Public Services

David E. Schmersal, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Chair

Members Present in Baltimore

  • Kaeley McMahan, Wake Forest University
  • Jude Morrissey, Yale Divinity School
  • Beth Perry, McAfee School of Theology
  • Deanna Roberts, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
  • David E. Schmersal, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
  • Caitlin Soma, Candler School of Theology
  • Tisha Woo, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Members Present at Virtual Meeting

  • Chris Anderson, Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Daniel Baek, Vancouver School of Theology
  • Jane Elder, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
  • Virginia Dearborn, Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Steve Jamieson, Covenant Theological Seminary
  • Juliana Morley, Biola University
  • James Pakala, Covenant Theological Seminary (emeritus)
  • Susanne Ridenour, St. Mary’s Seminary and University
  • Leslie Starasta, Lincoln Christian University
  • Patsy Yang, Gateway Seminary

Absent Members

  • Suzanne Estelle-Holmer, Yale Divinity School Library
  • Daniel Smith, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
  • Jennifer Ulrich, Eastern Mennonite University
  • Garrit Van Dyke, Brigham Young University

Agenda and Discussion

  1. Both meetings began with a welcome for new and returning members and a brief description of the nature, focus, and activities of the group.
  2. Atla LibGuide: Websites on Religion: https://atla.libguides.com/WOR
    • Since 2019, the Public Services Interest Group, in collaboration with the World Religions Interest Group, has been collectively responsible for developing and maintaining the Websites on Religion LibGuide https://atla.libguides.com/WOR. This entails collaborating with other members of Atla and the wider realm of religious and theological studies to update and expand content.
    • Developing this guide to include curated, free, open-access online resources in religion and theology will be useful not only for librarians but also for alumni and others who do not have access to subscription databases. It is our hope that the development of this guide will serve as a catalyst for the creation of additional stand-alone guides that will facilitate exploring individual faith traditions, their history, and their sacred texts in greater depth.
    • Anyone interested in participating in this projectmay contact Atla’s LibGuides system administrator Christine Fruin: cfruin@atla.com to request administrative access with editing privileges, and contact David Schmersal dschmersal@austinseminary.edu for additional guidelines and to coordinate areas of interest and responsibility.
  3. Discussion
    • In both the in-person and virtual meeting, all members of the group who were present introduced themselves and provided updates on their respective institutions.

Other

The PSIG sponsored a session at the 2022 Atla conference: Outreach and Promotion to Distance and Online Learners: Lessons from a Pandemic, featuring three panelists: Deanna Roberts, New Brunswick Theological Seminary; Patsy Yang, Gateway Seminary; and Jude Morrissey, Yale Divinity School. The session was moderated by Elizabeth Young Miller, Moravian Theological Seminary.