“I see a strong relationship between my library specialization and professional education for ministry. Students must be given the skills to investigate logically and systematically in order to ‘know the certainty of the things (they) have been taught’” (Luke 1:4).

Mariel Deluca Voth

Tiny Table Mariel Voth uses a miniature table as an object lesson to remind library staff members that all are important. “None are higher or lower.”

human dynamo. That’s how Mariel Deluca Voth is most often described. When she enters a room, crackling energy takes over the space, filling her colleagues with inspiration and hope. Things definitely get done when this diminutive woman speaks. She is anything but the stereotypical quiet, retiring librarian.

Based in San Diego, Voth administers the libraries at all of Bethel Seminary’s locations: San Diego, St. Paul, and Seminary of the East. Overseeing library development across an entire continent is a daunting task, but Voth is specially equipped for the job. With 25 years of academic, public, and theological library experience, she served for 15 years as coordinator of 30 libraries in four different countries for the Asociaci—n de Seminarios e Instituciones Teol—gicas while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Her ministry combines teaching, research, and training of librarians in Two-Thirds World Countries, with a strong commitment to the local church. She has a passion for the role of the theological librarian in education, and has written many essays and articles on the subject. “I see a strong relationship between my library specialization and professional education for ministry,” she explains. “Students must be given the skills to investigate logically and systematically in order to ‘know the certainty of the things (they) have been taught’” (Luke 1:4).

Voth also has contributed to curriculum development in Argentina and in San Diego. She is regularly invited to lecture at professional meetings worldwide and also serves as a consultant in international librarianship. With a certificate in Christian education from Instituto Biblico Buenos Aires, Argentina; a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College; and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Voth is eminently qualified.

Expanding the resources

Voth’s cross-cultural, cross-national experience aided her in surmounting one of Bethel Seminary’s latest challenges: acquiring enough volumes to create an accreditation-level library for Bethel Seminary of the East. Over a two-year period, that library has received more than 30,000 volumes, and more than 90 percent of those materials are of seminary library caliber.

To begin the book drive, James Spickelmier, Bethel’s associate vice president for seminary development, penned a letter to Bethel Seminary alumni. The response was overwhelming. Spickelmier enjoyed the fruit of his labor in a tangible way: he drove a truck across the country, delivering hundreds of volumes to the East Coast. Lyn Brown, librarian at Seminary of the East, has seen approximately 1,000 books a month added to his collections, which serve students at locations in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Auburn, Massachusetts.

Brown, who also is a chaplain in the Army National Guard, came to Bethel Seminary of the East from Philadelphia College of the Bible. He says that it’s been fascinating to work alongside someone with international experience in libraries. According to Brown,

Building the team

This “one big library” concept requires librarians from all of the sites to work together as one team. Pam Jervis, librarian in St. Paul, says Voth has used unique visual props to help the staff focus on the mission and task at hand. Once she brought staff members a doll-sized table. “This is how I want us to work together,” she explained. “We will dialogue around the table; none are higher or lower.” The library staff keeps the small table on a shelf in the office as a reminder of their mission. A second visual reminder, a candle, underscores the power that sharing the light can have on the community at large.

The library’s vision of teamwork and shared resources was fleshed out recently when Jervis temporarily left her usual post to work on new acquisitions in Baltimore; and Sandra Oslund, also from St. Paul, assisted San Diego with its bar coding. Such teamwork is enhanced by video conferencing between campuses so librarians at different sites can discuss important issues. Three times a year the entire library team gathers for vision casting, fellowship, and professional development. Faculty retreats in September and March, along with the annual meeting of the Association of Theological Libraries, bring the team together for the “face-time” necessary to further strengthen bonds.

An apt administrator, Voth has worked to form her own bonds with her librarians. “She is fun to work with,” says Mary Lou Bradbury, librarian at Bethel Seminary San Diego. “She has great ideas and expects things to be carried out in a timely manner, but she also takes time to enjoy the staff, faculty, and students.” Members of the library team commented not only on her excellent listening skills, but also on her ability to quickly and accurately assess the big picture in any situation.

It is a big picture indeed: administering theological libraries across the nation. But when God has equipped a person to minister in libraries worldwide, that person is uniquely qualified to meet the challenge. Mariel Deluca Voth is just the dynamo Bethel Seminary needs as it enters an exciting new phase of ministry.

Barbara Wright Carlson, former editor of Heart & Mind, is a freelance writer from St. Paul.