This page is part of the seminary catalog
Facilities
Seminary Building | Library | Bookstore | Royals Den | Student Housing
Seminary Building
The seminary is located in its own building at 1181 Smith Street
in the southwest corner of the campus.
It contains the faculty and administrative offices, classrooms, Martin Chapel, prayer rooms, study area and a computer room.
The John Coffman Center and the Congregational Resource Center are also located here, and the lower level of the building houses the Master of Arts in Counseling program.
The administrative offices which serve the entire university are found in the Campus Center and the University Commons. These include the president's office, the business office, the financial assistance office and the post office.
The seminary uses Lehman Auditorium for large public functions.
Library
"The library is a central resource for theological scholarship and the theological curriculum. It is integral to the purpose of the school through its contribution to teaching, learning, and research ..."
"Theological study requires extensive encounter with
historical and contemporary
texts. While theological education is informed by many resources,
the textual
tradition is central to theological inquiry. Texts provide
a point of entry to the
theological subject matter as well as a place of encounter
with it."
American Theological Society, Standards of Accreditation,
Section 5, Library and
Information Resources
The Sadie A. Hartzler Library provides instructional resources and services to support the mission and academic programs of Eastern Mennonite Seminary. The library enables students to develop information literacy skills necessary to facilitate academic success and lifelong learning.
The library’s website (www.emu.edu/library) is the access point to many resources and services. Sadie, the online library catalog, enables reliable and effective access to materials in the library collection. The collection includes over 160,000 books, 1,000 current periodicals and 89,000 microfilm and microfiche, primarily periodicals.
Research databases provide access to over 10,000 full-text journals, indexing to many more journals, newspapers and magazines and a catalog of over 60 million books and other materials held by libraries worldwide. The library subscribes to ATLA Religion Database, the premier index for theology and religion. ATLASerials provides access to the full-text of more than 80 full-text journals. The library participates in the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), a library consortium that allows broader access to expensive online resources. Off-campus access is available to most of the research databases.
Interlibrary loan provides access to materials not owned by the Hartzler Library. To speed up access to articles, the library uses Ariel, a system that provides electronic delivery.
The library is open daily during the academic year for a total of 87 hours each week. Accommodations on all three floors provide individual study space as well as rooms for group study. The library is equipped for wireless access to the internet.
Learning Resources provides audiovisual and presentation equipment and support. Other services offered include producing ID cards, taking passport pictures and laminating.
The Art Gallery on third floor of the library exhibits a variety of art work throughout the academic year, including senior art majors’ presentations.
The study room in the seminary building has limited reference materials, particularly in biblical studies. Some professors place reserve readings in the study room. The main reference collection and main location for reserve readings are in the Hartzler Library, a short walk across campus.
The Menno Simons Historical Library and Archives is Eastern Mennonite University’s research library, with a rich collection of Anabaptist/ Mennonite resources. Materials in the collection date from the earliest days of the Anabaptist movement through the present, and are a vital resource for seminary studies. The library is open 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and is located on the third floor of the Hartzler Library building. The archives, on the first floor, are open by advance appointment. The archives contains material relating to the institutional history of the university and seminary, and extensive materials documenting Mennonite life in Virginia.
Bookstore
The bookstore, located in the University Commons beside the
Royals Den, carries textbooks, school and office supplies,
religious and secular trade books, gift items, EMU-imprinted
clothing and novelty items, Hallmark greeting cards, and a
variety of other items.
Special orders for books and supplies not in stock are always available upon request. Purchases may be charged with a valid EMU identification, check or major credit card.
The bookstore is operated by Follett Higher Education Group and is open daily, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Royals Den
Light meals and refreshments are available at the Royals Den, located in the University Commons.
Student Housing
Seminary student housing is available both on campus and in the community. University-owned two-bedroom apartments (Mt. Clinton Apartments, Village Apartments, and Parkwood Apartments), are conveniently located near the seminary building and can be rented by single or married students. Many rental properties are also available in the community. For information on the on-campus apartments contact the manager of apartment rentals at (540) 432-4662. For information on off-campus housing visit the eclassifieds section of the web site.
