Atla
Atla produces trusted research tools for the study of religion and theology. If you are looking for bibliographic information or full-text collections of journal articles covering diverse topics and languages, our research tools are the place to start.
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Atla offers multiple ways to get your products and services into the hands of theological librarians around the world.
Atla is a membership association of librarians and information professionals, and a producer of research tools, committed to advancing the study of religion and theology.
Atla works to promote worldwide scholarly communication in religion and theology by advancing the work of libraries and related information providers.
Atla’s membership includes more than 800 individuals and libraries at academic institutions from diverse religious traditions and backgrounds.
Atla is governed by an elected board of directors, including four long-standing Board committees and one short-term committee all mandated by the Board’s Policy Manual.
Atla’s committees, councils, and task forces work to achieve Atla’s Mission and Organizational Ends. They are appointed by the Executive Director and are an integral part of the Association.
Date Recorded: July 01, 2020
In addition to the MDiv degree, granted after three years of graduate study, students at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, PA, can complete their requirements for the MA degree in Theology in their fourth and final year by writing a thesis paper. Several years ago, in an effort to ensure that the candidates were performing an acceptable level of research before beginning writing, academic administrators enjoined the librarian to supervise them during the fall semester of that fourth year, when their course load is lighter. The students now earn three credits for the research they do. Thus, without the framework of regular class meetings, the librarian had not only to advise each student individually on the best sources and research techniques suited to his subject, but to encourage the students to work consistently, without the structural benefits that traditional courses provide, in the hope that the students will produce academically satisfactory work. In this presentation, the librarian will relate the trial-and-error course he took to bring this enterprise to its current form, and share some of the methods that he uses to keep on top of all the students throughout their research journey.
Presented by James Humble, Library Director, Ryan Memorial Library, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.