Category: President’s Message

Message from the President, Fall 2024

Posted on by

Dear SEPTLA Members,

I hope this message finds you well.

I’m excited to announce that our upcoming Fall meeting will be held at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As we have become accustomed to, this will be a hybrid event, so you will be able to fully participate even if you are not able to make it to Bethlehem. Please see the meeting invitation for details and to register.

As always, the SEPTLA meeting is a wonderful opportunity for us to share knowledge, brainstorm innovations, and work to improve the future of our theological libraries. We hope to use the business meeting to understand how we can better serve your needs and enhance our collective mission. We will discuss what works and what doesn’t work in SEPTLA, and how we can reorganize to better function amid staff shortages, increased online education, and decreasing budgets at our member libraries.

There are a few committee positions open at this time, including Website Manager, Newsletter Editor, and a position on the Continuing Education Committee. If you would like to be appointed to one of these positions, please get in touch with the Executive Committee. Your involvement in SEPTLA is crucial to shaping the future direction of our organization, and your voice and service are greatly valued.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our shared goals. I look forward to seeing you all at Moravian, in person or virtually.

Warm regards,
Victoria Jesswein
SEPTLA President
United Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg PA
November 18, 2024

President’s Message, September 2017

Posted on by

The sun is now setting after a warm, sunny day in central Florida where I am attending a library conference. It is energizing to meet other librarians and hear about the work they are doing in their libraries. I usually return from a conference with a handful of ideas to explore, and a little sad that it may be many months before I remeet the librarians I connected with to share ideas again.

SEPTLA meetings are like other library conferences in that they are a great place to share ideas with fellow librarians, but they are also different. Unlike traveling to an exotic destination or world-class conference center, we meet regionally twice annually in one another’s libraries. We’re seeing SEPTLA libraries in action, first-hand. We’re building collaborative relationships across our libraries. We’re learning from each other and supporting one another in the work that we do as theological and religious studies librarians in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey on a regular basis.

Our upcoming Fall meeting at Lancaster Bible College continues this fifty-three-year tradition. The morning session will involve a group exercise in recognizing and sharing our wisdom and experience with one another so that we may begin building a resource network within SEPTLA. In the afternoon, both Interest Groups will be convening a joint session with Greg Murray to hear about Princeton’s digital archiving initiatives. We’ll also tour the new Teague Learning Commons at Lancaster Bible College.

As we continue exploring new ways to meet the needs of our members, SEPTLA remains committed to fostering collaboration and relationship building among theological and religious studies librarians in this region. These personal connections make SEPTLA special. You make SEPTLA unique.

We currently have several opportunities to get involved in this special and unique association. The Executive Committee is particularly looking for those interested in membership, continuing education, and archives. Are you feeling called to serve SEPTLA? If so, please reach out and let me know. There will also be an opportunity to volunteer during the business meeting.

I look forward to seeing you on October 4.

Myka Kennedy Stephens
SEPTLA President, 2016-2018

Download PDF version