In 2009 Falvey Memorial Library joined other Catholic university libraries in the Catholic Research Resources Alliance which has developed a free online research portal for scholars interested in the Catholic Church, particularly Catholic-related items held in the United States. Unlike some other fields of research that are cross-disciplinary in nature there has never been an effort, until now, to identify collectively what may be called Catholica.

Catholic studies in America have certainly grown a great deal as a locus for scholarly research in the last couple of decades, and now libraries, rather than creating a single repository, are working together to use current tools and technology to enhance methods for discovering  primary source material.

The intent is to aid researchers and students to do the kind of ferreting out of lesser known or little used publications and manuscripts related to the Catholicism. As one focus group member said, “In a decentralized community like Catholic higher education, being able to discover the treasures hidden away in libraries and archives is very desirable.”

For more information, see the Blue Electrode blog on the CRRA.

by Darren Poley