Missionary Institute London Library
IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB N/A Missionary Institute London Library
Held at: Missionary Institute London
Domain: printed
Title: Missionary Institute London Library
Date(s) of contents: c1900-
Level of description: Collection
Extent and medium: c25,000 volumes, plus c125 runs of periodicals.
CONTEXT
Name of creator(s):
Comboni Missionaries
Congregation of the Holy Ghost (Congregation Sancti Spiritus)
Consolata Missionaries (Instituto Missioni Consolata)
Mill Hill Missionaries
Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers)
Missionary Institute London
Society of African Missions (Société des Missions Africaines)
Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini)
Administrative/Biographical history: In September 1967, the Mill Hill Missionaries (of St Joseph's College, Mill Hill), and the Missionaries of Africa (the White Fathers) combined their existing seminaries to offer one academic programme whilst retaining responsibility for the pastoral and spiritual formation of their students. They were joined in the following two years by five other Catholic missionary Societies: the Comboni Missionaries (the Verona Fathers), the Consolata Missionaries, the Society of African Missions, the Society of the Divine Word and, finally, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. These are the seven Founding Societies of the Missionary Institute London, also known as the Missionary Institute or the MIL. The Institute received official approval in 1968 from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Sacred Congregation for Evangelising Peoples.
The Library of the Missionary Institute London serves the academic needs of its staff and student bodies, reflecting in particular the areas covered by its courses of study leading to its internal awards, and to awards validated by the Universities of Middlesex and Leuven, in fields such as missiology, theology and philosophy. The student body is made up of members of the Founding Societies of the Institute; geographical coverage of the library reflects to a certain extent the mission fields of these societies. To a small degree the Missionary Institute London Library complements the holdings of the library of one of its Founding Societies, that of St Joseph's College.
Custodial history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Scope and content/abstract: The Library of the Missionary Institute London reflects the areas covered by its courses of study, including fields such as missiology, theology and philosophy. The library has strengths in the social sciences, and particular specialisms include: mission history, mission theology, overseas churches and their histories, comparative religion (including African traditional religions), developing world theology (including African theology), and ethnography. A particularly significant reference work, and one that is difficult to locate in its entirety in the UK, is the Encyclopaedia of Islam.
The holdings of the Library of the Missionary Institute London include works representative to a certain extent of the mission fields of the Institute's founding societies. These include books and periodical material on: Central Africa (including Malawi and Zaire), East Africa (including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, the Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda), Southern Africa (including South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), West Africa (including Ghana and Nigeria), North America (including Mexico), South America (including Brazil and Peru), East Asia (including China, Japan and Korea), South Asia (including India and Pakistan), South East Asia (including Indonesia and the Philppines) and Oceania (including Papua New Guinea).
Another strength of the Libary is that of its periodical holdings, including many runs complete from first issue. Periodical titles strong in material on missiology and other mission-related subjects include: the African Ecclesiastical Review; Africa; African Affairs; African Christian Studies; Anthropology Today; Bibliografia Missionaria; the Bulletin of African Theology; the Bulletin of the Scottish Institute of Missionary Studies; Cahiers des Religions Africaines; East Asian Pastoral Review; Ecumenical News International; Frontier; Inculturation; Indian Missiological Review; the International Bulletin of Missionary Research; the International Review of Mission; Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations; Islamic Quarterly; the Journal of Religion in Africa; Man: the journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; Missiology; Mission Outlook; Mission Today (formerly Indian Missiological Review); Missionalia; New Routes; the Occasional Bulletin of Missionary Research Library; Omnis Terra; Panta Ta Ethni; Pro Dialogo Bulletin; Pro Mundi Vita; Religion, State and Society; Revue Africaine de Théologie; Revue de l'Institute Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Oeust (formerly Savanes-Forêts); SEDOS (Service of Documentation and Study) Bulletin; SIDIC (Service International de Documentation Judéo-Chrétienne); Société des Missions Africaines: The African Missionary; Social Compass; Spearhead; Spiritus; Studia Missionalia; Studies in World Christianity; Theology in Context; Third World Quarterly; Verbum (Societas Verbi Divini); Yearbook of Contextual Theologies.
System of arrangement: Items are catalogued using the Dewey Decimal system.
ACCESS AND USE
Language: English plus some French.
Conditions governing access: Contact the Librarian for details.
Conditions governing reproduction: Current legal restrictions apply; refer to the Librarian in the first instance.
Finding aids:
Card catalogue (author and title) of pre-1998 acquisitions.
Later acquisitions can be located via the Institute's online catalogue.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Compiled by Caroline Brick on behalf of the Mundus Project, in consultation with John Harwood, Librarian of the Missionary Institute London.
Date(s) of descriptions: March 2002.
- INDEX ENTRIES
- Subjects
-
- Acculturation
- Ancient religions
- Anglicanism
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Christians
- Church history
- Churches
- Clergy
- Comparative religion
- Confucianism
- Cultural identity
- Cultural interaction
- Education
- Ethnology
- Evangelicalism
- Health services
- Hinduism
- History
- Hospitals
- Indigenous clergy
- Islam
- Jesuits
- Judaism
- Laity
- Liturgical texts
- Lutheranism
- Missiology
- Mission hospitals
- Missionaries
- Missionary societies
- Missionary training
- Missionary work
- Mosques
- Orthodox Christianity
- Philosophy
- Primitive religions
- Protestantism
- Religion
- Religions
- Religious activities
- Religious buildings
- Religious communities
- Religious education
- Religious groups
- Religious history
- Religious institutions
- Religious organizations
- Religious sects
- Religious studies
- Religious texts
- Roman Catholic missionary societies
- Roman Catholicism
- Roman Catholics
- Social science education
- Social sciences
- Taoism
- Temples
- Theology
- Vocational education
- Vocational training subjects
- Acculturation
- Personal names
-
- Corporate names
-
- Comboni Missionaries
- Congregation Sancti Spiritus
- Congregation of the Holy Ghost
- Consolata Missionaries
- Instituto Missioni Consolata
- MIL
- Mill Hill Missionaries
- Missionaries of Africa
- Missionary Institute
- Missionary Institute London
- Societas Verbi Divini
- Society of African Missions
- Society of the Divine Word
- Société des Missions Africaines
- Verona Fathers
- White Fathers
- Comboni Missionaries
- Places
-
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia
- Brazil
- Central Africa
- China
- East Africa
- East Asia
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kenya
- Korea
- Malawi
- Mexico
- Nigeria
- North America
- Oceania
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Philippines
- Rwanda
- South Africa
- South America
- South Asia
- South East Asia
- Southern Africa
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- West Africa
- Zaire
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Africa