Mission
The Booher Library provides space, resources, and services in support of Seminary of the Southwest’s community of learning and formation. Traditional library practices are paired with new and innovative approaches to fostering information literacy and a lifelong love of learning.
Resources
The Booher Library collects material supporting the study of the six canonical areas, the social sciences, the humanities, and other special areas of interest to the seminary community. The library’s discovery tool, Seeker, can help library users find books, e-books, articles, reviews, and more. The library’s Electronic Resources page lists all of our resources that are available digitally.
Information specific to Southwest students, faculty, and staff may be accessed through the library’s intranet page. Southwest Alumni who need help accessing library resources should contact the librarians at library@ssw.edu.
Library Users
The library’s user groups are defined as follows:
Primary Users: Currently enrolled Southwest students, currently employed Southwest faculty, Southwest faculty emeritus, and currently employed Southwest staff.
Alumni: All Southwest graduates.
Friends: Southwest Board members; Iona Collaborative students, mentors, and deans; spouses, partners, and children of students, faculty, and staff; clergy, prospective students, students of Southwest’s professional development classes, and lay leaders.
Partners: Currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff from other local institutions of higher learning, including APTS, UT, and Austin Graduate School of Theology, participants of the ATLA Reciprocal Borrowing Program, and TexShare program participants.
Guests: Library visitors.
Public Access
The Booher Library is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm, with the exception of holiday closures. Visit the library’s main page and scroll down to view the google calendar for the Booher Library’s hours that are open to the public.
Primary Users will need to use their electronic access cards to access the library during restricted library hours. APTS and UT students will need to show their valid school ID to gain access during restricted library hours.
While the Booher Library does have hours when it is accessible to the public, it is not a public library. We ask that guests limit their time in the Booher Library to two hours a week. Any guest wishing to use the Booher Library for longer than two hours a week should apply for a Research Pass.
Wireless Printing
The library’s wireless network is posted in the lobby of the Booher Library. Wireless printing is available to all library users who are on campus and connected to the seminary’s wifi network.
Student instructions
Guest instructions
Printouts (black & white or color) are $0.10 a page, including both sides of the page. Please pay at the Welcome Desk.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan service is available for currently enrolled students, faculty, staff, and alumni. If an item needed for research is not available locally, the staff – upon request – will attempt to borrow it from another library through a process called Interlibrary Loan (ILL). This service is usually free unless the lending library charges. In that event, the charges are passed on to the borrower. Please note that ILL often takes several weeks, so it is best to seek out resources well in advance of assignment due dates. You may place ILL requests directly through Seeker, the library’s discovery tool, or you may contact the librarians at library@ssw.edu.
Booher Library Name
Booher Library is named in honor of Harold and Patricia Booher. Harold and Pat served the seminary for over thirty years: he as librarian, professor of New Testament, and secretary of the faculty; she as assistant for periodicals and acquisitions. Their contributions to the life and lore of the seminary are many, varied, and fondly remembered.