On April 25, our Spring Meeting will be held at Cairn University in Langhorne. The Continuing Education committee is preparing a program with topics of direct interest and practical use to many of our member libraries. I look forward to seeing you there, either in person or online. As always, the biannual meetings provide a unique opportunity in the region to gather with fellow theological librarians for mutual support and interesting conversations within a welcoming and collegial community. Please see the meeting invitation for details.

Please note that we have multiple leadership opportunities opening up within SEPTLA, all of which will be voted on at the Spring Meeting:

• President (one-year term)
• Secretary (one-year term)
• Treasurer (four-year term)

Nominations and self-nominations are equally welcome. I highly recommend volunteering, or accepting a nomination, for one of these roles, which include serving on the Executive Committee. Such service to SEPTLA is not only worthwhile and gratifying but also an excellent way to gain practical committee experience and gain leadership skills that will be beneficial for the remainder of your career.

Note in particular that serving as president doesn’t require previous service on Executive Committee. Ample support is built in to the SEPTLA leadership structure,  including the fact that the outgoing president serves in the official capacity of past president, thereby providing assistance, guidance and institutional memory along with the rest of the Executive Committee.

This issue of TeamWork is my last as president of SEPTLA. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve the SEPTLA community in this capacity for the last two years.

With all best wishes,
Greg

Gregory Murray
Princeton Theological Seminary
April 13, 2023

You Are Invited

SEPTLA Spring Meeting 2023

Tuesday, April 25

Cairn University (in person and virtual)

Please see the full meeting invitation for details.

Business Meeting Minutes

SEPTLA Fall Meeting 2022
November 11, 2022
Wright Library, Princeton Theological Seminary

The meeting was called to order at 2:47 by Greg Murray (Princeton Th. Seminary), SEPTLA president.

Approval of minutes from Spring 2022 business meeting

One correction was made online. Motion to approve minutes as distributed and amended passed by acclamation.

Treasurer’s Report

Greg reported on behalf of Deanna Roberts (New Brunswick Th. Seminary), SEPTLA treasurer. The previous treasurer has been removed from the SEPTLA accounts. Patrick Milas (New Brunswick Th. Seminary), SEPTLA past president, is already on the accounts. Greg and Deanna have been added to the accounts. Balances: Money Market $8,798.73, Checking $3,766.07

Deanna has created an online ledger – a Google spreadsheet in the SEPTLA Google Drive – which will preserve the data digitally and make it searchable. Currently the data goes through April 2018; subsequent time period still to be added.

Committee Reports

Continuing Education Committee: Victoria Jesswein (United Lutheran Seminary) and James Humble (St. Charles Borromeo Seminary) reported on behalf of Evelyn Frangakis (Princeton Th. Seminary), chair of the Continuing Education Committee. Jim thanked his colleagues for a great job. There is still one vacancy on the committee. The bylaws call for three members plus the chair. Victoria asked everyone to consider topics for future meetings and provide suggestions to the committee. This question is also on the post-event survey that Patrick will send out.

Communications Committee: No updates at this time.

Task Force Reports

Jim reminded everyone that there is a task force to digitize the SEPTLA paper archives. Jim, who is SEPTLA archivist, is chairing, and Greg has offered to help. Other volunteers are welcome. Work on this project has not yet begun.

Interest Group Reports

Cataloging and Metadata Interest Group: Report given by Vic Broberg (Reformed Episcopal Seminary), chair. The group discussed serials, including how to best use funds based on use, etc. Publisher embargos for online titles; would rather get print and online (to bypass embargo) instead of paying for unused popular magazines. Difficulties with reporting for statistics which don’t match up with what’s requested.

Research Services Interest Group: Patrick reported on behalf of Deanna Roberts, chair. The group reaffirmed Deanna as chair. Ongoing project in Virtual Reference, with Sep-Oct-Nov 2023 as potential trial of VR software LibraryH3lp.

Institutional Updates

Greg called attention to the need for written updates from member libraries. Please send to Greg or to Sarah Danser (Princeton Th. Seminary), SEPTLA secretary. This will ensure accuracy of your institutional update.

United Lutheran Seminary: Victoria Jesswein: United Lutheran Seminary has had many staff changes. We have just hired a new Public Services Librarian at the Philadelphia campus. At the same time, our longtime Cataloging Librarian has retired. The Temporary Processing Archivist at the Philadelphia campus has been there over 3 months now is handling the task of tackling that largely unprocessed collection admirably. The Library Director position is being finalized and will be posted soon. In the meantime, Robert Flynn is serving as Interim Library Administrator. Cody Swisher (Librarian) and Victoria Jesswein (Archivist) remain the staff at the Gettysburg Campus and are helped by student workers.

Missio Seminary: Shaelagh Martin: At Missio Seminary, many classes have remained online, although professors are encouraged to offer hybrid sessions. As a result, the library is increasingly focusing on connecting remotely with students. Although fall enrollment numbers were encouraging, the seminary is under financial strain and all departments, including the library, have been asked to make significant budgets cuts.

St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary: Brian Cardell: St. Tikhon's library once again has a full-time librarian as of Jan. 2022. We are open normally for in-person visits 0830-1630 M-F, and other times by prior arrangement. Access to the OPAC can be gained externally through a link on the seminary's web page. ILL is available only for SEPTLA-network institutions, and requires direct communication with us.

Westminster Theological Seminary: Bob McInnes: Experiencing budget problems. While our online enrollment is increasing, our on-campus enrollment is decreasing. This is problematic for the library, as on-campus students pay fees that online students do not pay, and these fees go toward financing library operations.

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College: Alan LaPayover: Enrollment steady. Almost completely back in person, a few holdouts. Still virtual classes on Mondays, on campus Tue-Thu. Staffing changes throughout college. Self-study portion of Middle States accreditation is beginning. Final implementation of new curriculum. Next year first real cohort of students doing fieldwork away from the college. VP of Academic Affairs just finished 1st year and reaffirmed commitment to library and raising its profile; good working relationship. Completed early summer implementation of OpenAthens – seamless and pleased with EBSCO’s participation in helping them through that. Has begun looking into switch from SirsiDynix to WMS. Contract with SirsiDynix finished in 2 more years – very expensive. Already using pieces of OCLC for other things – might be best choice for them, but asked for advice from other members on WMS.

Reformed Episcopal Seminary: Vic Broberg: Approved by ATS and PA Dept. of Ed. to not only offer classes online, but approval to continue to offer online. Now offering two MA programs online only; MDiv prefer one year be residential. Brings in students from different locations, and helps with enrollment numbers. Students are excited.

Princeton Theological Seminary: Report by Greg with help from Virginia Dearborn on behalf of Evelyn Frangakis: PTS announced a new incoming president: Jonathan Walton, a two-time alumnus of PTS (MDiv and PhD) and former member of Board of Trustees. He starts at beginning of calendar year. He will be the first African American and first non-Presbyterian president. Starting 2 new programs: MA in Theology and Ecology, and MA in Theology (Justice and Public Life). Center for Barth Studies recently celebrated 25 years. PTS starting overall website redesign (last redesign was 2016), migration to new platform and including library website. We’ve been using CraftCMS – a niche platform, hard to find developers to support. Coming soon: tighter integration between Sierra catalog and Summon discovery system.

New Brunswick Theological Seminary: Patrick Milas: Library is home to Reformed Church in America archives. Seeking an archivist; position is open another five days, but search going well. Going to get a dumbwaiter again; has been broken for 4 years. Looking forward to 150th anniversary in 2025. Got out of offsite storage. Migrated LMS (Brightspace), SIS (Campus Cafe), upgraded ILS to latest version of TLC. Until August, library was open only to NBTS community, had ~50 users in a month. September hit 500, now 200+ per week – Rutgers undergrads using library for study space. Services geared toward seminary students, but “inundated” with Rutgers students because surrounded. Crowding out the population that will use the resources. Rutgers had largest freshman class in history.

Cairn University: Stephanie Kaceli: Cairn University went live on FOLIO hosted by EBSCO on June 28, 2022. Things are going well. We are in the midst of implementing RapidILL which will complement our RESHARE implementation in June 2021. In addition, the final phase of the library renovation was completed this fall. Our usage has been up over 300% compared to FA18.

Clarks Summit University: Sharon Gardoski:

• The Murphy Memorial Library at Clarks Summit University is back to full operations and activities on campus. It is good to see more students using the library again. We have begun working on the Middle States Self-Study process.
• This year we began promoting our newly created Murphy Memorial LibGuide to assist students in finding and using library resources. We are also updating our Staff LibGuide with detailed procedures for all tasks. We started using student Team Leaders to train new student staff and manage some library projects.
• This fall, we added Business Source Premier to our library databases to support the growing business program, and we made the transition from self-hosted EZproxy to hosted. This not only makes it easier for students to access databases off campus, but it also provides support from outside our school and takes that burden off our IT department.
• Pastors and professors donated quality commentaries, Bibles, and theology books to our library which we sold at a fall book sale. Alumni, pastors, and students were thrilled to get inexpensive resources for their ministries, donors were pleased that their books will be used, and sale proceeds will be used to purchase new books and ebooks for the library.
• Ongoing projects include identifying outdated books for discarding, copying chapel messages from the 1980s from cassettes to mp3, and making our students’ dissertations discoverable in the online catalog.

Conclusion

Greg thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 3:35.

Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Danser

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

January 11, 2023 11 a.m.

Attendees: Evelyn Frangakis, Christina Geuther, Greg Murray, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Patrick Milas, Vic Broberg, Jim Humble, Sarah Danser and Myka Kennedy Stephens

Greg called the meeting to order at 11:05 a.m.

Approval of Minutes from last meeting

Deferred due to the minutes not having been distributed yet.

Fall Meeting

Patrick shared the results of the fall 2022 survey. There were 9 responses.

A comment in the survey suggested asking Presbyterian Historical Society to join SEPTLA; Greg noted that he had already reached out to PHS recently, but they declined to join SEPTLA at this time.

Sarah suggested comparing the results of surveys from recent years.

Jim offered to document the surveys for the archives. Patrick will share the data accordingly.

Greg thanked the Continuing Education committee for their efforts putting together the program and inviting Michelle Wu.

The committee discussed the results of the survey, including the free-text comments, particularly the comments about the open discussion of CDL that followed Michelle Wu’s presentation.

Positions

Greg: We now have a vacancy for Treasurer; the E.C. appoints an interim person for Treasurer. Think about it for our next meeting.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 11:59 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
T. Patrick Milas

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

February 9, 2023 11 a.m.

Attendees: Vic Broberg, Patrick Milas, Evelyn Frangakis, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Greg Murray, Jim Humble, and Sarah Danser.

Absent: Christina Geuther

Greg called the meeting to order at 11:04 a.m.

Approval of Minutes from last two meetings

Minutes of the 9/19/22 meeting were approved as distributed and amended.

Approval of minutes of the 1/11/23 meeting is postponed until the next meeting.

Letter re. Fall Meeting discussion of CDL

The E.C. discussed how minutes for meetings that address sensitive topics may best be handled. Ideas included redacting minutes, a separate record of discussion, and retaining a copy of the letter drafted. Greg wondered if we should consider changing the long-standing practice of including Exec Comm minutes in the newsletter. Patrick asked whether this practice is required by the bylaws. Greg later checked and found that indeed the inclusion of Exec Comm minutes in the newsletter is specified in the bylaws.

Greg suggested Patrick draft the separate record of discussion to go to the Google drive or archive. Patrick agreed.

For public minutes Patrick will indicate the EC discussed the survey feedback further.

Vacancy for Treasurer

Greg asked if we should have an interim between now and the spring meeting? Patrick said that we should be able to carry on without a treasurer for now.

Vacancy for additional member of Continuing Education Committee

The bylaws call for a chair and three members. We have a chairperson, Evelyn, and two members (not including James Humble as member-at-large). Greg pointed out that another member will be welcome. Nominations can come from Continuing Education or the E.C.

Letter re. Fall Meeting discussion of CDL (continued)

Greg introduced the topic that we have two letters. Patrick asked that the first letter draft be scrapped in favor of Greg’s. Myka who was not present asked not to sign. Evelyn asked about whether a different draft could garner approval of the E.C. as a whole.

Patrick asked about taking the matter back to the general membership. Greg thought people who wanted to add should have done so in the survey response.

Folks thought a vote by the majority would suffice for the E.C. to send the letter.

Vic thought a Bylaws change about panelists could be better. Greg pointed out that such a change would require a vote by the general membership.

Greg was hesitant to call for a vote until a fresh version of a letter is ready. Greg will prepare a Google document to carry this matter forward. And plan to have an E.C. meeting to vote on, especially for those who were present.

Host for Spring Meeting

Greg: let’s all consider a host. We can send a note to the mailing list. Thanks go to Vic for looking into Reformed Episcopal hosting.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
T. Patrick Milas

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

February 28, 2023 11 a.m.

Attendees: Vic Broberg, Patrick Milas, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Greg Murray, Jim Humble, and Sarah Danser

Absent: Christina Geuther and Evelyn Frangakis

Greg called the meeting to order at 11:04 a.m.

Approval of Minutes from from Jan. 11 Exec Comm meeting

Revised minutes were presented and approved.

Approval of Minutes from Feb. 9 Exec Comm meeting

Revised minutes were presented and approved.

Letter re. Fall Meeting discussion of CDL

The EC collaborated to finalize the letter’s language. The motion to send the letter passed.

Possible host for Spring Meeting: Cairn

Greg reported that Stephanie from Cairn has offered to host. He will follow up about possible dates.

Program for Spring Meeting

Greg reported that he forwarded comments from the fall meeting survey re. program ideas to Evelyn. Jim Humble reported the Continuing Education Committee has not met since the last E.C. meeting.

Slack channel for Exec. Comm.

Greg noted low use of #executive-committee Slack channel and asked for clarity on its intentions. Myka said that any SEPTLA member can see any of the channels, so there’s nothing confidential in the setup. If confidentiality is a concern, the setup can be adjusted. It was decided to keep the Executive Committee channel open for communication from all members. It was also decided to forgo use of an E.C. Business (E.C. members only) channel in Slack.

Website update

Greg requested that the Officers page be updated to show vacancies for Treasurer and Research Services IG Chair. Myka made the update during the meeting.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 11:59 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
T. Patrick Milas

To borrow a line from a Led Zeppelin song, “Leaves are falling all around; it’s time I was on my way” — to the SEPTLA Fall Meeting, that is. Like our successful spring event, this season’s meeting will have a hybrid format, taking place simultaneously over Zoom and in person at Princeton Theological Seminary on Thursday, November 10. Please see the invitation in this newsletter for the schedule and RSVP link. The morning’s program will focus on a timely and interesting topic: controlled digital lending, or CDL. We will hear from Michelle Wu, a pioneer of the legal theory behind CDL, and from librarians at Princeton Seminary who are implementing CDL as a means of expanding access to the general collection. The program will include an open discussion among attendees. For those who are new to this topic or would like a refresher, some resources are listed below.

For those attending in person, lunch will be provided. In the afternoon, Christine Fruin, Scholarly Communication and Digital Initiatives Manager at Atla, will present an update on Atla resources and happenings. We will also hold meetings of our interest groups, conduct the biannual business meeting, and offer a tour of Wright Library.

I look forward to seeing SEPTLA stalwarts and newcomers alike, whether in person or virtually, at the upcoming Fall Meeting. A brief selection of resources on CDL follows.

This site, by a group of prominent proponents of CDL, includes a white paper, a position statement, and a FAQ:
Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries

A seminal article by Michelle Wu, and two follow-up pieces in light of relevant court decisions:
Building a Collaborative Digital Collection: A Necessary Evolution in Libraries
Collaborative Academic Library Digital Collections Post- Cambridge University Press, HathiTrust and Google Decisions on Fair Use
Revisiting Controlled Digital Lending Post-ReDigi

One practical application of CDL is for ILL:
Statement on Using Controlled Digital Lending as a Mechanism for Interlibrary Loan
Boston Library Consortium: Resource Sharing Services (scroll down to “Controlled Digital Lending”)

The Scholarly Kitchen has offered some thoughts on CDL in library systems:
The Library Technology Market’s Failure to Support Controlled Digital Lending

A NISO working group is developing guidelines for practical implementations of CDL:
Interoperable System of Controlled Digital Lending

Regards,
Greg

Gregory Murray
Director of Digital Initiatives
Theodore Sedgwick Wright Library
Princeton Theological Seminary

Princeton, New Jersey
October 24, 2022

You Are Invited

SEPTLA Fall Meeting 2022

Thursday, November 10

Princeton Theological Seminary, in person and online

Schedule

• 10:00-10:30 Refreshments
• 10:30-10:40 Welcome and introductions
• 10:40-12:40 Program: Controlled Digital Lending
  • Featured speaker: Michelle Wu
  • See president’s message in fall newsletter for program description and resources
• 12:40-1:20 Lunch (gratis)
• 1:20-2:00 Atla update
  • Presenter: Christine Fruin of Atla
• 2:00-2:30 Interest Group meetings
  • Cataloging and Metadata Interest Group
  • Research Services Interest Group
• 2:30-2:40 Break
• 2:40-3:15 Business meeting
• 3:15-3:45 Tour of Wright Library

Please RSVP online by Tuesday, November 1 if attending in person, or by Monday, November 7 if attending virtually. If needed, you can update your response after submitting it, but if you change your status from virtual to on-site after November 1, please email gregory.murray@ptsem.edu and be aware that lunch might not be available.

Online attendees will receive the Zoom link via email the day before the event.

On-site attendees should park in the lot next to the library. Use “25 Library Place” as the address for GPS. From Library Place, turn onto Armstrong Place; at the stop sign, turn right into the parking lot. The meeting will be held in the Theron Assembly Room. Enter the library building through the front entrance; turn left and proceed to the Theron Room straight ahead. There you can pick up a parking pass for the day.

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

April 6, 2022 10am
Attendees: Greg Murray, Virginia Dearborn, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Patrick Milas
Absent: Evan Boyd, Deacon Vic Broberg; Excused: Evelyn Frangakis, James Humble

Greg called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.

Patrick returned from paternity leave and will resume taking minutes. Thanks to Virginia for taking the minutes while Patrick was away.

Approval of Minutes from March 4, 2022

Minutes from the committee’s March meeting were approved as distributed.

Spring Meeting Planning

Evelyn Frangakis wrote that Lae’l Hughes-Watkins has confirmed she will be a guest speaker. They have confirmed for 1-3PM. Greg proposed having the Business Meeting in the morning. Myka explained that a later speaker would extend the day’s timeline. Some folks would be stuck in traffic.

The speaker offered to mediate a Q and A in hybrid format. Folks were not sure if that would be ideal. Myka offers a smartboard with linked PC. The screen and camera can face all participants. The large lecture room (30-50 people) has been reserved. Social distancing is possible. There are audio pods to enhance speaking.

Myka said that regarding RSVPs, there will be 10 people in person, 4 people will be online, 5 said not sure. 11 member libraries will attend, constituting a majority for the Business Meeting.

LTS staff are organizing gourmet doughnuts in the morning, and for lunch a tray of sandwiches, salad, fruits, cookies/brownies and drinks. The caterer should be able to accommodate last-minute changes. Myka asked if larger or smaller is preferred. Greg and Patrick were in favor of using a larger room.

During interest groups, the library’s conference room will be available for one group. Myka offers a laptop for the Metadata group. Greg encouraged Zoom breakout rooms for the interest groups. Myka will send the Zoom link to registrants only, not the list-serv.

The estimate for food/drink is about $300. The SEPTLA Treasurer Evan Boyd will issue a check.

Virginia asked if windows could be opened during lunch. That won’t be possible, but tables will be set up to facilitate social distancing. The Zoom meeting can be left on for virtual participants.

Greg asked what the Business Meeting should include. Myka said IGs meet first. At Business Meeting, there will be institutional reports and reports from committees, interest groups, and a task force on digitizing the archives of SEPTLA.

Greg has prepared the newsletter, but is waiting to clarify the schedule to finalize it and distribute it.

Elections

Greg mentioned that secretary and president positions are up for election. Virginia nominated Greg for President for re-election. Greg accepted. Virginia will be considering whether to continue as Secretary. Deanna Roberts of NBTS plans to step forward for Chair of Research Services Interest Group. We will accept volunteers/nominations for Newsletter Editor. Greg will allow for ample time for folks to feel motivated to contribute.

Meeting adjourned at 11:04.

Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Milas

SEPTLA Business Meeting

April 25, 2022, Lancaster Theological Seminary and Zoom

Attendees: Clint Banz (Lancaster Bible College), Sarah Danser (Princeton), Virginia Dearborn (Princeton), Evelyn Frangakis (Princeton), Nicholas Friesner (Princeton), Christina Geuther (New Brunswick), Melvin Hartwick (Princeton), James Humble (Saint Charles Borromeo), Victoria Jesswein (United Lutheran), Myka Kennedy Stephens (Lancaster Th. Seminary), Alan LaPayover (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College), Shaelagh Martin (Missio), Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke (Lancaster Th. Seminary), Robert McInnes (Westminster), Patrick Milas (New Brunswick), Greg Murray (Princeton), Lydia Putnam (Missio), Deanna Roberts (New Brunswick), Elizabeth Young Miller (Moravian)

Excused: Evan Boyd (United Lutheran), Vic Broberg (Reformed Episcopal)

Greg called the meeting to order at 11:10am.

Elections and Appointments

Continuing Education Committee Chair – Since our last meeting, Evelyn Frangakis of Princeton Theological Seminary has accepted the appointment of the Executive Committee. Greg thanked her for doing so.

Secretary – Greg thanked Virginia for serving the remainder of a term and invited nominations from the floor. Sarah was nominated and elected for a one year term.

President – Greg invited nominations from the floor and indicated he was willing to serve another term. Greg was nominated and elected for another one year term.

Newsletter Editor – Due to a staff departure, the Newsletter Editor role has been vacant. As Greg and Virginia have both filled the role in the past and Myka continues as Website Manager, the Executive Committee decided to wait until after the Spring meeting to select a new appointee. Christina Geuther of New Brunswick Theological Seminary expressed willingness to serve and Greg thanked her. The Executive Committee will vote on the appointment at their next meeting.

Reports

Treasurer and Committee Reports

Treasurer – Evan was unable to join us for the Spring meeting, but Greg shared a report Evan had given the Executive Committee earlier in 2022. There have been two charges, Atla annual meeting scholarships and the SEPTLA website fees, and the accounts are in good standing.

Communications Committee – Myka asked everyone to keep their library information in the Member Libraries section and in the Google doc up-to-date.

Continuing Education Committee – This committee has been reconstituted with the help of Jim. Greg thanked Jim and Evelyn, and Evelyn thanked Jim, Christina and Victoria for their work thus far. She reported that there is good momentum going.

Interest Group Reports

Research Services Interest Group – Deanna Roberts reported that she offered to chair the group, that Patrick gave an overview of past topics of discussion and then everyone shared pandemic and “post-”pandemic services at their libraries. Services included meeting students in non-library spaces (such as the cafeteria), chat reference, implementing single sign-on (SSO) and starting a TikTok.

Cataloging & Metadata Interest Group – Interest group chair Deacon Vic Broberg was unable to attend the meeting, but Greg reported that the group did introductions and shared with each other what’s happening at their institutions.

Archives Task Force – Jim reported that as SEPTLA Archivist he has all of the paper archival materials for SEPTLA. He is leading a task force to determine what to digitize and how to accomplish the digitization.

Institutional Reports

Myka recommended having just one person report for each institution present, since several libraries had multiple members present.

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College – Hybrid model for instruction with Monday classes all virtual and the other days of the week have both in-person and virtual components. Switching to OpenAthens for authentication later this spring.

Moravian University and Moravian Theological Seminary – Similar hybrid model as RRC. New carpeting coming mid-May, so shifting some shelving and materials.

Westminster Theological Seminary – Bob McInnes reported on the latest developments from WTS—namely that he has been working on the archival processing of the Harvie Conn manuscript collection.  Harvie Conn was a WTS alumnus, and later served as an OPC missionary in South Korea from 1960 to 1972.  During his time in Korea, he taught at a Presbyterian seminary, and a considerable amount of the materials in his collection is written or printed in Korean.  After his tenure as a missionary, Conn taught at WTS from 1972 to 1999, primarily in apologetics and missions.  Conn died of cancer in 1999.  The archival processing for this collection should be complete by the end of this summer.

Princeton Theological Seminary – Wright Library reopened to the public on March 14, 2022. Interlibrary loan is up and running as normal, Special Collections and Archives is also open but requires an appointment. Seminary has a new strategic plan and the library has been asked to increase access and “digital humanities.” Since our last meeting, Lydia Andeskie has moved into the Archivist position, and last fall the library was named for the first African American graduate (1828) of the Seminary, Theodore Sedgwick Wright, a pastor and prominent abolitionist in the 19th century.

Lancaster Theological Seminary – LTS is combining with Moravian (official as of July 2021). This summer, Moravian will start establishing a learning center in the library; it is meant to serve all students across institutional boundaries. New learning center will result in the loss of some exhibit space on the first floor. The lower level of the library will remain a quiet study space. Staffing has been challenging. Myka is grateful to Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke for helping as Library Associate for Circulation, Archives, and Outreach.

Lancaster Bible College – Even though the new president arrived 2 years ago, he is just now being installed due to pandemic delays. All undergraduate degree areas are getting ramped up to be offered online at the graduate level. There are about 35 new programs, and courses are being reworked from a 15-week model to an 8-week model. There’s been no increase in staffing yet. The library has migrated from Voyager to WMS and expanded its Springshare products to include LibGuides, LibAnswers, LibChat and LibCalendar.

St Charles Borromeo Seminary – SCS property near Gwynedd Mercy has been purchased. Separating materials into more-used and less-important categories, including statuary, trying to keep as much of the collection as possible. The “plan” is to move in by Fall 2024.

Missio Seminary – The previous library director moved away and Shaelagh stepped into the position about a month ago. Courses are staying online through the end of Spring 2022 and will be hybrid in the fall pending whatever protocols the City of Philadelphia implements.

New Brunswick Theological Seminary – New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NBTS) recently successfully completed self-studies and site visits for both the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools. NBTS has contracted with a recruiting agency to hire the next director of admissions/recruitment. The faculty began a search process for a new tenure-track New Testament professor. With two new theological librarians, there is already new expertise afoot at Sage Library! Deanna Roberts, MDiv, MILS, is the Access Services & Reference Librarian. Christina Geuther, MDiv, MLIS, is the Technical Services Librarian & Archivist. Library staff are collaborating to evaluate the collection. The first project – evaluating the Christian education curriculum collection – is complete. Materials that are to be retained, but are still classified in the Pettee system, will be reclassified to Library of Congress call numbers and subject headings. New collections emerging out of this process are Faculty Publications, New Books, and Miniatures. The Seminary Archives is exploring ways to migrate its electronic records from an MS Access database into a new system to facilitate ingesting records and discovery processes. Access services piloted a “Scan and Send” service in the spring semester that has been popular. Sage reopened to alumni in December 2021, and looks forward to reopening to the public and SEPTLA affiliates on June 1, 2022. So come and see us! New changes are coming down the pike at Sage as we work to enhance our collections and improve access in this new, pandemic-influenced, normal.

Other Business

Sarah asked for resources and knowledge in the group regarding supporting libraries and archives in Ukraine.

Vanessa Lovelace, Associate Dean, Assoc. Prof. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary, welcomed us.

The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12:15pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Virginia Dearborn,
SEPTLA Secretary

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

June 23, 2022 1 p.m.

Attendees: Sarah Danser, Deanna Roberts, Christina Geuther, Greg Murray, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Patrick Milas, James Humble, Vic Broberg, and Evelyn Frangakis

Greg called the meeting to order at 1:06 p.m.

Approval of Minutes from April 6, 2022

Minutes from the committee’s April meeting were approved as distributed.

Approval of Minutes from Spring Meeting

Minutes from the spring meeting were approved and can be voted upon at the next general meeting of the membership.

Appointment of Newsletter Editor

Greg welcomed Newsletter Editor Christina Geuther to the Executive Committee. Christina is the Technical Services Librarian and Archivist at the Sage Library. Myka updated the website to reflect the new appointment.

Treasurer Vacancy and Election

Evan Boyd has vacated his role as Treasurer as he prepares to accept a new position at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The Committee expressed gratitude for his years of service to SEPTLA.

Evan has signed the check to reimburse Lancaster for the SEPTLA meeting based upon receipts provided by Myka. Patrick will direct the check to LTS in the near future. Since Sage Library attended Atla in person, Evan transferred the Treasurer’s files to them for safekeeping until a new Treasurer may be appointed. Thanks go to Deanna Roberts for transporting them back to NJ.

Greg opened the floor for discussion of electing a Treasurer. Patrick discussed the duties of the office of Treasurer. The E.C. planned to take up the issue at a subsequent meeting, but Jim asked further about the status of the accounts. Greg opened the floor for volunteers. Deanna Roberts, Access Services and Reference Librarian at the Sage Library, volunteered. Greg affirmed the nomination. Myka wondered if it was fitting since Deanna is serving NYATLA in a similar role. Patrick suggested it may be advantageous to have such recent experience. Greg moved to appoint Deanna as Treasurer to serve the remainder of Evan’s term (through spring 2023). Deanna was fully elected by affirmation.

Survey Results Review and Discussion

Patrick provided an overview of the results of the Spring 2022 SEPTLA Meeting at Lancaster Theological Seminary. It was noted that in SurveyMonkey it is difficult to export reports/data. Sarah and Myka suggested using Google Forms instead in the future. Evelyn asked if the Continuing Education committee could receive the specific comments. Patrick or Greg will forward.

Observations included: the hybrid meeting format sounds promising for the future; interest groups break out rooms could have been smoother with 2 Zoom accounts; the Presbyterian Historical Society could be a potential new SEPTLA member.

Other Business

Deanna Roberts reported that the Research Services Interest Group is in the process of setting up a trial for collaborative virtual reference. Conversations with Princeton and Missio are ongoing. Deanna plans to send a Doodle poll. This could be a neat opportunity for someone interested in librarianship. Student staff participation is welcome and encouraged.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 1:53 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Milas

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

July 26, 2022 2 p.m.

Attendees: Sarah Danser, Deanna Roberts, Christina Geuther, Greg Murray, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Patrick Milas, Vic Broberg, and Evelyn Frangakis

Excused: James Humble

Greg called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m.

Approval of Minutes from June 23, 2022

Minutes from the committee’s June meeting were approved with corrections.

Fall Meeting

Greg called for thoughts about meeting format. Hearing none, Greg proposed using a hybrid format. Greg showed a list of recent hosts. How do we petition hosts? Greg asked. Patrick mentioned the business meetings could solicit the next host, but there have typically been volunteers. Deacon Vic expressed interest on behalf of Reformed Episcopal Seminary, but noted ADA issues prevent full accessibility. Patrick offered to contact Westminster Seminary who expressed interest in hosting in 2019-2020.

Greg asked about program ideas. Evelyn plans to convene Continuing Education committee after this E.C. meeting. Decolonizing the catalog seems to be a relevant topic of broad interest. Deanna suggested viewing the Change the Subject documentary w/a structured convo after. Deanna voiced that Sage Library is only just beginning to consider how to decolonize its catalog.

Patrick wondered if the detailed survey results had been shared; Greg has shared detailed comments with Eveyln. Patrick read aloud a few of the ideas from the spring 2022 meeting, including:

1. The future of open access in theological education;
2. Library services assessment tools and methods;
3. Disaster planning, security and safety plans;
4. How CDL affects ILL practices/expectations;
5. library computer systems (what computer system does each SEPTLA institutional member use?); and,
6. Balancing print/digital collections given the changed expectations/habits of patrons post-COVID shutdowns.

Deanna mentioned that virtual reference work is underway. She thought all members could benefit from virtual reference discussion. Greg said other programming could address digitizing the SEPTLA archive. Greg noted that both of these topics fall under the category of “new initiatives” and suggested that time could be allocated in the schedule of the Fall Meeting for introducing and discussing these topics in a manner that wouldn’t cut into the time for the main program.

Other Business

There was concern about how to subscribe to the mailing list on the SEPTLA website not being immediately apparent, but it was determined there is a tile and link on the homepage.

We will plan to meet again in August, schedules permitting.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Milas

SEPTLA Executive Committee Meeting

September 19, 2022 11 a.m.

Attendees: Sarah Danser, Deanna Roberts, Christina Geuther, Greg Murray, Myka Kennedy Stephens, Patrick Milas, Vic Broberg, and Evelyn Frangakis

Excused: Christina Geuther and Myka Kennedy Stephens

Greg called the meeting to order at 11:04 a.m.

Approval of Minutes from July 26, 2022

Minutes from the committee’s July meeting were approved as distributed.

Fall Meeting

The Continuing Education committee has met. Chair Evelyn Frangakis shared that Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) is the topic of greatest interest. Greg Murray (tech), Jeremy Wallace (content), Michelle Wu (legal expert from Virginia) was one of the legal minds behind CDL at IA. She has met with PTS administrators and impressed them with its promise for the future. And we will have Chip say a few words if we can manage, since CDL was a dream of his.

Several discussion directions/questions were offered: How to justify participation? What are the benefits? How to know if it would meet our needs? Greg and Evelyn mentioned OpenLibrary and how CDL interfaces with ILL. Deanna Roberts also shared info on Boston Library Consortium’s CDL initiatives: https://blc.org/page/resourcesharingservices.

Greg mentioned that folks who have hosted recently would not be expected to host. Princeton would be willing to host. Greg mentioned that a Philadelphia-based library could be more convenient for all. Deanna mentioned that the host should be able to host the technology of a hybrid meeting.

There was affirmation that the membership should be polled for interested hosts. Unless there is prompt and read interest from another member, Princeton Seminary will plan to host.

The dates will depend on speaker’s and host’s availability.

Other Business

Greg observed that the reciprocal borrowing document is overdue for review and reapproval. Virtual reference and digitization of SEPTLA archive may be relevant to include in an upcoming program.

Deanna responded that virtual reference chat was discussed by those interested. Deanna has prepared some drafts of supporting documents, including: a form for adding staff expertise to a comprehensive reference expertise list and guidance for training virtual reference staff. Patrick mentioned a proposal from the RSIG to the general membership to increase participation and facilitate cost discussions. Deanna to prepare an infographic and presentation.

Greg proposed adding it to the business meeting agenda.

Treasurer’s update

Digital records for checks from the 1990s. Deanna is preparing a version of the ledger.

Bank account signatories and the archivist should have access to the “digital treasury”.

Do we need to keep bank documents from the 1990s? 7 years is the standard. Patrick proposed adding records retention to the bylaws.

Greg suggested preparing a banker’s box of documents to shred, and facilitating digital votes on some matters.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 11:59 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Patrick Milas