Christiansen Memorial Library

Welcome to the Library!

The library was originally housed on the main floor of the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy main building as a shared facility. It was originally named the Lutheran Bible School Library and later renamed the Bible-Seminary Library.

In the 1970’s, the library was moved into the Broen Media Center building which housed the offices and classrooms of Lutheran Brethren Seminary. In 1990, the library was renamed the Christiansen Memorial Library after Reverend C. Christiansen (1902-1982), a former seminary professor and librarian of the Lutheran Brethren Schools.

Lutheran Brethren Seminary moved from the Broen Media Center in 2015 to a new facility connected to the Church of the Lutheran Brethren denominational headquarters.

The Christiansen Memorial Library is located in the lower level of the seminary building and houses over 22,000 print volumes, 70 periodical titles and other special collections. Additionally, The Christiansen Memorial Library is also now home to the Church of the Lutheran Brethren Archives.

Mission

The mission of the Christiansen Memorial Library is to provide services and resources for all LBS students and faculty to support the academic program and curriculum of the Lutheran Brethren Seminary.

Goals

The Core Abilities of Lutheran Brethren Seminary state “graduates of Lutheran Brethren Seminary will embrace a Christ-centered understanding of Scripture, demonstrate skills that correspond to the doing of ministry, exhibit attitudes that characterize God’s servants, and model godly character in life and ministry.

On that basis these are the goals of the Christiansen Memorial Library:

• To acquire materials to adequately support the teaching program of the seminary, the research needs of the faculty and students, and the spiritual growth of faculty and students as well as the need to understand the contemporary theological and cultural trends.
• To provide a comfortable place for reading, study, and research.
• To have access to electronic tools to locate books or periodicals so that students and faculty can gain available material.
• To organize materials for the most effective use by students and faculty.
• To guide students and faculty in their selection of materials of learning desired for personal and course purposes.
• To work cooperatively with instructors and administration of the seminary in selection of current and valuable resources for the areas they teach.