Applications are solicited from universities, research centers and other institutions for complete sets of hundreds of the most important books in science and religion.

The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR), the world’s leading learned society in the field of science and religion, will select up to 150 institutions on a  competitive basis to receive libraries consisting of approximately 225 matching hardbound volumes accompanied by a comprehensive Companion edition written by Society members that summarizes and critiques each volume.

These books will collectively provide for a comprehensive foundation for study,
teaching and research in science and religion and related fields. Winnowed
from thousands of books currently in print in this area, these titles are
representative of the most important authors and treat the vast range of
interdisciplinary subject matter at the highest level of quality and scholarship.
Selected through rigorous peer review, these titles reflect no ideological or
religious bias and are drawn from many faith traditions as well as authors with
vigorously naturalistic perspectives.

Applications are especially encouraged from universities with active research
and teaching in related fields, which can take advantage of the ISSR Library to
substantially enhance the quality and impact of their work. Preference will be
given to institutions with limited capacity to buy books but with strong demands
for library resources.

Purpose and Goals:
The ISSR Library in Science and Religion is a multi-year project designed to
enhance scholarly and pedagogical access to foundational texts in this growing
discipline.
• Drawing on the unique expertise of the invited membership of the Society,
the editorial board has selected volumes that provide the essential core of
research to date along with a number of additional works that contextualize
major lines of inquiry. Foundational work in science and religion is coupled with
explanatory and background texts in related fields as well as science, history,
philosophy and religious studies.
• Scholars and students with access to the ISSR Library and Companion will
have at their disposal a compendium of foundational and contemporary thinking
in the field, thereby gaining a broad understanding of the work that has gone
before. This access will promote study and research at an informed and
advanced level and facilitate the development of new results and novel avenues
of exploration.
• Institutions that successfully compete for receipt of the ISSR Library will
gain important new holdings that will enhance their libraries and provide an
information base on which to build new academic offerings and support faculty
and student research.

Eligibility:
Institutions with permanent circulating libraries are eligible to apply. Preference
will be given to those with active teaching and research but whose institutional
resources for book acquisition are limited. Application should be made by
members of the faculty or administration and must be accompanied by letters of
interest from supervisory personnel with responsibility for library holdings and
management.

Applications:
Applications must be submitted online by faculty members or administrators at
http://www.issrlibrary.org/apply-for-issr-library-award/
Accompanying materials must include a signed statement of interest from the
supervisor of the institution’s circulating library indicating a commitment to
receive, display and circulate the Library.
Applications will be judged on a rolling basis beginning immediately.

Enquiries can be made to:
Sharon Mellul
Library Program Assistant
The International Society for Science and Religion
Bene’t House
St. Edmund’s College
Mount Pleasant
Cambridge
CB3 OBN
Tel. +0044 (0) 1223 740724
Email: admin@issrlibrary.org

Supported by a one million pound grant from the John Templeton Foundation,
the ISSR Library Project is based at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge
University, UK. It’s Executive Editor and Program Manager is Dr. Pranab Das,
Professor of Physics at Elon University. The Editorial Board consists of Dr.
Philip Clayton, Dr. John Hedley Brooke, Dr. Wesley Wildman, Dr. V.V. Raman
and Dr. Ron Cole-Turner as ISSR Executive Liaison, with Dr. Christopher
Knight, ISSR Executive Secretary.