Online Catalogs

Calvin Library Catalog

The society's online library catalog contains records for over 75,000 books, periodicals, and processed archival collections. Included are bibliographic records for most of the following types of material:

• Published materials (books, including rare books; pamphlets; journals; and reference materials)
• Many archival collections, including church, presbytery, and synod records as well as organization records and personal papers. (Please note that additional descriptions of church records and archival collections can be found in Sheppard.)
• Microfilm (select microfilm is available for Interlibrary Loan)
• Audiovisual materials, including sound recordings, moving image materials, slide sets

Calvin does NOT describe most materials cataloged by the society before 1980. Onsite you should consult the card catalog or a reference archivist if you do not find what you are looking for in the electronic catalog.

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Sheppard Databases

Sheppard is a research tool that searches across multiple Presbyterian Historical Society databases. Use Sheppard to search the following specialized databases. You can search all of them at once, or search each individually.

Archives Database: Records of archival materials, including those of national agencies, mid councils, and congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations. Includes records of other religious and ecumenical organizations and personal papers of prominent ministers, missionaries, and lay people.

Vertical Files Databases: These collections contain miscellaneous information about missionaries, ministers, congregations, mid councils, national agencies, and other organizations. Contents vary and may include application forms, profiles/histories, obituaries, correspondence, photographs, etc.

• Foreign Missionary Vertical Files Index: Files about foreign missionaries who served current and predecessor Presbyterian denominations.
• Biographical Vertical Files Index: Files about Presbyterian ministers, significant lay people, home missionaries, and early religious and Reformation leaders.
• Congregation and Other Organization Vertical Files Index: Files documenting Presbyterian congregations, presbyteries, synods, national agencies, and other organizations in the United States. Includes some files for other denominations.
• Hall's Index of American Presbyterian Congregations: Summary information (organization and dissolution dates, name and location changes, mergers, etc.) for Presbyterian congregations, primarily in the U.S., compiled from General Assembly minutes and other resources. Hall's Index is up-to-date through 2015. Get tips for searching Hall's here.

Museum Database: Records of 4,500+ communion tokens from the United States, Scotland, Ireland, and other countries.

Communion Tokens Database: Records of communion ware, gavels, paintings, photographs, sculpture, textiles, and other artifacts collected by foreign missionaries.

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