Benedict XVI Library

At the same time that the Center for Theological Studies of Seville was founded in 1969, the Library was established. Its collection was partly inherited from the Conciliar Seminary of Seville (the oldest printed materials) and partly acquired to complete the bibliography for the courses offered and to support research within the academic community. On March 13, 2014, during a ceremony presided over by His Eminence and Most Reverend Monsignor Luis F. Ladaria Ferrer, then Archbishop-Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Library was named Biblioteca Benedicto XVI in honor of the eminent intellectual figure of the Pope Emeritus. The Benedict XVI Library is divided into three sections: the ancient collection, the contemporary collection and the periodicals.

The catalog is accessible through the website of the Faculty of Theology San Isidoro of Seville. For the bibliographic cataloging of its collections, international standards ISBD and ISBD(A) are applied for the ancient collection, while the computerized catalog uses a MARC format program. The Library offers open access to its collections for researchers who need to work with this material. The catalog of the Biblioteca Benedicto XVI is hosted on the Faculty of Theology San Isidoro of Seville’s website, www.sanisidoro.net.

The Spanish University Libraries Network (REBIUN) has been a sectorial committee of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) since 1998. Since its creation in 1988, initiated by a group of library directors, REBIUN has been a stable organization representing Spanish university and scientific libraries. REBIUN comprises the libraries of the 76 universities that are members of CRUE (50 public universities and 26 private universities) and the CSIC, which are full members. Additionally, there are associate members such as other public research organizations, foundations, and so on. To achieve its goals, which are outlined in multi-year plans, REBIUN defines strategic lines and establishes working groups.

The  Benedict XVI Library of the Faculty of Theology San Isidoro of Seville joined as an associate member in 2020. It is currently involved in two working groups. On one hand, it is part of the Interlibrary Loan Group which focuses on improving the interlibrary loan service among the libraries that are members of REBIUN. Through this service, the  Benedict XVI  Library provides members of the Faculty of Theology San Isidoro of Seville with the opportunity to borrow documents not available in their library, and also facilitates access to our Faculty’s collections for other external institutions. On the other hand, it is part of the Collective Catalog Group, which focuses on improving the collective catalog of REBIUN. This involves developing new tools to enhance the functionality of the catalog, among many other activities. Currently, the catalog, accessible online, contains 13 million records.