Library Resources – Wesley Biblical Seminary

The WBS Library

The Wesley Biblical Seminary Library provides academic resources and research support to students and faculty in order to contribute to the overall goals of the curriculum. Through the Library’s electronic databases, students and faculty have access to over 500 journals, over 26,000 e-books, and approximately 2 million academic dissertations and theses.

With over 17,000 volumes in print, the Library provides faculty and students with a wide variety of resources for biblical, theological, and philosophical studies, in addition to key materials supporting spiritual formation and practical ministry. Within the print collection, the Wesley Collection includes over 1,000 rare books, holiness classics, and institutional works. To expand access even more, the Library participates in Reciprocal Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan agreements with other libraries across North America.

The Library offers writing and citation assistance through tutorials, class presentations, and individual research consultations. Students and faculty have access through the Library to RefWorks, a research and citation management tool, to seamlessly integrate and track sources for their writing projects.

WBS students and faculty are not only information consumers but also knowledge builders. To support this two-way flow of information, the Library offers writing and citation assistance through tutorials, class presentations, and individual research consultations. Students and faculty have access through the Library to RefWorks, a research and citation management tool, to seamlessly integrate and track sources for their writing projects.

On campus, students can study in the Reference Room, which is open during the Seminary’s operating business hours and whenever classes are in session. The Study Space beside the stacks offers students a quiet environment for individual or collaborative work. A printer is available for student use.

Search the databases and library catalog below to get started on your research and writing.

Tutorials

Find Resources

Writing and Citation

FAQ

How to Find Journal Articles and Ebooks in the EBSCOhost Databases

Go to the EBSCOhost databases.

Contact the library for username and password.
Bookmark the link in your browser (and save username/password) for faster searching in the future.
Click “EBSCOhost Research databases.”
Choose your databases. (Descriptions will be on the screen.)
Use the search bars to locate books, journal articles, and reviews.
- If you know what you’re looking for, a basic title search usually works; you may want to add the author’s last name in the next box (with a Boolean AND) to make the search faster.
- If you have a topic in mind, but no particular book or article, try doing a general search for your topic. Once you see a resource that fits what you want, you can copy and paste its listed subject(s) into the search bar for a more accurate, comprehensive search.
- The Advanced Search uses Boolean operators (Remember: Wesley AND theology means the search will retrieve results with both Wesley and theology in them; Wesley OR theology will retrieve results about Wesley and results about theology and results about Wesley and theology; and Wesley NOT theology will retrieve only results with the term Wesley that do not include the term theology).
You can use the filters on the left to narrow your search for more accurate results.
By clicking on a search result, you can click through to full-text (when available) to read online, download, or print. You also have options to find similar results, add the resource to a folder, print, email, save, cite, export, and annotate the article/book/record.

How to Listen to Audiobooks through EBSCOhost

Navigate to EBSCOhost, choose “Audiobook Collection” database, and perform a search.
When you have found the book you want to listen to, click “Check Out.” You will need to sign in to your “My EBSCOhost” account (see tutorial below).
Choose the number of days you want your loan to be.
Download the EBSCOhost audiobook app from the App Store or Google Play.
Sign into the app using your “My EBSCOhost” username and password.
Download your loaned book and play on your device.

How to Create a “My EBSCOhost” Account

Sign in to EBSCOhost.
From the top toolbar, on the right, click “Sign in.”
Click “Create a new Account” (next to the Login button).
Fill in the form and click “Save changes.”
Click “Continue.”
You will be signed in. In the future, you can simply click “Sign in” and enter the username and password you created.

How to Find Dissertations, Theses, Journals, and Ebooks in the ProQuest Databases

Navigate to the ProQuest databases.
Contact the library for login credentials.
Perform a basic or advanced search or browse publications or subjects.
Narrow your search by database (available in the top toolbar) or by source type (right above the search bar).
Treat the basic search like a command-line search by using Boolean operators. Remember that enclosing words in quotation marks will search them as a phrase. For example: the search “John Wesley” AND (theology OR doctrine) will retrieve results containing both John Wesley as a phrase and theology, and it will also retrieve results containing John Wesley and doctrine.
Use the filters on the left to narrow your search for more accurate results.
For full-text results, you can read online, download, cite, share a link, save to a ProQuest or cloud-based folder, or export the record to RefWorks.
For bibliographic records, you can cite, email, print, or export to RefWorks. (These results will help you build a bibliography and can be requested through interlibrary loan.)

How to Navigate the Theological Research Exchange Network

Go to TREN.
Use the search options (title, author, school, degree, year, content) to find the dissertation you need.
- Be as specific as possible, since TREN offers no filters for the search results.
When you find a dissertation you want to read, click “Add to your TREN subscription.”
- Do not click “Add to Shopping Basket.”
This will take you to a login page. Contact the library for login credentials.
You can now download the dissertation and begin reading.
- If the dissertation you want is already part of the WBS subscription, it will be highlighted for you.

How to Create a Bibliography in Refworks

Go to RefWorks.
Create an account with your WBS email address.
Add references by…
- Uploading a document: Upload or drag and drop the entire document that you need to cite. This works well for smaller documents, such as articles and book chapters.
- Importing references: Import directly from a RefWorks, Mendeley, or RIS file. This is especially helpful if you are reconciling multiple citation management accounts or have this file type downloaded from a database.
- Creating a new reference: You will enter the information manually, but RefWorks will put it in the right format for you. This is similar to using online citation machines.
Once you have all of your references on the page, click “Create Bibliography” at the top.
Click “Quick cite” to generate both in-text citations and the bibliography for your paper, or click “Create a bibliography” for the bibliography alone. Use the style guide specified in your course syllabus or assignment instructions.
Your citations and bibliography will show up in a pop-up window with a clipboard.
Copy and paste your citations into your paper.

Search the EBSCOhost databases for e-journals and e-books. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

Atla Religion Database with Atla Serials: This database combines the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion with Atla’s full text collection of 350+ major religion and theology journals. This database is produced by Atla, a membership association of collectors and connectors in religion and theology.
eBook Collection: This collection contains full-text e-books curated to complement the WBS curriculum.
Audiobook Collection: This collection offers downloadable audiobooks curated to complement the WBS curriculum.

Search the ProQuest databases for dissertations, theses, e-journals, and e-books. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global – The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection: This is an extensive and expanding database of over 2 million titles, many of which are available in full text.
Religion Database: This database provides full-text access to theologically oriented scholarly journals, trade journals, e-books, and multimedia publications.
Ebook Central: This collection contains full-text e-books curated to complement the WBS curriculum.

Search the catalog for books kept on campus. Log in to request or renew resources. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

Search JSTOR for full-text journal articles and book chapters. (Contact the library for login credentials.

Search the Theological Research Exchange Network for theological theses and dissertations, including those written by WBS students. Log in to download dissertations. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

Access RefWorks to manage research materials and properly cite sources. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

Writing at the graduate level involves three basic components:

Good basic grammar and punctuation
Clear expression of critical thinking
Proper documentation of sources

The Library connects you with resources to help with all three.

Grammar

Purdue OWL has a wealth of resources on good writing. See especially the Mechanics, Grammar, and Punctuation sections to review these details.

Grammarly is a great tool for highlighting mistakes in the moment and can be added as a browser extension for free.

Critical Thinking and the Writing Process

Writing Commons is a website that covers aspects of writing such as the writing process, academic writing, proper documentation, and research methods.

Academic Writing, Part I

Academic Writing, Part II

Proper Documentation

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and has no place in a seminarian’s writing. This article on how to avoid plagiarism and Plagiarism.org are very helpful resources in understanding exactly what plagiarism is and how to write with integrity.

Through the Library, WBS students and faculty have access to RefWorks, a research management tool that will help with proper citations. (Contact the library for login credentials.)

According to the 2019-2020 Student Handbook, WBS accepts APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian writing styles for citing sources.

Schedule a research appointment to go deeper in your writing!

As a WBS student, do I have access to libraries near me?

WBS participates in the ACL and Atla Reciprocal Borrowing Programs, meaning that WBS students can borrow from libraries across North America. Find an ACL or Atla library near you, and contact WBS for a signed authorization form. Additionally, Worldcat allows you to search for a book in a library by zip code or location. Even if these libraries do not participate in the Reciprocal Borrowing Programs, they may offer on-campus access to their libraries.

Can I find my textbooks in the library?

As a rule, the library does not collect textbooks. Students are expected to purchase their own. However, supplemental materials such as “Suggested Texts” or books on “For Further Reading/Research” lists are a high priority in building the collection.

Can I read dissertations and theses that previous WBS students have written?

Theses written before 2013 are available in the WBS Thesis Collection, a non-circulating print collection housed in the Reference Room. You can read these on campus or request a partial scan to be emailed to you.

Theses and dissertations written after 2013 are available through the Theological Research Exchange Network. Through this database, you can search for documents by school. (Contact the library for login credentials to download theses and dissertations for free.)

Does WBS offer inter-library loan?

Students and faculty who are within driving distance of the seminary can get books through ILL. Contact the library to make an ILL request, specifying tile, author, publication information, and a price cap.

All students and faculty can request articles or book chapters through ILL. Contact the library to make an ILL request, specifying article tile, journal title, volume and issue number (if available), author, publication information, and page numbers (if available).

How do I find books in the Library?

For physical books, search the online catalog.

For e-books, search our e-book collection, audiobook collection, and Ebook Central. (Contact the library for login credentials.) Additional resources are available on HathiTrust, Internet Archive, and the Open Access Digital Theological Library.

How do I find commentaries online?

Search for commentaries as you would for any book. Our EBSCOhost EBook Collection and ProQuest Ebook Central are great places to start. You may also submit an information request to the library (with title, author, publication number, and page numbers or biblical reference) to get a scan of a commentary portion. Information requests are processed within 1-2 business days.

How do I find dissertations and theses?

Search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Collection and the Theological Research Exchange Network for over 2 million full-text documents. (Contact the library for login credentials.) Additional dissertations are available on EBSCO Open Dissertations and PQDT Open.

How do I find journal articles?

Search for scholarly theological articles in the Atla and ProQuest Religion databases. (Contact the library for login credentials.) Additional resources are available on the Open Access Digital Theological Library.

Contact the Library

Let us know how we can help. We will be back in touch soon!

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