Pepperdine Libraries to Explore the Significant Impact of Historic Bibles and Evolution of Print Technology

Pepperdine Libraries will present Special Collections Virtual Tour: Historic Bibles via Zoom on Monday, March 29, at 3 PM PT. Melissa Nykanen, associate university librarian for Special Collections and University Archives, will explore the transition from manuscript scrolls to modern printing technology, and guide a tour of the history of the Bible as seen in examples from Pepperdine’s rare and historic collections. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience the rich resources of Pepperdine’s Special Collections and learn how they are used for teaching and research purposes on campus.

“By examining the Bible as a physical object, we hope the audience will gain a deeper understanding of the history of the Bible, including how it is inextricably linked to the development of book technology,” Nykanen says. “We hope to expose ways in which Bibles were used in formal and informal ways in churches and privately by individuals.”

Nykanen explains that as the most-widely distributed book in the world, the Bible has had an extraordinary impact on numerous cultures, languages, and faith traditions for centuries. Over its long history, the Bible has taken many physical forms, from parchment scrolls to early printed books on paper. The text itself has also been rendered in different ways, most notably translated from ancient Greek and Hebrew into Latin, and eventually into vernacular languages such as English—all of which have been interpreted through commentary and supplemented with diagrams and maps. 

This event is free and open to the public. For additional information about Special Collections Virtual Tour: Historic Bibles, visit the event’s registration page.