Storytelling in the Theological Library
Storytelling has a long history in modern librarianship. A big part of librarians’ jobs is promoting literacy, and storytelling hooks potential readers. Most librarians who include storytelling in their work, however, are children’s librarians. Here in the Saint Paul libraries, we know that deadlines are enough to keep our students and faculty reading.
But that doesn’t mean that storytelling has no place in the theological library! Anyone involved in ministry knows the importance of narrative in preaching and in group communication–because adults need stories just as much as children do. Stories are one of the best ways that we learn and understand.
To find information about incorporating storytelling in your preaching and ministry, do a keyword search in the library catalog or the ATLA database for storytelling.
To learn more about how the writers of the Bible used storytelling techniques, do a subject search for Narration in the Bible.
And if you really love stories, look up some materials on the theology of storytelling by doing a subject search for Narrative theology.
