Miracles already have happened in the process, says Cheryl Davis, academic dean. For example, she says, the school recently was ready to place an order for core periodicals when a monetary donation from a retirement community was received and it almost exactly matched the invoice.

The library currently is housed in two rooms in the main building. Officials hope to expand the collection to 10,000 volumes from the current 3,000, says Dale Solberg, dean of curriculum development and learning resources. Most of the current collection has come from Alaska Bible College, but many also have been donated by pastors and others.

Davis listed some of the needs: six computer workstations for research - $6,000; a library management system - $7,500, periodical subscriptions for a year - $1,200. Donated money also will be used to purchase furnishings, including shelving and chairs. She points out that the average cost per book, including cataloging, processing and shipping is $25.

Solberg says donations of money are more practical than donated books as administrators can better match resources to student needs. Those interested in donating books should contact school officials before shipping anything. Summer work teams hopefully can be used to catalog and shelve hundreds of the books that already have been donated.