Atla Annual 2025

This listen and learn session approaches LibGuides within the history of research aids and seeks to understand the relationships between intellectual freedom, institutional identity, bibliography, and access. We begin by situating LibGuides within the broader tradition of readers’ aids, specifically the role of printed bibliographies and digital pathfinders to understand why LibGuides have become so common throughout librarianship. We also explore how their form reinforces function in terms of scholarly authority and information guide.
We then examine the conflict between institutional identity, as developed by standardized web content, the librarian’s own intellectual freedom, and patron access. In short, we seek to understand what assumptions librarians and patrons have about LibGuides and if those assumptions impact guide content, not just guide design. We take this question to be especially important for theology librarians who may be working within contexts that require doctrinal or confessional agreements between faculty, staff, and students. We seek to understand how the theology librarian maintains intellectual freed and access to information (oft expressed core values of librarianship) amidst the strictures that often accompany church politics.
Finally we close the session by identifying a series of practices that librarians can deploy and encourage others to share their own experiences and practices. Two main points, LibGuide creation should be approached with the same meticulous approach as would be granted to bibliographies and special attention should be directed toward the container collapse between institution and resource.

Learning Outcome

Audiences will be encouraged to think about the history and form of LibGuides, not just their content. We will end the session by suggesting best practices to create LibGuides in a theological setting.

Audience Engagement

During the session we will have multiple opportunities for group conversation and to hear how others have addressed the questions of intellectual freedom, institutional identity, and guiding users to information.

This presentation explores the parallels between S.R. Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science and the core missions of the Church. Ranganathan's laws, established in 1931, are foundational principles in library science:

1) Books are for use.
2) Every person his or her book.
3) Every book its reader.
4) Save the time of the reader.
5) A library is a growing organism.
The presentation draws analogies between these laws and the Church's objectives:

Service: Just as libraries ensure books are accessible and usable, the Church aims to serve its community by making spiritual resources and services readily available.
Inclusivity: Ranganathan's emphasis on matching every person with their book mirrors the Church's mission to reach out to every individual, addressing diverse spiritual needs without prejudice.
Engagement: The idea that every book has its reader parallels the Church's endeavor to engage each person, recognizing that different individuals connect with different aspects of faith.
Efficiency: Saving the reader's time in a library context is akin to the Church's efforts to make spiritual guidance and services efficient and accessible, minimizing barriers for congregants.
Growth: Viewing the library as a growing organism reflects the Church's vision of growth, both in expanding its congregation and in deepening the spiritual development of its members.

Learning Outcome

Attendees will learn to apply Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science to enhance church services:
1) Innovative Service Strategies: Using "Books are for use" to improve access to spiritual resources.
2) Personalized Engagement: Applying "Every person his or her book" to tailor outreach for diverse spiritual needs.
3) Effective Resource Allocation: Utilizing "Every book its reader" to align resources with congregants' interests.
4) Operational Efficiency: Implementing "Save the time of the reader" to streamline church operations.
5) Sustainable Growth Planning: Adopting "A library is a growing organism" to view the church as a dynamic entity.

Audience Engagement

1) Interactive Discussions: I will encourage audience participation through open dialogues and Q&A sessions to foster a collaborative learning environment.
2) Real-World Case Studies: Drawing from my experiences as a librarian and church leader, I will present practical examples that illustrate the application of Ranganathan's laws in church settings, making the content relatable and actionable.
3) Visual Aids: I will utilize clear and concise slides with reader-friendly fonts and appropriate backgrounds to enhance understanding and retention.
4) Audience Polls: I will incorporate live polls to gauge opinions and encourage active engagement, ensuring the session remains dynamic and interactive.

The rapid popularity and adoption of generative AI tools are transforming how students learn, research, and create. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini, are becoming ubiquitous in educational environments, yet little is known about how university students use them. This study investigates students’ use, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding these powerful technologies, aiming to identify critical gaps in understanding, perceived challenges, and necessary training interventions. Our research addresses several key questions: (1) How are students currently utilizing generative AI in their work? (2) What are their perceptions of the benefits and risks associated with these tools? (3) What misconceptions or knowledge gaps exist regarding the functionality, limitations, and ethical implications of generative AI? (4) What challenges do students face in effectively and ethically integrating these tools into their learning processes? Finally, (5) what targeted training and support structures are needed to empower students to leverage the potential of generative AI responsibly and effectively? This presentation will provide actionable insights for educators, librarians, and administrators seeking to address students’ use of AI in educational environments and explore what training opportunities would benefit students at this time.

Learning Outcome

By the end of this session, the attendees will:
1) Gain an understanding of how students perceive and use GenAI tools in their academic work;
2) Recognize students’ misconceptions, perceived risks, and challenges related to the ethical use of GenAI tools;
3) Apply the findings of the study to designing educational interventions to promote ethical and critical engagement with GenAI tools.

Audience Engagement

Our presentation will engage the participants using interactive presentation elements called Slido. This tool allows us to have anonymous online interactions with the session attendees. We will explore the attendees’ beliefs about students’ needs with regard to GenAI, and what educational interventions do the attendees provide in their respective institutions. In addition, we will have an editable document with the resources, which will be an important takeaway from the session.

This panel will explore the transformative impact of leadership development in theological librarianship, highlighting the variety of approaches individuals can bring to leadership. Through a narrative-driven style, the session aims to inspire attendees to recognize their potential as leaders and pursue opportunities to cultivate their distinct skills.

The Leadership Development for Theological Librarians Program, launched in 2023, will celebrate the graduation of its second cohort in May 2025. Funded by a grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion and co-led by Kelly Campbell from Columbia Theological Seminary and Myka Kennedy Stephens from Fosgail, the program provides mentoring and executive coaching for theological librarians from varying backgrounds, roles, and institutions.

Panelists will share the origin story of the program, discuss their unique leadership journeys, and reflect on how the program has shaped their professional growth. Following the presentation, an open discussion will invite audience members to examine the importance of leadership development in theological librarianship, explore challenges in this area, and engage in a dynamic Q&A session.

Learning Outcome

In this session, audience members will:
Discover how Atla members are leading the way to fill a leadership development gap in theological librarianship
Learn about the impact of intentional leadership development in theological librarianship
Hear stories of leadership from a variety of contexts
Discuss leadership development needs and opportunities in Atla

Audience Engagement

As mentioned in the description, in an open discussion we will invite audience members to examine the importance of leadership development in theological librarianship, explore challenges in this area, and engage in a dynamic Q&A session.

Join program officer Alyson Pope from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to learn more about their digitization regranting programs: Digitizing Hidden Collections: Amplifying Unheard Voices and Recordings at Risk. Available funding ranges from 10,000 to 300,000 USD for the digital reformatting of a range of eligible analog formats.

Learning Outcome

Detailed knowledge of available funding paths for the digitization of their institution's archival materials as well as more general tips on writing successful grant proposals.

Audience Engagement

Quick surveys regarding the types of materials they have in their archives that they would be most eager to digitize and their prior experience seeking grant funding.

Librarians, including theological librarians, are commonly considered to be, and generally aspire to be, neutral. Regardless of personal feelings and beliefs, we will gladly help you find a copy of Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, Late Great Planet Earth, or Malleus Maleficarum. Such professional neutrality seems especially precious, and threatened, in our increasingly polarized culture. Yet, are there ever times when it may be appropriate to set aspirations to neutrality and objectivity aside, and share our convictions? When, if ever, might if be acceptable to state our opinions or express our beliefs when conducting a reference interview or providing feedback on a student’s paper? Is neutrality even possible? How does neutrality relate to equity? This session will provide an opportunity to consider, debate, and discuss these important questions.

Learning Outcome

Attendees will come away with a greater, if more nuanced, appreciation for the complexities inherent in the professional aspiration toward neutrality and objectivity. At the same time, they will come away with a deeper understanding of the reasons it may at times be necessary and appropriate to set aside this aspiration. Such insights can help guide both reference interviews with students and acquisitions decisions.

Audience Engagement

We plan to engage our audience by considering timely and urgent questions that touch on the heart of our professional identity. We will also offer an opportunity for them to share their own insights and concerns in the discussion.

This listen and learn session focuses on strategies for curating/acquiring resources for the Hispanic/Latino program at your school. Biblioteca Digital Pitts will be presented as a case-study of becoming informed about the Latino and Latin American theologies; the role of language in determining content; assessment of the needs of the program; the librarian as a reviewer of materials; incorporating resources from different traditions; and selecting systems for content delivery.

Learning Outcome

The audience will learn to develop a strategy for identifying and assessing resources for their Hispanic/Latino programs.

Audience Engagement

There will be opportunity to ask questions and share stories with other members of the audience.

The St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (saet.ac.uk) is a free online reference work dedicated to widening access to theological scholarship. With more than 200 peer-reviewed articles already published, the Encyclopaedia is a readily available resource for students, academics, members of faith-based institutions, and interested laypeople. In this session, a member of the SAET editorial team will share some reflections on the opportunities and challenges involved in building an open-access theological encyclopaedia for the 21st century. How has the publication’s online format and open-access philosophy shaped its presentation, rights management, and information preservation strategies (including metadata and use of the Text Encoding Initiative)? As a multi-author reference work with hundreds of contributors, how are articles managed and organized? The Encyclopaedia’s integration into the scholarly informational ecosystem has been an important consideration as well. What are the advantages and drawbacks of the encyclopaedic format for discoverability and indexing? Feedback and suggestions from attendees concerning how the Encyclopaedia can most effectively connect with library users and systems will be warmly welcomed.

Learning Outcome



The presentation will tell the story of the St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology so far in a light-hearted and approachable way. The purpose of the session is not to give a tech demonstration or merely show a product, but instead to go deeper into the questions and considerations we’ve faced as an academic-led encyclopaedia project, inviting the perspective and expertise of the audience on the issues discussed.

As a part of the redesign of the Introduction to Theological Education course, BSK Theological Seminary pre- and post-tested students in the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 sections of the course using “Module 3: Research & Scholarship” from ACRL’s Threshold Achievement Test for Information Literacy (TATIL). The aim was primarily to get a sense of the Information Literacy competencies had upon entering (or early in their seminary careers) and to gauge development in a short timeline. This was a largely successful trial despite some mixed results and limitations. The results and conclusions of this study will aid the seminary to improve both Information Literacy Instruction (ILI) and program assessment. An overview of the testing process, high level testing results, and recommendations will be included in this session.

Learning Outcome

Assessment of ILI can be vague: a primary aim of this session to offer attendees a sense of the return on investment for this particular tool/set of instruments.
Secondary takeaways would be to get attendees to be motivated to imagine ways to assess ILI in their contexts and to consider what the timeline for this type of skill building might be.

Audience Engagement

Other than the standard Q and A time (as well as questions during the presentation) I would hope to include a limited amount of live polling to engage more than eyes and ears. Demonstrative slides and data visualization will be included. For better or worse, this is very much a “what we did, why we did it, and how it turned out” style proposal.

After the success of the first session of this type held in 2024, the Board again invites members to join them in this session to hear more about the work they do and how the Board operates. The panel of Board officers will give insight as to what is expected of those who serve on the Board and provide additional information for those interested in serving. Come prepared to ask the panelists your questions about Board work and the role and function the Board plays in the association.

Is your library prepared to lead in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI? In this cutting-edge session, we will explore our forthcoming ALA monograph, Claim the Center: Libraries, AI, and the Future of Learning and Work, to equip hearers with essential strategies that position libraries as central players in this technological transition. Drawing from our book, we'll explore how libraries can leverage AI to amplify their core values and mission, engaging at the edge of innovation while sustaining and enriching the work we have always done. Discover how the human-centered approach that has always characterized librarianship becomes even more critical in shaping an equitable and accessible future. We will examine practices that embody our five policy values of transparency, rigor, curiosity, inclusion, and play, activating the synergy of information literacy and AI implementation. This session empowers participants across library types and experience levels—from day-to-day practitioners to forward-thinking innovators and decision-makers—with the knowledge and framework needed to navigate the current AI landscape. Now is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for libraries and librarians to claim the center in our shared future.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:
1. Apply a framework for navigating the AI landscape that aligns libraries' core values with emerging technologies across diverse library settings.
2. Analyze the role of a human-centered approach in promoting equity and accessibility in AI integration within libraries.
3. Evaluate strategies for positioning libraries as central players in the AI-driven technological transition.

Audience Engagement

We plan to center AI-empowered research instruction, providing space for robust engagement (e.g., sharing participant experiences, tool exploration, etc.) Our program introduces an innovative approach by emphasizing the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy as foundational to AI literacy. This perspective bridges traditional library instructional values with cutting-edge technology and innovation. We present a fresh framework for navigating the AI landscape that aligns libraries' core values with emerging technologies across diverse settings. By reimagining information literacy for the AI age, we offer new methods for cultivating empathy in AI implementation and applying core policy values for ethical AI integration. Our human-centered approach to AI in libraries represents an innovative method for balancing technological advancement with human needs and values, ensuring that libraries remain central in shaping an AI-literate society. So, lots of room for discussion, debate, and sharing.

Would you like to improve your writing skills or find the time to write something for publication? Would you like to improve your confidence as a writer? Would you like to receive encouragement and learn key principles and practices to become a better writer? If you answer yes to these questions, then this workshop on writing is for you. In this interactive workshop, you will learn twelve practices and principles for becoming a successful writer. This workshop is based on a recent book I have found useful for becoming a successful writer: Christian Academic Writing: Twelve Practices and Principles for Becoming a Successful Writer by Benjamin L. Merkle and Adrianne Cheek Miles. This workshop is for both beginning and seasoned writers. Some of the key ideas covered in this workshop are: redeeming time for writing, writing myths, making writing a habit, writing for publication, beginning the journey to becoming a successful writer.

Learning Outcome

Attendees will learn principles and practices on becoming a successful writer that they can put in practice immediately.

Audience Engagement

I will summarize key ideas and invite audience participation through questions.

The recipients of Atla’s 2024 round of digitization grant funding will share their experiences digitizing and describing items from their special collections and archives. Attendees will not only learn more about these new digital collections that are newly available for research, teaching, and other uses but also hear about the successes and lessons learned through their projects. An overview of the Atla Digitization Grant program, which will open up again in the fall of 2025 for applications, will also be presented.

There will be time for questions about the grant program and how it supports the digitization efforts of Atla members as well as opportunities for conversation with grantees about their approaches to digitization projects.

Learning Outcome

Attendees will learn more about how to plan for and manage small digitization projects and how to apply for funding from Atla to support these projects.

Audience Engagement

There will be time for conversation and questions.

Theological education is rapidly changing, and our institutions are trying to respond to keep up. Library staff can either hunker down or become adaptive. This session will look at adaptive leadership. The presenter will also talk about identifying and developing skills within the library staff to help them to innovate and lead change instead of what some call "sabotaging change." We will also look at when resilience becomes a roadblock to change. There will be some time spent in discussion.

Learning Outcome

1. Participants will gain tips for mentoring their library staff.
2. Participants will learn to determine what changes are appropriate and how to begin to experiment.
3. Participants will brainstorm ways to keep them from becoming saboteurs of change.

Audience Engagement

There will be a discussion time when the participants will share and brainstorm ideas.

In 2021, the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary received a Lilly Grant to enhance the training of urban pastors. One objective was to create an open access special bibliography showcasing the scholarship of Ethnic/Minority authors in theology to support pastoral pedagogy. The Andrews Bibliography of Ethnic/Minority Scholarship in Theology (ABEST) uses a dedicated Koha library catalog platform to list academic publications by BIPOC authors who were faculty at ATS institutions (2022-23 academic year). The database links each record to library resources, databases, publisher, and/or WorldCat. Each entry is tagged to a broad curriculum taxonomy and simple subject terms.

In 2023, I received a faculty research grant from the Andrews University Office of Scholarly Research to develop a bibliography showcasing and archiving publications pertaining to the archaeological work sponsored by Andrews University at Hisban, Jordan. This year, we are developing a new Koha bibliography that will include not only entries for these publications, but also photographs, field notes, and other cultural objects from over fifty years of excavations. Entries for publications link to library resources, databases, publisher, and/or WorldCat. Non-print media link to the institutional repository.

The presentation will demonstrate the databases, discuss the reasons for choosing Koha, and share lessons learned on uploading content into the databases.

Learning Outcome

An innovative use of an open-source library catalog for showcasing specialist bibliographies that can be a work in progress indefinitely.

Audience Engagement

Live demo of databases, with time for questions and discussion.

The closing plenary address will be a hybrid event, available to all online and in-person conference registrants.

Cheer for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers Friday, June 20, 2025.

Tickets will be electronic and additional details forthcoming on how to receive them. Meet at 6:00 pm. Bus transportation will not be provided. The PNC Stadium is approximately 0.7miles — a 16-minute walk. The game starts at 6:40 pm. Seats will be located together.

PNC Park is located at 115 Federal Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

$47 per person includes admission to ballpark. Food and beverages may be purchased at the stadium.