About JKM

The JKM Library currently houses around 34,000 books in controlled storage in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, accessible by request to the McCormick Theological Seminary and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago communities, and beyond them to the other ACTS seminaries in Chicago, the I-Share network of academic libraries, and the larger network of inter-library loan participants throughout the state of Illinois using the ILDS and RAILS systems. While we cannot ship books out of state, we do offer scanning services for our physical collections to libraries all over the world through OCLC WorldShare. We also offer our local patrons access to resources from all of those networks, over 600,000 electronic books and a wide range of database resources to support their curricular and research needs, and many other library services!

For information about accessing our services, or those of our partner libraries, see the following links:

• Accessing library resources (for current McCormick or LSTC patrons)
• Accessing e-resources for alumni of McCormick or LSTC
• Accessing our partner libraries (I-Share, ACTS, and UChicago)

For more information about the JKM Library itself, see the following links:

• History of the JKM Library
• Contact the JKM Library staff

Where to Ask non-JKM Questions

There are many things the JKM Library has historically helped with. However, since our move and downsizing, we can no longer do all that we used to.

The JKM Library has never been directly responsible for the private collections of either McCormick or LSTC. Since they moved to 5416 S. Cornell Ave. in 2023, both seminaries have made their own choices regarding the locations and dispositions of their own private collections.

Questions about the McCormick Theological Seminary archives and its institutional history can be directed to Dr. Ken Sawyer, Professor of Church History at McCormick.

Questions about materials held by LSTC, including the Gruber Rare Books collection, can be directed to Patti DeBias, Assistant to the President of LSTC.

Questions about ELCA institutional history can be directed to the ELCA Archives in Elk Grove Village, IL, which was entrusted with many of the LSTC-connected archival materials, including the collections of the Joseph A. Sittler Archives.

Questions about the history of the Jesuits in Chicago, including about the Jesuit School of Theology at Chicago as a contributor to the formation of the JKM Library, can be directed to the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus.