IBTS Launches Online Baptist Heritage Library

The International Baptist Theological Study Centre (IBTS) has initiated the Baptist Heritage Library which the centre intends to turn into a multilingual corpus of Baptist texts available free online.  

The Baptist Heritage Library (BHL) is a repository for Baptist organizations that will serve as a digital open access archive of the identity, mission and practice for our communities. BHL was founded in 2020, so it is still in its early stages. At this time the focus is on European material; however, the hope is to eventually include any relevant language and other areas.

The BHL will be hosted on archive.org as they offer free hosting in perpetuity, which means no maintenance costs for the institutions that participate in the project. A helpful feature of the BHL is the full-text search, which will be available for not only individual documents but also the entire library collection.

IBTS is currently working on two periodicals to be added to the BHL. BMS World Mission has given permission to digitize the Missionary Herald and make it available in open access. Currently, the Missionary Herald is available from 1975 to 2000. Earlier years will be added in 2021. In addition, the Dutch Baptist Union has given permission to make their magazine De Christen available in open access. Some early volumes are already available, while others are expected to be added in the coming year.

Although the project is in its development, the centre anticipates partnerships with many institutions, allowing them to upload their own materials directly into the library. The leadership of the project is open to requests from other libraries and institutions. Enquiries can be directed to Pieter van Wingerden, head librarian at IBTS Centre Amsterdam, librarian@ibts.eu.