to more than 880 print and electronic periodicals and access to more than 19,000 electronic journals. The library is defined by the Thomas Memorial Collection, a major Civil War collection with more than 3,600 volumes concerning Lincoln and the Civil War, and authentic photos and newspapers. The Collection has two original copies of the only Lincoln biography ever read and approved by him, the Life of Abraham Lincoln by J. L. Scripps, and a section of his original marble sarcophagus.
== Ideology ==
Southern is known for its religious and social conservatism, and it is widely regarded as the most conservative of denominationally owned Adventist colleges in North America. In 2001, Adventist noted theologian and scholar Raymond Cottrell, a "progressive Adventist", wrote that Southern operated "an agency of Southern Bible belt obscurantism."
In explaining why he placed his collection of artifacts and his personal library at Southern Adventist University, archaeologist William Dever said, "The major support for …
