Grant Proposal for the
Archbishop Ireland
Memorial Library
Info 520
Rebecca L. Cooper
11/19/2008
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library
The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
2260 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105-1094
651-962-5451
November 19, 2008
Grant Proposal submitted to:
Lilly Endowment Inc.
Digitizing Collections of 18th Century French Sermons of Jean-Baptiste Massillon
November 19, 2008
James Johnson
Grant Services Officer
Lilly Endowment Inc.
2801 N. Meridian St.
Post Office Box 88068
Indianapolis, IN 46208-0068
RE: Digitizing Collection of 18th Century French Sermons of Jean-Baptiste Massillon
Dear Mr. Johnson,
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library is pleased to submit this proposal for your review.
We look forward to your partnership in assisting The St Paul Seminary and St Thomas
University.
Our much needed project of digitizing the collection of 19 th Century French Sermons is a
partnership among the Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library and the University of St Thomas.
Many of the rare 19th Century French Sermons are by Jean Baptiste Massillon, 1663-1742, a
celebrated priest and preacher. The collection will be digitized for the purpose of world wide
access.
Critical space shortages exist at the Department of Special Collections in the O'ShaughnessyFrey Library (OSFLC) and Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library (AIML). Both locations are at, or
have surpassed, their capacity for the safe storage of materials.
The use of advanced digital technologies will make selected collections available to remote
users. Dissemination of these collections online will create new outreach initiatives for the
Catholic community worldwide.
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library, one of four libraries at the University of St. Thomas,
supports the Catholic identity of the University and The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity's
mission to prepare ordained and lay leaders for ministry. This curricular preparation and
training comprises the academic, liturgical, pastoral and spiritual programs of The Seminary.
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library supports The Seminary's mission through its
collections and services by making available the preeminent resources of the Roman Catholic
tradition, ecumenical studies and interdisciplinary scholarship. We seek to provide the best
possible service to our users and foster an environment in which theological research and
reflection can flourish.
Thank you for your time. We look forward to working with you to help future members of our
religious community prosper. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information.
Sincerely,
N. Curtis Le May
Library Director/Theological Librarian
PROPOSAL SUMMARY
November 19, 2008
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library
The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
2260 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105-1094
Library Director: N. Curtis Le May
Telephone: 651-962-5451
Grant Coordinator: Rebecca L. Cooper; Research Librarian
Telephone: 651-766-6861
Project Title: Digitizing the collection of rare 18th Century French Sermons of Jean-Baptiste
M`assillon
Project Description: Digitizing the collection by scanning items and putting them on archival cds
that we would transfer into Content DM, our digital collection repository.
Amount Requested: $3,000
Project Funding from Other Sources: $2,000 from the Archdiocese of St Paul
Total Project Budget: $5000
Projected Budget Time Period: January 2009 through December 2009
Grant Abstract: The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library proposes to digitize its rare collection
of 18th Century French sermons of Jean-Baptiste Massillon. The entire collection consists of 22
books that need to be scanned and placed on archival CDs that would then be transferred into
Content DM, our digital collection repository.
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library (AIML) is a small library built in 1949. It is one of four
libraries associated with the University of St Thomas (UST). Originally it was the St Paul
Seminary Library. Today, it is the graduate theology library of UST and the Saint Paul Seminary
School of Divinity. It serves seminarians and lay students in graduate and continuing education
programs, UST undergraduates and archdiocesan parish professionals. The library’s main
mission is:
Provide print and electronic resources for student research appropriate to all degree programs
of The Seminary/School of Divinity and University undergraduate theology courses.
Support the research needs of the faculty of The Seminary/School of Divinity and the theology
department of the University. Provide reference assistance and instruction in the use of the
Library and its resources. Serve the local Church by providing outreach to parishes,
Archdiocesan offices, and alumni Preserve the Special Collection of rare theological books and
make them available for research.
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library has special collections that are important to the
Catholic Community as well as theologians. These collections are rare and unavailable to
people outside the local area. Two collections have already been digitized at AIML and are
available worldwide. The first collection is the Temperance Tracts: tracts from the Archbishop
Ireland Memorial Library's Special Collections that were published from 1875 to 1909; some by
Archbishop John Ireland or Monsignor James Reardon. The other collection is Native American
Language Materials: materials from the Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library's Special
Collections that were published from 1837 to 1925 and consist of religious writings and
instruction, New Testament selections, and printed music and hymns.
STATEMENT OF NEED
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library has a rare collection of 18th Century French Sermons
from Jean-Baptiste Massillon. Jean-Baptiste Massillon is known as not only one of the best
orators of the 1700’s, but as the Court Chaplain to King Louis XIV and later King Louis XV. He is
most known for his comment “Only God is great.” This was spoken at King Louis XIV’s funeral
and surprised everyone since the King was known as Louis XIV the Great. (Jean-Baptiste
Massillon, 2007) He was not afraid of royalty and spoke his mind against the evils of the day.
He began preaching his sermons in 1681 when he was only 18 years old and continued
preaching until he died at the age of 79 in 1742. His sermons are well known by Theologians
worldwide and the entire collection is spread out making it impossible to access all of the
sermons. Some of them are already available via the World Wide Web.
The French sermons housed at AIML are part of that collection and should be available to
students and theologians worldwide.
Lilly Endowment Inc. believes that faith communities thrive when they have quality pastoral
leadership. “Theological education is absolutely pivotal, and seminaries play a critical role in
preparing pastors for their leadership in congregations. Theological schools engage students in
an exploration of the wisdom of the Christian tradition and train pastors how to bring biblical
and theological insights to bear on contemporary issues.” (Lilly Endowment Inc., 2006)
The Archbishop Ireland Memorial Library supports Lilly Endowment Inc. mission. Although it is
a library, it serves the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, a theological school. Critical space
shortages exist at the Department of Special Collections in OSFLC and AIML. Both locations are
at, or have surpassed, their capacity for the safe storage of materials. Environmental controls
and security measures are not meeting preservation standards for these collections at current
locations. The installation of sophisticated controls will insure the best possible preservation
and protection of these valuable and unique resources. Collections currently are scattered in
multiple locations, which make efforts to conduct research using these interrelated resources
difficult and time-consuming for University of St Thomas faculty, students and non-USTaffiliated scholars. The use of advanced digital technologies will make selected collections
available to remote users. Dissemination of these collections online will create new outreach
initiatives for the Catholic community and theologians worldwide.
The Commission on Preservation and Access, a program of the Council on Library and
Information Resources, supports the efforts of libraries and archives to save endangered
portions of their paper-based collections and to meet the new preservation challenges of the
digital environment. Working with institutions around the world, the Commission disseminates
knowledge of best preservation practices and promotes a coordinated approach to
preservation activity. (Dan Hazen, Selecting Research Collections for Digitization, 1998) These
Jean-Baptiste Massillon sermons are such endangered paper-based collections.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Digitizing the collection of 18th Century French Sermons of Jean-Baptiste Massillon will consist
of scanning 22 books and transferring them to archival CDs that we would transfer into Content
DM, our digital collection repository. Digitization of this collection is necessary to make it
available worldwide. The goal is to have the entire collection digitized by early 2010. Once the
collection is entirely digitized it will be maintained in the digital collection repository with other
rare collections from AIML that have already been digitized.
Bibliography
Dan Hazen, J. H.-O. (1998). Selecting Research Collections for Digitization. Retrieved November
10, 2008, from Selecting Research Collections for Digitization:
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/hazen/pub74.html#costs
Jean-Baptiste Massillon. (2007). Retrieved November 14, 2008, from Massillon Churches:
http://www.massillonchurches.com
Lilly Endowment Inc. (2006). Guidelines and Procedures. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from
Lilly Endowment Inc.: http://www.lillyendowment.org/index.html
http://www.stthomas.edu/libraries/ireland/mission.html
The Google Library Project. http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/libraryGoogle.html