FORT COLLINS — Eddy Hopkins, installed in his inviting book-lined alcove at First United Methodist Church, can reassure you about the existence of a very important being.
This is one church library that, unlike the multitudes of congregational collections and reading rooms, actually has a librarian.
Yes, I exist, Hopkins says.
Hired last year, Hopkins is part-time but a big part of the reason this 5,000-volume Northern Colorado Faith Library, only about 3 years old, recently received an international award.
The Portland, Ore.-based Church and Synagogue Library Association singled it out as its 2009 Outstanding Congregational Library.
Hopkins holds a master’s degree from Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, in interdisciplinary studies, which includes philosophical and biblical hermeneutics, the Hebrew Bible, literature and theology.
Go ahead. Ask him something. He blogs, too.
“I admire simple faith,” Hopkins said, “but there is sometimes an anti-intellectualism that tries to separate faith from intellect. Nothing is off-limits to faith. There is no question, no idea or scientific fact it can’t address.”
Hopkins and the library are unusual resources for a congregation, even one this size with roughly 2,000 members, said David Reid, co-chair of the church’s library committee.
Funding, Reid said, has come from three sources: an anonymous gift called the “Good Is Not Good Enough” program, the church’s foundation and designated gifts from other church members.
“We have a lot of momentum. Our pastor has let us run with the idea,” Reid said.
The Rev. Charles Schuster made an attractive, spacious section of the church hall available for this use.
The library has an online catalog, seminary-level reference collection, subscriptions to 10 periodicals, free wireless Internet, comfortable reading chairs, a children’s area and even reasonably priced gourmet self- serve coffees and teas.
It “far exceeds the scope of service normally expected from a congregation of moderate size,” wrote Pat Shufeldt, a Greenville, S.C., woman who has used the library and nominated it to the library association.
The library is open to the public. And, so far, the church has partnered with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and Blessed John XXIII University Parish to plan a network of services for their readers.
“The (library) is an excellent example of an organization that understands the need to look beyond its congregation,” said Rochelle Logan, vice president of the Colorado Association of Libraries.
The Rev. Steve Hoskins, pastor of the startup Christ Our Hope Anglican Mission, brings his laptop to the library.
“I really appreciate it being available to everyone. It’s a nice, quiet study area with good reference materials,” Hoskins said.
