A few weeks ago I mentioned the excellent resource LibraryThing. As pastors and leaders there are a lot of great books, CDs, and DVDs that can benefit us - but sometimes you just can't afford to spend the cash. Don Rousu mentioned in a recent ThoughtWorks Skype (conference call) that resources like the CD collection of Christian History magazine can be a huge benefit to folks in our movement. So what I was thinking about creating is a community library. The way it would work is that I'd create an OntarioThoughtWorks LibraryThing account and fill it full of the tangible resources that folks in our region are willing to pass around. Your responsibility would be to get it from who has it last - there are lots of fields in the LibraryThing database to make this easy. You simply look for the book, CD, etc. and see who has it (and how long they've had it) and request to have it next. You can also see any reviews that we have made on the material - I can also include links to articles on this blog that pertain to using that material. There are some seriously great possibilities here.
My experience of the generous people in our region is that you all love to share resources. I can't tell you how many folks have given me books at regional gatherings and the like. So this idea is just a more deliberate way to do this.
What do you think? Would this be something you would use? What I am thinking is that we could use a portion of the ThoughtWorks budget to make available a few regional copies of the ThoughtWorks curriculum books and videos. Let me know in the comments and at the regional gathering what you think.
I am looking forward to finding creative ways to equip and empower the Vineyard in our region!
Frank Emanuel, Freedom Vineyard
Frank,
ReplyDeleteI would love to both use and participate by making much of my Library available to others. Having someone read books from my collection when I'm not currently using them gives them far more value to me.
I say "Go for it!"