The A. R. Wentz Library serves the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, the oldest of the eight seminaries supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The seminary's library was begun when the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod in the United States of North America commissioned Benjamin Kurtz to go to Europe to solicit contributions of money and books for its new seminary, established in 1826 at Gettysburg. For many years, the library was housed in the seminary's primary classroom and office building; the Wentz Library building was constructed in 1947, when the need for more spacious quarters became paramount. A substantial addition to the building was opened in 1982. At present, the library collection numbers approximately 170,000 volumes, with nearly 600 active periodical subscriptions. In addition to monographs and journals, the library’s collection includes video cassettes, a small number of music CD's and audio cassettes, a few films, filmstrips and slides, CD-ROMs, all theses written for the degree programs of the seminary, a large collection of microforms, and the manuscripts and files of the seminary archives.

Also housed in the library building, but administered separately, are the Learning Resource Center of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, ELCA, and the Archives of Region 8 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In addition, a small library of Stewardship Resources is maintained in the office of the Arthur Larson Professor of Stewardship and Parish Resources. The Lutheran House of Studies (LHS) on Monroe Street in Washington, D.C. has a small, unorganized collection of monographs donated by local congregations and largely duplicated in Wentz Library's Gettysburg holdings. The LHS collection is under Wentz Library's general supervision.

The primary clientele of the Wentz Library are the faculty, students and staff of the seminary. Alumni, local pastors and congregational leaders, church officials, and students from nearby educational institutions also use the library's collections. Gettysburg Seminary is part of the ELCA's Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries, along with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. The seminary is also a member of the Washington Theological Consortium, an ecumenical group of seminaries in the Washington, D.C. vicinity. In addition, Wentz Library is a member of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Theological Library Association (SEPTLA). Students, faculty and staff from all member institutions in these groups are permitted to use and borrow from Wentz Library's collections. Wentz Library enjoys a cordial relationship with Gettysburg College’s Musselman Library, including reciprocal use and circulation of materials. Students may also use and borrow from the theology library at Mt. St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, MD.

August 2002