The BETH Archives

Preserving the Memory of European Theological Librarianship

Abstract

BETH (Bibliothèques Européennes de Théologie) has for decades served as a meeting point for professionals who share a common goal: making theological knowledge accessible across Europe. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of BETH’s documents and archives. The change in the Presidency (and then in the secretarial staff, following the consistent and significant work carried out by Matina Curic) has once more highlighted the need to preserve a record of the work she undertook, as well as of those who were involved with the Association before her.

Due to the complex history of BETH, there is no single archive containing all the documents produced by all the presidents and secretaries over the years. In 2023, an archival reconnaissance and description project was undertaken for two collections of BETH documents, now held at two locations at KU Leuven: namely at KADOC (Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society), and at the Maurits Sabbe Library. This article presents the results of that work, with the hope of making the archive better known to the BETH community and of stimulating further research into the association's history.