Welcome to the Library

On behalf of the staff, we want to welcome you to the Gardner A. Sage Library of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Often referred to as the “jewel of the campus,” the Sage Library is the primary resource supporting students’ research needs.

The core of the collection is contained in the reading room, the original library building built in 1875. The annex to the original structure was added in 1929 and renovated in 1983.

But beyond the print and electronic resources available, Sage Library’s chief resource is its knowledgeable and helpful library staff, ever ready to assist you in locating and interpreting the library’s research resources. Please call on us and discover the rich world of theological material available to you as a member of the Seminary community.

Mission Statement

The Gardner A. Sage Library, comprising its staff, resources, and services, is a teaching, learning, and research ministry of New Brunswick Theological Seminary.

Rooted in the Reformed Tradition, Sage Library’s mission is to support our students, faculty, and consortial partners, as well as the broader Church in a deeper understanding of the Christian tradition and its present urban, global, and multicultural contexts through access to physical and electronic resources.

About the Library

Much of the Sage Library collection is housed in an exquisitely appointed Victorian book-hall. Built in the style of a fourth century Roman church and dedicated in 1875, the Sage Library was intended to provide a suitable environment “for the contemplation of God.” Among the treasured features of the reading hall are beautiful stained glass windows, a marble statue of Hagar and Ishmael, and a newly installed memorial honoring 1884 alumnus Horace G. Underwood, “the Father of Korean Christianity.”

The library’s collection contains over 160,000 bound volumes and nearly 300 current periodical titles. The circulating collection is especially rich in Biblical studies, theology, Reformed Church studies, and church and denominational histories. New resources relating to ministry in the African-American, Asian, and Hispanic contexts are regularly added as well. Sage’s collection also includes rare manuscripts and several of the world’s earliest printed books. In addition to the library’s physical collections, patrons have electronic access to a vast number of additional resources. These electronic resources include periodicals through the ATLA Serials and the Academic Search Premier databases, Biblical reference works and commentaries through Ministry Matters, and a growing number of e-books available through Oxford Scholarship Online.

The resources of Sage Library are augmented by the excellent collections available at Rutgers and St. John’s Universities. The resources of both university libraries well support the diverse theological studies of our students and faculty by offering rich resources in the social sciences, arts, literature, and the humanities. Through Sage’s affiliation with NYATLA and SEPTLA (the New York area and southeastern Pennsylvania theological library consortia), access is available to the resources of thirty seven other theological schools in our region as well, making millions of titles outside the Sage collection available to NBTS students and faculty.

For students at NBTS, there will be no end to the library resources available. The library’s committed and professional staff stands ready to assist with research needs should any difficulty arise in finding information. Even after graduation, Sage librarians are available to assist with the life-long learning efforts of our alumni.

Sage Library is also home to the official Archives of the Reformed Church in America (RCA). If you are looking for archival records from an RCA church, genealogical information, or documentation about RCA policies and actions, please directly contact the RCA archivist, Russell Gasero at rgasero@rca.org.

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