A Word from the Editor

Welcome to the new issue of Theological Librarianship.

For all of us, the academic year of 2020–21 was stretching. The challenges that COVID brought about have been exhausting for many. While many of us already had some virtual components to our educational culture, COVID forced all of us to become virtual to various degrees. Many of us are ready to return to some normalcy in the 2021–22 academic year. As vaccines become more available and restrictions are lightened, it has become, for me, a time of reflection. As librarians, I hope that we are able to learn from a time like this. The content of this issue has provided a wonderful means of reflection for me.

I was greatly touched by Meyers’s work regarding the importance of linguistically diverse collections. As many of us are aware, diversity is a critical issue in many facets of society today—and rightly so! Meyers reminds us that diversity comes in many dimensions, including linguistic. Meyers’s work provides insightful and intriguing analysis regarding how librarians can play a role in advocating for the numerous facets of diversity.

Theological Librarianship has a student essay contest every year. We look forward to announcing our next student essay contest soon! This year’s winning essay was written by Allison Gammons. Gammons is currently a student at San Jose State University and will graduate in the Spring of 2022 with her Master of Library and Information Science degree. The subject matter of her essay is born out of an assignment she completed during her studies on “Information Communities.” Gammons also holds a master’s in religion from Bangor Theological Seminary, and her observations during seminary led her to investigate the information behaviors of religious leaders working for social justice. It was a privilege to read Gammons’s work, and I hope many of you take advantage of the insight Gammons offers in this work.

An ongoing question for many in relation to collection development relates to the best utilization of library funding. Wittig’s article offers some insightful analysis of citation trends and the interrelatedness of publications. In so doing, Wittig provides the reader with some insight regarding a means to acquire content. Wittig’s insightful analysis of the citation trends of the Journal of Early Christian Studies provides theological librarians with some ideas to consider.

Our book reviews provide an excellent analysis of books that discuss the intersection of librarianship and religious/theological studies and some fantastic reference works. Enjoy the reviews!

One of the reasons I serve as editor-in-chief of Theological Librarianship is because I enjoy learning. The content of this issue taught me so much regarding how to better serve students, faculty, staff, and other patrons who may not utilize the services libraries offer. This is not just referring to articles, but the books that we solicit for review are insightful works regarding how we can further the mission of our profession and our institutions. I have learned much from the content of this issue; I hope everyone takes advantage of the content to learn more through this issue about how they can best advocate for the profession.

Soli Deo gloria,

Garrett B. Trott

Editor-in-Chief