LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

Increasing Access For Developing Leaders

In the West, most of us don’t have to go far to have a wealth of Christian literature at our fingertips. For most Christians – our brothers and sisters in the majority world – this is not the case.

reSource is committed to developing vibrant libraries, as they are essential to good theological education. They produce more discerning students, and in turn, a more discerning church. Our involvement includes librarian training, translation and publishing, software, books, digital resources and infrastructure. This page highlights some of the ways we are helping.

Vietnamese Book Project

“We are partnering with Vietnamese translators, publishers and distributors to provide much needed priority study resources in Vietnam.”

A common, consistent and urgent need of all our seminary partners is better library resources. They lack adequate volumes and the quality of resources is often deficient. In Vietnam they have to deal with whatever books survived from pre-Communist times or materials from other countries that do not meet the seminary’s needs.  Most books are not only dated but are written in either French or English, languages the majority of Bachelor Level students are not proficient in. Without good theological books, it is difficult for students to deepen their learning and for faculty to prepare lessons.

By God’s grace, reSource has become increasingly involved in providing quality library resources in Vietnam. The company Seed Publications (full name in Vietnamese is Văn Phẩm Hạt Giống) was formed to meet this need and to expand the materials available for Christians in Vietnam. (The name Seed is inspired by Jesus’ parable of the sower, in which the seed stands for the Word of God.) Seed exists to translate existing materials from overseas, solicit works from local Vietnamese writers, prepare them for publication and distribute them through bookstores and churches.

We have completed a number of books with another 10 in the pipeline. However, since the list of books required is large, we are keen to seek funding for more translations so we can continue to help the schools that we support as well as Bible colleges, pastors and lay leaders in Vietnam-and beyond. A by-product of this project is that by using Vietnamese expertise and sources, we increase the sustainable development of theological study resources. This is strategic in resourcing the many men and women God is calling to serve as trained Christian leaders in Vietnam as well as among Vietnamese diaspora across the world.

How Can You Help?

By covering the costs of translating, printing and distributing 100 copies (or more) of these books.  For an initial print run of 1,000 copies, the average cost to publish is only $12.00 per book – or $12,000.00 for an entire book project.

For more information about this initiative, please contact Hua-Soo:

PREVIOUS INITIATIVES

REPCI

“We are creating an open access digital repository that seeks to capture and make available worldwide the voice of Evangelical scholars and authors from Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The Inter-Institutional Christian Repository (REPCI) is a virtual space to spread the intellectual and original production of Christian authors in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides an open and low-cost tool for researchers, teachers, and students of theological institutions to share their publications.

The REPCI project is coordinated jointly by Mariel Deluca Voth (Latin American Library Consultant for reSource Leadership International) and the Librarian of the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (FUSBC) in Medellín, Colombia.

REPCI exists to:

  • Recognize and present the theological work produced in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Facilitate access to information and accelerate the process whereby this intellectual product is disseminated to the rest of the world.
  • Contribute to the quality of education across the Continent and the Caribbean.
  • Preserve/document the intellectual property of Christian thought within Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Work collaboratively within a framework of common policies and measures for managing academic information.
  • Be a trustworthy tool for researchers worldwide to access reliable information.

It is our vision that REPCI will be recognized as a leading resource of information, providing high-value academic content and serving as a benchmark for Christian institutions in Latin America, the Caribbean and the rest of the world.

 

Inter-Institutional Christian Repository (REPCI) Team

The REPCI Team : Astrid Martinez (lead librarian for REPCI project, FUSBC), Mariel Voth, Melody Mazuk, Elizabeth de Sendek (Rector FUSBC), Luis Eduardo Ramirez (FUSBC), Josué Fernandez (OC-US, Latin America Regional Director)

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