Library Overview

The Archabbey Library, founded in the late 19th century, has a long tradition of supporting the education of generations of young men in southern Indiana. Its principal purpose is to provide for the education of students attending Saint Meinrad School of Theology and to support the scholarly pursuits and spiritual formation of the monastery. The library strives to provide scholars, alumni, pastors and other ministers with ongoing access to research materials.

The Archabbey Library maintains a collection of more than 170,000 volumes and subscribes to over 300 periodicals. The Library is increasing its electronic holdings of full-text periodical literature, while continuing to maintain archived volumes in print and microfilm. The collection is primarily a theological one, with particular emphasis on Roman Catholic scholarship, but includes some holdings in other subjects.

Patrons are offered a spacious and inviting environment for study and research. Books and periodicals are in open stacks for ready access. Computer workstations with printing capability are available on every level. Dataports, also on every level, provide Internet access for laptop use.

The Archabbey Library maintains membership in several academic and professional consortia, which enlarges the scope and depth of resources available to patrons. These groups include the Theological Education Association of Mid-America (TEAM-A), the Catholic Library Association and the American Theological Library Association.

The Archabbey Library is also a member of the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana, or PALNI, a consortium of 24 educational institutions in Indiana. PALNI provides technical support for the online catalog that Saint Meinrad shares with the consortium. Through the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority (INCOLSA), patrons can obtain books and journal literature from other Indiana colleges and universities as well as from virtually every library in the state.

The MacCauley Rare Books Room houses more than 2,000 books and a number of manuscripts published primarily before 1700. This collection, like the main collection, is theological in its focus.