I need a Bible commentary ... !

Of course you need Bible commentaries. But some students seem to be under the impression that the small number of commentary series in the Reference Room are all that we have. Wrong! We keep just a few of the most heavily-used commentary series in the Ref Room for convenience, so that there will always be copies available that have not been checked out. But the vast majority of commentaries are in the open stacks, where you can borrow them.

There are 213 scholarly commentaries in our collection on the book of Genesis alone. Plus, there are 332 works of criticism and interpretation on the book of Genesis. These works contain very important analysis and exegesis of the text beyond the traditional chapter-and-verse commentary format. How do I know this? Did I go downstairs and count them? No, I did an accurate search in our Morton Library catalog for this information. To learn how to do this type of search, consult our tutorial.

Please remember, too, that other people in your class are also trying to use this material, and be considerate. Don't monopolize more books than you need at a given time. You may take reference works to the photocopiers, but then please bring them back and leave them on the metal book truck to be reshelved (don't reshelve them yourself). And please do not take reference books to other parts of the building -- that just makes it harder for the next person to find them.

Do unto others, people. And when you need help, ask.

Paula