Reformed University has made every effort to create a viable library system, conducive for study and research. As of today, approximately 28,000 books and reference titles have been maintained at the main campus library. These are closely tied to Reformed University curriculum and aim to support the subject areas, covered by the University’s academic programs. In order to provide more convenient use and to promote cultural integration in the campus community, a large portion of the references in the RU library are in Korean language, which is the native tongue of 78 percent of its student body and faculty. Of course, there are print sources, such as books and magazines available in Spanish for those students, whose native tongues are Spanish. Nevertheless, all students across from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds are strongly encouraged, first, to use print and non-print sources in English. Reformed University’s collection is particularly strong in the area of biblical studies. All books are bar-coded and cataloged.

 

Library Mission Statement

 

The mission of Reformed University Library is:

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• to provide information services and biblical resources for supporting the scholarly and information needs of the Reformed University community,

• to share resources with those outside the University by requesting, organizing, and maintaining an excellent collection of print and non-print resources,

• to provide instruction and assistance with the acquisition of information to library users,

• to provide instruction and assistance with the acquisition of information to library users,

 

 

Library Objectives

 

The Reformed University’s Library’s objectives are as follows:

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• To collect all materials for classes and research needs

• To organize resources for successful and efficient access

• To assist users in finding the knowledge and information resources as needed

• • To teach research skills for the breadth of knowledge and information

• To maintain variety of materials to provide scholastic and cultural environment

• To promote cultural, scholastic and spiritual enhancement in the community through sharing all materials with the local residents

• To establish Inter-Library Loan agreements to assist students’ learning experience

• To build community relationships through use of library facilities and community activities.

 

Electronic Resources

 

A research information system is accessible in the official website of the Reformed University Library, and multiple computers are available, on site, at the Library. In addition, 20 additional computers with Internet access are available for use in the Computer Lab.

Reformed University Library acknowledges the current trend of shifting library collections from traditional print toward on-line accessible library collections for the ease of access and convenience, and to provide the students and researchers greater access to library resources, Reformed University has enhanced its electronic resources which may allow students free web searching, access to electronic sites, and e-book collections.

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Religious Electronic Resources are supplied by ProQuest, with access to approximately 260 professional scholarly journals, trade journals, magazines, newspapers, and video content. New for 2017, the Library has added EBSCOHost’s Religion and Philosophy Collection and their Business Source Elite database to RU’s electronic resources, providing access to a huge variety of full-text publications, journals, articles, papers, and so on. Reformed University entered into an agreement with the National Library of Korea in 2016 to provide access to Korean-language books and research material.

 

Collection Development

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The librarian’s primary responsibility is to oversee the acquisition process for multi-lingual books or reference material, particularly and primarily Korean-language titles. The librarian receives recommendations from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. Selection of acquisitions for both print and non-print materials, including audio-visual collections, is shared between the Library and the Faculty Publication Committee. Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit requests for library acquisition for textbooks, reading material, journals, and other materials. Faculty recommendations receive priority status in collection development selection.

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Circulation Services

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The Circulation Desk is located at the entrance of the Library. A staff member is available during all hours of operation to offer directions and instructions regarding the location of library materials and to provide circulation services. A librarian will help to locate required materials and can advise as to the check-out status of a title.

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Hours of Operations

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Monday through Saturday 9am~5pm 
Sunday Closed 

Hours may vary during the summer, between semesters, and on holidays, and are subject to change without notice. Generally, however, any changes in operation hours are published both at the official Library website and public bulletin board around the Library premises.

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Circulation Services

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The Circulation Desk is located at the entrance of the Library. A staff member is available during all hours of operation to offer directions and instructions regarding the location of library materials and to provide circulation services. A librarian will help to locate required materials and can advise as to the check-out status of a title.

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Classification System

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The books are shelved alphabetically according to the Korean Decimal Classification system. The following outline shows the broad subject classes.

 

Classification Outline:

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000 General Works 
100 Philosophy 
200 Religion 
300 Social Science 
400 Pure Science 
500 Technology 
600 Arts 
700 Language 
800 Literature 
900 History

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These broad classification groups are then subdivided into more specific categories. For example, Classification Number 200 (Religion) is subdivided into these categories:

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231 Christian Theology, Doctrinal Theology 
232 Christology 
233 Bible 
234 Devotional Literature, Religious Life 
235 Sermon, Missiology, Christian Education, Ministry 
236 Ecclesiology 
237 Worship, Ritual and Sacrament 
238 Denomination and Sect of the Christian Church 
239 Judaism

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A book has only one classification number, which determines that book’s place on the shelf, even if it has material on several subjects. This number, known as the “call number,” is located on the spine of the book and can be thought of as the book’s “address.”The call number of each book is composed of the classification number, author letter and title letter. Many books will have the same classification number and will be arranged by author and title within the number. The call number for The New Context for Ministry by Lyle E. Schaller, therefore, would be 235.3 S298T:

235.3 (Classification number for Ministry) 

S298T ("S" is first letter of the author, "T" is the first letter of the title*)

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*Note that in the Korean classification system, unlike the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress classification systems, articles at the beginning of titles (“a,”“an,” and “the”) are considered to be part of the title.

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ACADEMIC LEARNING SUPPORT CENTER

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In addition to the library and the computer lab, beginning spring 2018, RU’s students will have access to a computerized Academic Support Center for those students, who may need tutorial assistance in the areas of reading comprehension, writing improvement, and math problem-solving. During its hours of operation (M –F 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), there will be tutors available to help students in need of instruction, editing, proofreading, as well as tutoring in English and Math.

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