11/02/2026
BETH - European Theological Libraries 2026 – 54th Annual Conference
Mission Collections: Stewardship, Access, Scholarship
Warszawa, Poland, September 19–22, 2026
Mission collections in theological libraries document the long and varied history of Christian mission. They contain sources related to the complex missionary project – evangelisation, theological reflection, the rise of local Christian communities, as well as languages, education, diaconal work, health care and cultural aspects.
These collections serve as primary sources for research; they reflect both constructive and contested aspects of mission history. At the same time, they raise pressing questions of stewardship, visibility and interpretation.
The 54th conference of BETH aims to raise awareness and foster discussion on these aspects. We encourage presentations within three broad domains:
Management of Mission Collections
Rare books, manuscripts, archival material and linguistic resources related to mission history
Cataloguing, metadata and organisation of mission‑related sources
Inclusive acquisitions and collection development in the field of mission and contextual theology
Ethical stewardship of sensitive, complex or contested materials
Digital Humanities, Digitisation of Mission Materials and Open Access
Digitisation and online access to missionary literature and archival sources
Use of tools for text analysis
Improved discoverability of hidden materials
Collaborative projects between institutions/libraries
Cooperation on specific cultural projects with churches and institutions connected to missions
Missions and World Christianity in the Contemporary World
Libraries supporting new forms of evangelisation, migrant communities and contemporary mission engagement
Enabling access to mission sources for research on global and intercultural perspectives
Engagement in research on missiology, World Christianity and related fields
Postcolonial and intercultural approaches to presenting and interpreting historical sources
Collaboration with academic and ecclesial partners in the Majority World
Our call for presentations is now open, and we welcome your response (open until March 31st)
Mission collections in theological libraries document the long and varied history of Christian mission. They contain sources related to the complex missionary project – evangelisation, theological reflection, the rise of local Christian communities, as well as languages, education, diaconal work, ...