Barbara Peterson recently celebrated her 10th anniversary as Wilshire’s librarian, bringing a wealth of experience and passion to this vital ministry.
“I love books, but I also love working with people, both children and adults, and helping them find what they like to read,” she said. “To me, it’s another ministry to our church members and even the neighborhood.”
Barbara oversees a library with almost 18,000 books in every genre imaginable, from children’s books and young adult fiction to adult fiction and nonfiction including Bible commentaries and study aids. She keeps the collection up to date, maintains the database, coordinates volunteers and leads story times for children.
“This church has so many really educated people, and it shows because they read and they teach each other,” she said. “Our pastoral residents use the commentaries for their sermons, and Sunday School teachers are in here looking for material for lessons. They use the library to learn, and I love that.”
Barbara joined Wilshire in 2013 with her husband, Arnold, a former pastor and missionary to South Korea. With a master’s degree in library science and computers, she was director of public libraries in Centralia, Illinois, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, before coming to Dallas. Combining her library skills with an undergraduate degree in church music, she established and ran the music library at Korea Baptist Theological Seminary in Daejeon, South Korea.
At Wilshire, Barbara works with the Library Committee to plan events that benefit the collection and promote literacy, including Adopt-a-Book, book fairs and author fairs. She draws people into the library with ever-changing window displays and Linda Garner’s Nativity collection during Advent.
One of Barbara’s largest projects has been renovation of the library in 2024, including the installation of new shelves acquired from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas.
“This whole project was done by church volunteers. It was great to see people wanting to help. We have a great congregation,” she said.
Barbara’s role in the spiritual growth of the Wilshire community “cannot be overstated,” said Darren DeMent, associate pastor, who coordinates spiritual formation and educational programming.
“Everyone involved in preschool ministry all the way through senior adult ministry has been impacted by Barbara,” he said. “Story time with the kids, providing commentaries and resources for teachers, and offering a warm, inviting physical space for our congregation and the community are just a few of the many ways Barbara’s ministry has been felt over the past 10 years.”
Kelly Akins, minister to preschoolers, said Barbara’s ministry is especially valuable to children and their parents through her readings and book acquisitions.
“She’s always willing to get or use books that are appropriate for the occasion, whether it’s Bible School, Sunday School or whatever,” Kelly said.
At a time when many churches have closed their libraries, Barbara said Wilshire’s library is “big and vibrant” thanks to the vision and dedication of those who preceded her.
“This library is 72 years old this year. The church is 75. This church has had a library almost from the beginning,” she said.