The Divinity Library is the religion/theology division of The Jean and Alexander Heard Library. The division supports the following programs of study and research at Vanderbilt University:
1. the professional: programs: Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.), and Doctor of Ministry D.Min.) degrees of the Divinity School; and the joint program: Divinity & Law (M.Div. & J.D.)
2. the programs of the Graduate Department of Religion: Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in these areas: Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible and New Testament), Theological Studies, Religious and Social Ethics, Church History, History of Christian Though, Religion and Personality, Liturgy and Homiletics; History and Critical Theory of Religion (HACTOR) and a joint program: (J.D.) & (M.A.) in Law and Religion respectively.
Beyond these primary commitments, the Divinity Library also supports the following:
3. Undergraduate studies in the Religious Studies Department of the College of Arts and Science.
4. a continuing studies service sponsored by the Kesler Circulating Library endowment, which extends use of Divinity Library materials to members of church-related vocations, both locally and across the country via postal services.
Faculty and students engaged in the above-named academic programs form the main clientele, while the Kesler service enables the Divinity Library to extend use of its collection to the related professional community. The Divinity Library serves other programs of the University whose parameters overlap the disciplines of religion. In general, the Divinity Library serves the University’s needs in the field of religion.
Religion and its Relationship to Other Disciplines:
The field of religion is inherently interdisciplinary, particularly in these relationships: philosophy, psychology, languages, literature, the arts, ethics, history, sociology, the health sciences and law. And it does not exclude altogether the pure and technological sciences.
Current policy is to collect in-depth in subjects covered by the Library of Congress classifications BL-BX, in Biblical and cognate languages, in languages pertinent to the study of western religious thought; also in special topics, classed outside BL-BS, such as Biblical Archaeology, the Black Church, the Church and Community, Church and Management, Christian Ethics, Women in Religion, Counseling, Religious Education, Education for Teaching Ministry, Christian Sociology, Ministry and Higher Education, Psychology of Religion, Religion and Literature, Religion and the Arts, Philosophy of Religion, Bibliography and Information Science relating to the subject scope. Special arrangements are made on occasion for joint purchases with another division, with costs shared between the divisions. Increasingly Electronic resources are purchased on a system-wide shared-cost basis.