Anglican and Episcopal
Members Present
- T. Patrick Milas, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
- Alison Poage, Seminary of the Southwest
- Romulus Stefanut, University of the South
- Joseph Thompson, Virginia Theological Seminary
- Vincent Williams, Virginia Theological Seminary
Members Absent
- Susanah Hanson, Trinity School for Ministry (Excused)
Agenda
Members of the Anglican and Episcopal Denominational Group met via Zoom on July 10 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Patrick Milas called for nominations for the role of convener. Milas was encouraged to continue serving as convener. He affirmed that he would continue.
Atla Annual Review: Our Anglican and Episcopal Denominational Group sponsored one of the two sessions of morning worship at the conference. On Friday, June 20, we were welcomed by the Rev. Canon Dr. Mary Jayne Ledgerwood, Canon of Administration at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh, PA. Susanah Wilson and Patrick Milas distributed orders of service and pamphlets about the beautiful stained-glass windows in the cathedral. Although we planned for morning prayer in the chapel, due to the number of attendees (32) we held our service in the main sanctuary following the Book of Common Prayer, Rite II, using the appointed readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We were grateful to Trinity Cathedral for allowing us to join and lead them in morning prayer. Our worship in the Anglican tradition continues to draw solid participation, despite the early hour it requires. The group concurred it was premature to plan for Atla Annual 2026 worship when the conference location is forthcoming. Most folks thought evening prayer instead of morning prayer could attract greater participation.
Round Robin Reports
Romulus Stefanut, University of the South: At Sewanee, we are in the midst of dissertation writing and editing. Next week we have a debate camp, called Summa. AI will be a main topic. Stefanut is leading a seminar. School starts in a month.
Joseph Thompson and Vincent Williams, Virginia Theological Seminary: We recently had doctoral intensives through July 4. We are preparing for new student orientation for VTS and General Seminary. We sent a Librarian in Residence to Manhattan. In terms of staff transitions, we hired a new Discovery Librarian, Jenna Paterson, former FTC Law Librarian. There is a new Library Admin Assistant, Bianca Farmer, a LIS student at Catholic University interested in Archives. We took many materials from GTS when their library physically closed. About 7,500 rare books will be integrated in Payne Library. The GTS rare books have allowed for more rare books displays and classes. Vincent has been doing great work with Open Stack and reported that Payne services the GTS students virtually and offers shipping. There is a greater focus on ebooks purchasing and Vincent welcomes conversations on online library services. Joe Thompson is the new Library Director. He is a Professor of Practical Theology with a background in research and teaching African American studies and English. He was previously the Archivist for the African American Methodist Episcopal collection at Payne.
Alison Poage, Harrison Library, Seminary of the Southwest: This summer the Harrison Library was closed for several weeks for interior acoustic treatments. The staff is working to catch up on several projects, including cataloging, going through archival material recently received from the Communications Department, and the digitization of photographic negatives. In June, Marlon Patterson, Access Services Librarian, attended Atla Annual in Pittsburgh in person, and Duane Carter, Assistant Library Director, and Alison attended online. We are in our second year of operating on the ILS Koha hosted by Bywater Solutions, and it is going well. We share a catalog with the Wright Center at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. We learned last week that Harold H. Booher passed away on June 23. A funeral will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church in Austin on July 18. Harold was the Librarian (also teaching New Testament) from 1967 to 2000, when he retired with his wife, Pat Booher (she passed in November 2019). The Rev. Leyla King, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of West Texas, has a new book called Daughters of Palestine: A Memoir in Five Generations. Be sure to read the note of thanks to Dr. Romulus Stefanut for his digitization work! It is always great to hear how the work of a librarian can help people share their stories.
T. Patrick Milas, New Brunswick Theological Seminary: This year is the Gardner A. Sage Library’s 150th anniversary. Patrick is planning various ways to celebrate, including the 150th Anniversary Gala that will be held on October 24. We launch our capital campaign next week and already have a major donation that will endow a book fund dedicated to the subject headings related to social justice, a cornerstone of our Seminary curriculum. The Book Fund is established in memory of Graham Taylor (1851-1938), a graduate of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary and a leader in social justice Christianity. Taylor was a major figure in the Social Gospel and settlement house movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Throughout his career he combined religious leadership with practical efforts towards social justice, cooperation and inclusion. The Social Justice Book Fund aims to sustain Taylor’s vision, and to inspire future generations of religious practitioners to work for a more just and inclusive society. Unfortunately, our Technical Services Librarian position was eliminated due to budget cuts. Fortunately, Christina Geuther is now Technical Services Librarian at Drew University. Indira Douglas, our Access Services and Reference Coordinator, has been rapidly learning and excelling in cataloging.
Susanah Hanson, Trinity School for Ministry: Last summer, Trinity changed the name of the seminary to Trinity Anglican Seminary. The name change came with an increased emphasis on being one community (residential, online, and hybrid). The library has been working to streamline our collections into one cohesive collection. The reference section has been largely eliminated and integrated into the main circulating collection. With this streamlining has come some much-needed pruning of the collection. The library is also working to provide e-resources for all required class texts.
Open Forum
Episcopal Publication and Resource Sharing: Alison Poage shared that if anyone needs to free up space, they are open to accepting materials. Seminary of the Southwest has available shelf space. They bought more books than ebooks last year due to comparative cost.
Diocesan Journals: Vincent Williams shared that he went through the diocesan journals from the GTS collection. VTS now has an even more robust collection, adding 25% from the GTS collection. Alison Poage said that Ben King has an assignment requiring research in a diocesan journal. Hathi Trust has a lot digitized as well. Vincent added that VTS has a spreadsheet of digitized items and could partner on a LibGuide for those materials. Romulus Stefanut also expressed interest and said that if there are duplicate journals, the National Archives may receive them, too.
Atla Values: Romulus Stefanut invited feedback on the Atla Values.
Core values of the association:
- Excellence in library collections and services
- Widest possible access to relevant information and ideas
- Hospitality, inclusion, and diversity
- Collegiality and collaboration
- Creativity, innovation, and transformation
Members shared how they found the values rather generic. Vincent Williams and Romulus Stefanut offered to give feedback on the EBSCO Atla databases offline.