St. Joseph Parish Library

Welcome!
Our collection includes a variety of religious subjects,
including a Children/Youth section.

Our dedicated volunteers strive to be available after Masses to assist with finding books and answering questions. If a volunteer is not in the library, we use a self check-out honor system. You are welcome to drop by any time the church is open to checkout or return books. The library space is also used for various other ministry meetings. If a meeting is in progress, a cart will be located outside the library. You can either return or checkout new books from the cart using the self check-out directions.

Sincere Blessings,
Lana Keith
Ann Johnson
Library Coordinators

Online Resources
Click on a selection below to access these external resources. 

CCEL
(Classic Christian Etheral Library)
A Christian (not Roman Catholic), online theological library containing the most important public-domain works for theological study. The collection includes Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, St. Ignatius of Loyola’s The Spiritual Exercises, The Confessions of St. Augustine, the works of St. John of the Cross, and Early Church Fathers, a 38-volume collection of writings from the first 800 years of the Church.

New Advent
Searchable versions of The Catholic Encyclopedia, Summa Theologica, and Church Fathers. A good online research tool that includes a variety of links and resources.

Salvation History
This site is a non-profit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition. The Center serves clergy and laity, students and scholars, with research and study tools — from books and publications to multimedia and on-line programming.

Library Committee Members
Stephanie Cunningham, Vee Fletcher, Ann Johnson, Maggie Jordan-Grant, Lana Keith, Julie Mascavage, Marlene McGrath, Deacon David Olsen, Colleen Rappe, Fr. Todd O. Strange 

History

Vee FletcherSt. Joseph Parish Library started about fifteen years ago by former pastor, Fr. Pat Clark, and Vee Fletcher, a long time parishioner and retired librarian. At that time the library consisted of a small area in the church hall. Vee was given the space that now houses the nursery and began building the collection by procuring recommended titles as well as incorporating donations from parishioners. With Vee’s hard work the library continued to expand until it outgrew that space.

In the summer of 2011, the library moved to the St. Therese Room. The grand reopening for the new library was in November 2011. The current collection stands at 2,600 items. We have had many donations since that time and have added numerous wonderful books to our collection.

Donations

We gladly accept donations of religious books, DVDs or CDs that are in good condition. We will review the donations to decide which materials we can use in our collection. Any donated items that we cannot use will either be donated to another source or sold to purchase other library materials.

The following article appeared in the July 16, 2012 Issue of the Catholic Northwest Progress.

Check out the archdiocese’s library

BY JEAN PARIETTI

If your parish library doesn’t have the book or movie you’re looking for — or your parish doesn’t have a library — the archdiocese’s Library Media Center can help.

More than 6,500 books and 2,800 videos and DVDs are available for checkout at the library, a service of the Office of Catholic Faith Formation.

“We have a large selection of resources available in Spanish and are continually adding to this specific section,” said Library Associate Lisa Hillyard.

Although the library is a well-used resource for parishes and schools, it also serves individuals, who don’t have to be affiliated with a parish or school, Hillyard said. The library will mail materials to individuals at no charge — patrons just have to pay the return postage, she said.

Patrons can search or browse for books in the library’s catalog, and a catalog mobile app is now available (contact the library for more details). Once a patron locates an item, a request to check it out can be submitted by phone (1-800-869-7027), email library@seattlearch.org or fax (206-274-3136).

In-person browsing and checkout is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The library is located at 910 Marion St. in Seattle.

For patrons who have a topic in mind, but no specific title, the library staff can provide a list of suggested titles, Hillyard said. Reading suggestions also are available via the Check It Out Newsletterwhich is updated monthly during the school year, Hillyard said.