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Treasure Trove Walking into the Jegen Center for Catechetical Media and Research is like entering an old mansion and finding rooms full of hidden treasures most never knew existed. Stored in rooms of a former convent, the Catholic multi-media resource and research center houses more than 4,000 books, 1,500 videos, computer-based reference material, audiotapes and archival items such as 16mm films, filmstrips, slides, reel-to-reel tapes and old posters. The Jegen Center is one of the Chicago Archdiocese’s best treasures and perhaps least known. People who come here for the first time, said Sister of St. Louis Judy Dieterle, “are flabbergasted to see what’s here.” Dieterle is consultant for Catechetical media and research and assistant director for the Office for Catechesis. The center makes its resources available to churches, schools, institutions, families, individuals in the Archdiocese and beyond who want information on religious topics. Even non-Catholics have been known to mine its treasures. “The Jegen Center operates like a library and video rental store,” she said. “Videos can be checked out for a week at a time and books for two weeks. Renewal is available. Reference materials must be used on site.” There are computer stations for research help. The center operates on both a membership and a pay-per-use basis. More than 115 parishes are members and more than 70 other parishes and institutions use the Jegen Center on a per-use basis. Annual $100 memberships provide unlimited use. Video rental is $5 per week. There are a few scholarship memberships available, donated by some of the publishers who provide materials used in the center. “Many parishes use the center to see what’s new and preview books and videos before buying them,” said Dieterle. Others use the resources on a regular basis since they cannot afford to own them. There’s something at the center for everyone, she said. “Learning about our faith is a lifelong process,” Dieterle said. “We have materials to cover a person from the womb to the tomb.” Dieterle especially encourages families and individuals to use the Jegen Center, particularly with the coming of Lent. “We have a number of videos explaining various aspects of Lent,” she said. “Easily read books list practical activities parents can do with their children which are relevant to today’s busy lifestyles. They can be more meaningful than just giving up something for Lent.” Dieterle says her job at the Jegen Center has caused her to become a sort of computer guru in order to find new and better ways of bringing the resource material to the people of the archdiocese. The center now has a website and an e-mail address. Terrie Wepner, who oversees much of the circulation at the center, made other innovations with Dieterle. Users now can reserve a book or video ahead of time and renew them by telephone. Those interested in the center’s resources don’t even have to visit in person. They can log onto the website, check to see what’s in the catalog of materials that is updated weekly and request that a particular book or video be sent by United Parcel or the U.S. Postal Service. The Jegen Center averages approximately 300 visitors a month, she said. Many of the resources now there originally were housed in the Mundelein Center for Religious Education, which began operation in 1961 and filled the archdiocese’s need to provide parishes with the necessary resources to enhance religious education. When Loyola University bought Mundelein College, its Institute of Pastoral Studies donated the materials to the Office for Catechesis in 1995. The Jegen Center is named in honor of Sister Carol Frances Jegen, who was instrumental in starting the original Mundelein resource collection. She most notably is known for being instrumental through various media forms for helping people to understand the changes in the church that occurred after Vatican II.
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