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Archives and Special Collections at Southeastern: SEBTS Digital Resources

This guide is designed to introduce researchers to Archives and Special Collections at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

SEBTS Digital Resources

When you combine the materials that have been digitized from our archives holdings with primary source databases available to SEBTS students, faculty, and staff, you will discover access to nearly every book published in English between 1400-1820, nearly every significant theological work published in the 19th and 20th centuries, and over 15,000 unique items from our archives. Additionally, approved researchers can conduct research in the Francis A. Schaeffer Papers Digital Collection at three locations including SEBTS.

SEBTS Digital Collections

The Archives at Southeastern is working to digitize portions of our holdings to support distance learning students and a broader research community. Our digital collections currently include the following.

SEBTS Digital Repository

The Archives at Southeastern developed this digital repository in 2019 to provide access to over 20,000 unique items from the archives.  Collections in this repository include institutional records, Baptist materials (including Primitive Baptist records), and other organizational and personal paper collections.

Atla Digital Library

The Atla Digital Library provides access to more than 124,000 digitized archival items in a variety of formats including text, images, film, and audio. In 2021, the Archives at Southeastern added 288 rare Primitive Baptist items to the library's holdings.

Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection

The Archives at Southeastern partnered with Duke University to digitize over 200 items from our holdings as part of the Religion in North Carolina project. The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection includes materials from the holdings of the University of North Carolina, Duke University, Wake Forest University, and smaller partners like SEBTS documenting the history of religion in the state. SEBTS contributions to the digital collection include the following.

Francis A. Schaeffer Papers at Southeastern

SEBTS Archives and Digitization Lab staff have digitized the Francis A. Schaeffer Papers. The papers are owned by the Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation and SEBTS serves as custodian charged with providing access to the collection. By the terms of the contract between the Foundation and Seminary, digital copies of the collection are available for approved researchers at three locations: The Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation Headquarters in Gyron, Switzerland, The Hill House in Austin, Texas, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

See our Francis A. Schaeffer Studies at Southeastern research guide for more information on accessing the papers and digital copies.

Primary Source Databases

The Library at Southeastern provides access to subscription databases of primary source materials for students, faculty, and staff. SEBTS login credentials are required to access these databases off-campus.

Early American Imprints
Online access to nearly every book published in America from 1639-1819. This database allows you to conduct advanced searches across the collection, as well as, browse by Sermons (Genre) and Religion (Subject with Subcategories).

Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Online access to nearly every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700.

American Theological Library Association Historical Monographs Collection
Online access to over 29,000 titles focusing on religion and theology dating from the 13th Century to 1922