In an age of increasing religious bigotry and intolerance, the establishment of the Religious Libraries in Dialogue Special Interest Group (RELINDIAL) is a welcome counterpoint. The editor's introduction sums up the creation of the group by IFLA in 2012 and the group's commitment to promote interfaith dialogue.
This book covers three main topics: it describes the specific experience of some theological libraries; it explores the role of technology and pedagogy in promoting dialogue among cultures and it describes interreligious pedagogies in practice. It is worth noting that, of the 12 chapters, three are in French. The first chapter expands on the role of RELINDIAL and its objective, which is ‘to preserve and make available the sacred wisdom of the centuries’.
The religious libraries selected by the editor have a long history of collecting, cataloguing and sharing not only material in the faith to which they belong, but also more importantly that of others' belief systems and cultures.
Noël Sheth offers an Indian perspective where pluralism of religions is the norm. His institution emphasises interreligious dialogue by fostering a critical and reflective approach to the teachings and practices of other religions. This is echoed in the evidence that, when one tradition tries to assimilate elements from the other tradition, these original elements may themselves undergo transformation and acquire new meaning and significance.
We are introduced, among others, to the Pontifical Urbaniana University Library, the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Banaras Hindu University Library and the Library of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies. Collectively, these libraries display impressive work in the conservation of ancient manuscripts together with the on-going acquisition of contemporary religious interpretations about various faiths and languages. All of this demonstrates a real engagement in reaching out and a willingness to engage with others. This endeavour is aided by technological advancements such as digitisation, which allow the sharing of resources, and the Al-Kindi cataloguing system that accommodates languages as disparate as French and Arabic.
In the pedagogies in practice section we learn about storytelling to children in Northern Ireland that provided a mental escape for them and the chance to hear and learn someone else's story during the last 14 years of religious convulsion. The IFLA international Sister Libraries programme is a fine example of libraries cooperating across the language and religious divide.
Throughout this book we learn about the global network of religious libraries, this community of practice actively engaged in dialogue to combat the curse of mass ignorance of others' truths and stories via their mission of peace building.