In a storefront church tucked between a laundromat and a carryout, a congregant pauses at the threshold—not quite ready to enter, not quite ready to leave. This moment of hesitation, curiosity, and quiet discernment is more than anecdotal. It’s a form of browsing.
As a librarian and researcher, I’ve spent years studying how people seek, sift, and settle into information spaces. What I’ve come to realize is that the same behaviors we observe in libraries—wandering, sampling, lingering—also shape how people engage with spiritual communities. And that insight could help churches better understand how to welcome, retain, and spiritually nourish their members.
Browsing Theory Meets Faith Practice
Browsing theory in library science challenges the idea that users always know what they’re looking for. Instead, it honors serendipity, aesthetic cues, and emotional resonance. In libraries, browsing leads to discovery. In churches, it can lead to belonging.
My recent preprint, Browsing the Spirit, applies this theory to the lived experience of storefront churches—those small, often under-resourced but deeply rooted congregations that serve as cultural and spiritual lifelines in urban communities. These churches, like libraries, are more than service providers. They are spaces of encounter.
Designing for Discovery
What if church leaders thought like librarians?
Visual cues such as signage, lighting, and open doors can invite exploration.
Narrative pathways—testimonies, music, and ritual—can guide spiritual browsing.
Flexible spaces allow people to engage at their own pace, without pressure.
This isn’t about turning churches into institutions. It’s about recognizing that spiritual seeking is also an information behavior—and designing spaces that honor that process.
From Theory to Practice
As an Outreach and Inclusion Librarian, I’ve seen how public institutions can learn from faith communities, and vice versa. My goal is to translate academic insight into practical tools: diagrams, guides, and frameworks that help churches and libraries become more inclusive, more intuitive, and more attuned to the people they serve.
This op-ed is just the beginning. I invite church leaders, librarians, and community organizers to explore the full preprint and join the conversation.
Read the full study: https://doi.org/10.31229/osf.io/qy7de_v1
Subscribe for future posts on cultural preservation, collaborative learning, and spiritual engagement.
Browsing isn’t aimless. It’s a form of seeking. And when we design with browsers in mind, we create spaces where people don’t just find information—they find themselves.