Library

The St. Mark’s Library is a major theological research library of over 240,000 volumes. It supports the work of faculty and students at The General Theological Seminary, and its extensive holdings in Anglican theology and history, patristics, and liturgics also make it a center of study for scholars throughout the Anglican Communion.

The library’s special collections of rare printed books are rich in Bibles, 16th-18th century English theology, important editions of patristic texts, and devotional works and sermons from the 15th-20th centuries. Some highlights include the Coverdale Bible (1535), the first complete Bible printed in English, and a first edition of the Authorized King James Version (1611), for over three centuries the standard Bible of Anglican churches.

The library’s archival holdings include the ordination and consecration certificates of Samuel Seabury, the first American bishop, and encompass the papers of almost every bishop of the Episcopal Church, from Seabury to the mid- 20th century. These collections afford students an extraordinary opportunity to work with primary sources.

The St. Mark’s Library is the oldest Episcopal seminary library in the United States. In 1820, John Pintard, a civic leader of early New York, came upon a bookseller who was offering "the only set of the Fathers now for sale in America." In one morning Mr. Pintard raised $330 from his friends to purchase the set, and donated it to the fledgling General Theological Seminary, "to form the proud commencement of a Library." Within a year the collection had grown to 2,500 volumes. When the Rev. Eugene Augustus Hoffman became Dean in 1879 the library embarked on a period of expansion during which the Copinger Collection of Latin Bibles and numerous illuminated manuscripts were added to the collection, and Hobart Hall was built to house it. The Friends of St. Mark’s Library continue the tradition of actively supporting and promoting the library.

As part of the Seminary-wide effort to preserve Chelsea Square, a new library will be built on the site of Sherrill Hall. The new library will be a state-of-the-art information services facility with wireless access, compact shelving, and more study space. During the interim, approximately 90 percent of the library’s holdings will be in storage. 15,000 essential titles will remain on campus in an Interim Library located in Seabury Hall. During this time, patrons are encouraged to explore enormous amount of bibliographic information that New York City has to offer.
 
The library offers students in all GTS programs extensive reference help, both through its large collection of printed reference materials and through on-line searching. Visiting scholars and clergy and laity from parishes across the country use the library’s resources for reference and research. A cooperative arrangement with the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary gives GTS students borrowing privileges at that institution as well. PINTARD is the library’s online catalog.

The library offers students in all GTS programs extensive reference help, both through its large collection of printed reference materials and through on-line searching. Visiting scholars and clergy and laity from parishes across the country use the library’s resources for reference and research. A cooperative arrangement with the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary gives GTS students borrowing privileges at that institution as well. PINTARD is the library’s online catalog.

St. Mark’s is a founding member of the New York Area Theological Library Association, which permits students access to the four million volumes in the collections of the 20 member institutions, and also participates in the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Agency (METRO) cooperative, which opens to GTS students the resources of over 200 public and university libraries in the metropolitan area. Books may also be obtained by interlibrary loan. The library staff welcomes visits from prospective students or visiting scholars.

The St. Mark’s Library website is located at http://library.gts.edu