Introduction

Knox College, a theological College of The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC), is federated with the University of Toronto, a founding member of the Toronto School of Theology (TST), as well as being an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1844 and chartered to grant degrees by the Government of Ontario in 1858, the College has always been located in Toronto. Throughout its history, the College has been housed in a number of different buildings. The current one, dedicated in 1915, is in the heart of the University of Toronto main campus.

One of the main reasons for the relocation of the College was the necessity to build a new library to house its expanding collection, an expansion which has continued throughout the years. From 4,000 volumes in 1849, the Collection has grown to over 78,000 volumes, including 5,000 rare books and current subscriptions to approximately 240 periodicals.

Since the College has historically prepared persons for the Ministry of Word and Sacrament of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, Caven Library has placed special emphasis on developing its collection in traditional reformed areas: Biblical Studies, Reformed theology, Reformation history, Homiletics, Pastoral theology, and Judaism. However, in 1991, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada amalgamated Knox College and Ewart College. For many years, Ewart provided training for women, and later also men, for full-time service in mission work, both overseas and in Canada, and in social ministries and Christian education. After 1991, much of the Ewart Library collection was integrated into Caven Library. In cooperation with the McKay Educational Resource Centre, Caven Library continues Ewart's collecting emphases as they relate to Christian Education.

As well as collecting in core Reformed areas, the Library attempts to respond to the kinds of discussions which are currently taking place in the PCC. For this reason, the Library has intentionally emphasized the development of concentrations in Feminist theology, Pastoral Care and Counseling, ministry with those who have been abused, issues of sexuality and gender orientation, materials relating to Asian theology, especially that of Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese interest, and the relation of church and society in a Canadian context.

When a person walks into Knox' Academic Wing, it becomes immediately evident that even the College's architecture emphasizes the connection which the Reformed
tradition makes between Chapel and Library. In Reformed spirituality, worship and scholarship are accorded equal importance as roads to God. It is this understanding that guided the College and has informed the work of those, past and present, to whom the care of the Library has been entrusted.