ETSC Library

ETSC has a physical library of some 73,000 books in English and Arabic and provides its students with access to digital libraries (books and journals) in English.

The ETSC library contains some 73,000 books and reference works, in addition to a collection of academic journals and a few cassette tapes and CDs. These are mainly in Arabic and English. The Arabic section contains a large number and variety of books on theological studies, classical books, and other books in different fields. The English section features numerous rare books on the history and mission of the church, especially in Egypt.

Locations: At the Cairo campus, the library collection is divided over four locations:

• main library (including separate rooms for the “reference,” “periodicals,” and “archive” collections)
• library of the Center for Middle East Christianity (CMEC), located on the top floor of ETSC’s main building
• library of the Church and Society Center (CSC), located in the new extension
• library of the Martha Roy Center for Worship (MRC), located in the new extension.

Moreover, there are four daughter libraries in the ETSC centers in Alexandria, Minya, Asyut, and Sohag.

Catalog: In the online library catalog: https://etsc.org/library-catalog, one can easily see which book can be found at which location.

Reading and borrowing:

1. Students can read books in the library during opening hours and can borrow most books.
2. Pastors can read books in the library and can borrow books according to this regulation.
3. Visitors can read books in the library for a small fee. They are not allowed to borrow books.

Opening hours:

During semester: Mon-Thu 9 am-7 pm, Fri+Sat 9 am-5 pm
During summer: Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm

The library is closed for public holidays and for Christmas and Easter breaks. In summer, access may sometimes be limited because of the library inventory. For access to the other library locations, contact the library for up-to-date opening hours.

Donations: The ETSC library accepts book gifts from personal libraries or publishers through coordination with the head librarian.

Contact: 02-26825680, extension 1702; from outside Egypt: +20-2-26825680, extension 1702

ETSC provides its students with access to the following two digital libraries:

1. Global Digital Theological Library (https://libguides.globaldtl.org/home). The Global DTL contains over 30,000 books in English in the areas of Bible, Theology, Religion, and Philosophy. Anyone can search in the Global DTL catalogue, but in order to access most books, one needs a “barcode” (password). Current students of ETSC can contact the ETSC library to get this barcode.
2. JSTOR (jstor.org). JSTOR contains a large collection of academic journals, including 145 in the area of Bible, theology, and religion. In order to access JSTOR as an ETSC user, one needs to use the username “ ETSC ” and to provide the right password. Current students of ETSC can contact the ETSC library to get this password.

Unfortunately, ETSC is not allowed to provide access to the Global Digital Theological Library or JSTOR to graduates, visitors, and others who are not currently studying or working at ETSC.

Moreover, ETSC refers students and others to the following two digital libraries to which one can register for free:

3. Egyptian Knowledge Bank (ekb.eg). The EKB contains many resources, of which the following are most relevant for theological studies:

– SAGE (journals)

– ProQuest (theses and dissertations)

Note that the Egyptian Knowledge Bank is only accessible from inside Egypt.  

4. Internet Archive: Books to Borrow (https://archive.org/details/inlibrary). The Internet Archive contains over 100,000 books in the area of Bible, theology, and religion that are available for online borrowing.