FAREWELL A bittersweet

The JKM Library has been a haven for knowledge seekers for nearly five decades. Boasting a collection of more than 250,000 books and periodicals, the library is globally patronized for its robust collection of materials related to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions.

Since 1975, the JKM Library’s staff and its world-class collections have supported the academic, intellectual, and spiritual development of the students, faculty, and staff of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) and McCormick

Theological Seminary (MTS), and theological scholars from around the country and the world through interlibrary loan.

Located on the west wing of the second and third floors of LSTC’s main building, JKM is a merged collection of libraries from the Jesuit School of Theology, which closed in 1981; the Krauss Library, the original name of the combined collection when LSTC moved to Hyde Park in 1967; and McCormick Theological Seminary’s library collection, which joined the Jesuits and LSTC in the Hyde Park neighborhood in 1975.

In 2004, in an agreement between the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, the name Jesuit was dropped, and the library became officially known as the JKM Library.

Equally as impressive as its collection of books is the library’s staff, who have remained committed to making the materials accessible while

By Keisha T. Dyson

helping students, faculty, and staff discover the resources they require, even through challenging times.

Barry Hopkins is the interim director of the JKM Library and has been helping LSTC and McCormick students, staff, and faculty “discover the thrill and joy of doing research” for 23 years.

Hopkins recalls a monumental effort in 2010 when he and Larry Alexander, who served as a maintenance worker at LSTC while his wife was in graduate school, managed to shift 250 volumes and reconfigure the library’s physical space into its present arrangement.

Another defining period for Hopkins was between March 2020 and August 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed the seminaries’ doors. Despite COVID-19, JKM patrons still needed to work with library materials in their personal and academic pursuits. Hopkins and his colleagues rose to the occasion and made a difficult situation work so that members of our community could retain access to much-needed materials.

Just as staff of the JKM Library has helped enrich the lives of countless students, faculty, and staff through the years, so too have they relished the scholarship produced using the library’s collections.

Emilie Pulver is the metadata specialist for the JKM Library. She says her favorite part of working at the library is cataloging the PhD theses from LSTC doctoral students.

“I enjoy seeing the results of their scholarship, reading their acknowledgments, and finding out who supported them on their journey,” she said.

Pulver adds that she’s spent nearly a professional lifetime cataloging for the library, having been there since 1980.

“At that time, the Jesuit Krauss McCormick Library served three schools,” Pulver said. “All three schools had classrooms in the LSTC building, and the library contained books and periodicals for all three faith traditions. It was an exciting time to see scholars from those three traditions mingle.”

In a bittersweet farewell, the JKM Library will not move with LSTC to its new location. As outlined in the sale agreement with the University of Chicago, a significant portion of the JKM collection will be absorbed into the University of Chicago’s library collections. LSTC students, faculty, and staff will continue to have access to the JKM collection once the sale closes. While leaving the collections behind is far from easy, members of the LSTC community are moving forward in gratitude, knowing that the collection will be well cared for in the future.

1962: The library collections of Augustana Theological Seminary, Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary, Suomi Theological Seminary, and Central Lutheran Theological Seminary are merged to form the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago’s library.

1995: The JKM Library Trust is formed, creating a new governance structure for the future, comprised of the presidents of both seminaries, two deans, two faculty representatives, and two representatives from the schools’ boards.

2010: JKM vacates the first floor of the west wing. The library stacks are closed, and staff goes into exile in the LSTC east wing. Library automation is completed, with all JKM’s holdings represented in the online catalog.

1967: The library is moved into the west wing of the newly constructed Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

1975: McCormick Theological Seminary moves from the Lincoln Park neighborhood to Hyde Park, bringing with them the library resources of McCormick’s Virginia Library and Lane Theological Seminary (the ‘M’ in ‘JKM’)

1977: The JKM Library takes the first step in a long journey toward library automation by joining OCLC, an organization created to share cooperative cataloging and resources among member libraries.

1974: LSTC dedicates its library in honor of the late Rev. Drs. Paul H. Krauss and Elmer F. Krauss (the ‘K’ in ‘JKM’).

1970: The library resources of the Jesuit School of Theology at Chicago (the ‘J’ in ‘JKM’) are moved into the LSTC west wing.

1981: The Jesuit School of Theology at Chicago suspends operations. The three schools formulate a dissolution agreement of the joint library.

2004: Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus formally cedes the ‘J’ portion of the library to the Trust, with the stipulation that the name ‘Jesuit’ be dropped from the name.

7/6/2021: JKM begins to (cautiously) reopen in conformity with state-issued COVID protocols.

9/7/2021: JKM is fully open and resumes normal operations.

1980: LSTC, McCormick, and JSTC adopt ‘Articles of Agreement for a Unified Structure for the JKM Library,’ providing for a unified administration.

2007-2008: Plans for renovating and reconfiguring the library space are developed, but abandoned due to the financial crisis.

2013: West wing HVAC replaced, and library space reconfigured. JKM staff return from exile in east wing. JKM joins the Consortium of Academic Libraries in Illinois, and applies to join I-Share. First electronic resource purchased.

3/21/2020: JKM closes because of COVID-19 pandemic. Staff initiate online retrieval from the closed library stacks, and leaving materials in the LSTC front desk area for pickup.

2014: JKM goes live with I-Share borrowing and lending.