The Maly Staff is happy to help with using library resources and locating research materials.
The Maly Library exists to provide information resources and services to achieve the mission of Mount St. Mary's Seminary & School of Theology - to prepare students for God's purpose by forming men and women to faithfully follow Christ and serve His mission by fulfilling their vocations in the Church. We support the scholastic and formational goals of MTSM through library collections, services, and policies that 1) support the curricula in the degree and certificate programs; 2) provide resources for the faculty to stay current in their various fields and to enable them to engage in scholarly research and publication; 3) serve the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in their Church ministries.
In 1829 Bishop Edward D. Fenwick founded St. Francis Xavier Seminary and the Athenaeum College on Sycamore Street in downtown Cincinnati. Four years later the bishop donated his personal collection to the seminary library, forming the foundation of the current library. Over the years the collection has been enriched by the personal libraries of Cincinnati archbishops, seminary faculty members, and other local donors. The present collection numbers over 120,000 volumes.
The collection has survived several moves as the seminary relocated from downtown to Price Hill to Norwood to its present location in Anderson Township. Twice it has suffered from fire with substantial losses. Today it is housed in the east wing of the main building in a facility that was fully renovated in 2007.
The Maly Library collection emphasizes the fields of biblical studies, theology, liturgy, church history and pastoral counseling. It is also strong in the areas of canon law, bioethics, and classical and current spirituality. Although its primary emphasis is the Roman Catholic tradition, it provides resources that promote the understanding of other religious and cultural traditions.
In 1980, the library was named the Eugene H. Maly Memorial Library in honor of the late Father Maly (1920-1980), an internationally acclaimed scripture scholar and beloved faculty member of Athenaeum of Ohio-Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West. Two hallmarks of Fr. Maly's life were scholarship and a commitment to serve the people of God. The library attempts to incorporate those ideals in its service to all people in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and especially to the students and faculty of Mount St. Mary's Seminary & School of Theology.
The Maly Library is a member of the OPAL consortium and the OhioLINK consortium which offer patrons access to the resources of an additional 90+ academic institutions throughout the State of Ohio.