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Abstract
This article addresses concerns raised by members of the local Muslim community regarding copies of the Qur'an in the circulating collections at Milner Library, Illinois State University. The librarians conducted an analysis of the collection of holy books and investigated the rules and traditions of the Islamic faith that govern the care and handling of the faith's holy books. The findings include a discussion of the controversy presented to United Kingdom public libraries engaged in similar investigations, and a conceptual debate on the appropriate stewardship of holy books at academic libraries that must also avoid an entanglement of religion and state. Subsequently, the librarians developed culturally sensitive recommendations for the shelving, display, maintenance, and handling of the Qur'an in the light of the larger philosophical issue posed by maintaining holy books in the circulating collections of a secular institution.