings and 
introductions to classic literature. 

Emerging Scholars Blog: https//blog.emergingscholars.org 
The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) is a national network 
within Intervarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries that 

“supports those on the academic pathway as they work out how 
their academic vocation serves God and others.”

https://christianscholars.com
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine
https://ttf.org


396  AT L A 202 1 PROCEEDINGS

REFERENCES

Azusa Pacific University. 2021. “MS in Athletic Training: About the 
Program.” Accessed August 30, 2021. https://www.apu.edu/bas/
programs/athletic-training-masters/about/.

Azusa Pacific University. n.d. “What is Faith Integration?” Accessed 
July 12, 2021. https://www.apu.edu/faithintegration/about/.

Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. n.d. “Our Place in 
Higher Education.” Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.cccu.org/
about/.

Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. n.d. “What Is Chris-
tian Higher Education?” Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.cccu.
org/about/.

https://www.apu.edu/bas/programs/athletic-training-masters/about/
https://www.apu.edu/bas/programs/athletic-training-masters/about/
https://www.apu.edu/faithintegration/about/
https://www.cccu.org/about/
https://www.cccu.org/about/
https://www.cccu.org/about/
https://www.cccu.org/about/

