Collections and Exhibits
The collections and exhibits at Wright Library offer substantial resources for theological study and research at all levels.
Wright Library collections and exhibits offer substantial resources for theological study and research at all levels.
Collections
The Wright Library collections offer substantial resources for theological study and research at all levels.
In addition to circulating and periodical collections, Wright Library contains the Charles G. Reigner Collection, which houses educational materials and religious curriculum materials to support church ministry; Special Collections, including the Karl Barth research collection, and continually expanding digital collections, including the Theological Commons.
Wright Library receives thousands of journals, annual reports of church bodies and learned societies, bulletins, transactions, and periodically issued indices, abstracts, and bibliographies.
Among the collections are valuable portions of the libraries of Samuel Agnew, J. Addison Alexander, Louis F. Benson, John Breckinridge, Ashbel Green, William Henry Green, Alexander Balloch Grosart, John M. Krebs, Samuel Miller, William Buell Sprague, James Tanis, and Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield.
Primary sources are represented both by original early editions or reprints and by modern critical editions.
Wright Library’s Collection Development Policy guides the acquisition of library materials. A series of policies governing the use of our collections allows us to balance accessibility with accountability.
Wright Library CollectionsFeatured Exhibits
Flora, Fauna and Mysteriana
This exhibit, entitled Flora, Fauna, & Mysteriana, presents viewers with visual evidence of how theological and biblical studies overlap and intersect with the natural world. A series of 10 exhibition cases, each of which depicts various aspects of humanity’s view of nature through a theological lens, comprise an exciting new exhibit on the main concourse created by Princeton Theological Seminary’s department of Special Collections & Archives at Wright Library.
Women at Princeton Theological Seminary: Herstory
Women at Princeton Theological Seminary: Herstory includes items from and about women’s participation in theological work and the church, including the first translation of the Bible by a woman, Julia Smith. From there, explore the involvement and training of women here at Princeton Theological Seminary. View this exhibition in Special Collections and Archives at Wright Library (hours by appointment)
New Faculty Books
The New Faculty Books exhibit showcases the most recent faculty book publications and previews forthcoming titles. This display, to be updated periodically, offers a glimpse at the range and diversity of the current research interests of Princeton Theological Seminary faculty.
James J. Reeb Memorial Lectures
On Sunday, March 7, 1965, 600 people participated in the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, AL. A second march took place two days later, which James J. Reeb, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Unitarian Universalist minister, joined. When it was over, three people had been killed, including Reeb. One year later, the Seminary held a series of five annual lectures by internationally distinguished religious and civic leaders: Eugene Carson Blake, Roy Wilkins, D. T. Niles, Ralph David Abernathy, and Paul Verghese.
![Philipp Melanchthon (left), Martin Luther (center), Johann Bugenhagen (aka Pomeranus, second from right), and Caspar Cruciger (right) translate the Bible. Lithograph by Alphonse Léon Noël from a painting by Pierre-Antoine Labouchère, ca. 1846. [Image no. 4433] from https://www.history.pcusa.org/history-online/exhibits/foundations-faith-page-1](https://ptsem.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/MartinLuther_900x600.jpg)
The Numismatic Luther: The Frederick J. and Joyce Schumacher Collection
This outstanding collection of Luther-related medals and coins has been put together by Frederick J. Schumacher (Class of 1978) over much of a lifetime and represents Luther commemoration over many centuries. “More different medals and coins have been struck relating to Luther and his life and teachings than any other single person in history,” writes Rev. Schumacher in an article he published about his collection.
Edward Miller’s Patient Book
Edward Miller collaborated in America’s first medical journal as he was a practicing doctor and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Special Collections holds his private patient appointment book from the two years he was practicing privately prior to his death in 1812.
Additional Exhibits
Physical Exhibits
The second floor of the library features a room dedicated to the Presbyterian heritage in Korea and its connections with Princeton Theological Seminary.
The third floor Women in Ministry Room (3028) has a photo exhibit celebrating the presence of women at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Digital Exhibits
C.L. Seow: Celebrating 32 Years of Scholarship
C.L. Seow has taught Old Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Seminary since 1983. Effective August 16, 2015, he joins the faculty of the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University as the Vanderbilt, Buffington, Cupples Distinguished Chair in Hebrew Bible.
Princeton Seminary Student DH Projects 2015
What are the digital humanities (DH) and how are they part of seminary education? Princeton seminarians explored these and other questions in an early 2015 introductory DH course, proposing new interactive knowledge resources. Three student projects are presented in this digital exhibit: Love of God Audio Quotation Database (Jeffrey Cobbold), Digital Humanities and Text Encoding (Alan B. Thorne, Jr.), Father Forgive Me for I Have Trolled: Re-Imagining the Scope of Religious Confession in the Digital World (Michael J. Toy).