Mr. President, Members of the Board of Theological Education, Faculty, Students and Friends of Western Theological Seminary: It is a signal honor for me to be invited to your campus on the occasion of the dedication of your Cook Center For Theological Research. One cannot escape sensing the heightened level of enthusiasm among you nor observing that my colleague Norman Kansfield and his staff are walking on Cloud 9. Western Theological Seminary deserves commendation and praise for conceiving and completing this new addition to its campus. It is an eloquent sign and symbol of foresight and of determination to maintain high and fitting standards of excellence in theological education. After the morning convocation and a splendid luncheon, I wonder why a lecture is needed. I was reminded of the years Mrs. Schmitt and I served the church in Colombia and Venezuela. There it was customary to follow any luncheon with a siesta, never a lecture! So, I propose that the subsequent remarks be regarded as conversational reflections on the changing and unchanging aspects of the role of the library in a theological seminary in the decade of the 80's. I use the term "library" partly because it is the habit of many years and, partly, because in recent history the term "library" has acquired the connotation embodied in the expression "Center for Theological Research."