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The Albany Diocese's Office of Catholic Faith Formation and Education (OCFFE) has been hard at work over the last few years creating the Albany Catholic Digital Library, an online resource to help catechists and anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith.

After sponsoring a workshop several years ago that encouraged parishes to create websites of resources for people looking to enhance their faith, the Diocese began working on such a database itself.

As a result, the Diocese of Albany is one of the first dioceses in the country to have a digital library, now online at www.albanycatholicdigitallibrary.org.

The digital library replaces a physical library that was housed at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Albany until last year, when the OCFFE replaced the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life through a diocesan restructuring process.

Joyce Solimini is associate director of the diocesan Office of Prayer and Worship, one of the departments that make up the OCFFE. Using a grant from the Whalen Foundation, Mrs. Solimini and others developed the library.

It's still a work in progress, she noted, but the site is public, accessible to all, and includes information sorted by topic, such as leadership or family, and then by age group. Eventually, there will be links to other websites, videos and podcasts, as well as other digital resources and PDF files.

All of the resources listed on the website will be vetted by the Catholic Faith Formation board.

"It'll constantly be populated with more and more things," Mrs. Solimini told The Evangelist. "It's a leap into the 21st century."[[In-content Ad]]

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