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Presbyterian and Reformed
James C. Pakala

PRESENT

• James Pakala, Covenant Theological Seminary, Convener
• Margaret Alkema, Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary 
• Daniel Baek, Vancouver School of Theology
• Steve Crocco, Yale University
• Arnel Z. Faller, Silliman University
• Dan Flores, Western Theological Seminary
• Steve Jamieson, Covenant Theological Seminary
• Denise Pakala, Covenant Theological Seminary
• Christopher Richardson, Union Presbyterian Seminary
• Deanna Roberts, Union Theolgical – NYC at Columbia 

University
• Dora Rowe, Union Presbyterian Seminary
• Michelle Spomer, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• Sharon Taylor, retired; librarian and archivist at home 

congregation of Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh

ABSENT WITH NOTICE BUT PROVIDING AN INSTITUTIONAL 
NEWS REPORT VIA EMAIL

• Patrick Milas (New Brunswick Theological Seminary)

We met Thursday, June 13, 2019, from 5:00-6:00 pm in the Junior 
Ballroom C at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre in Vancouver, BC.  
Jim Pakala chaired the meeting and Margaret Alkema took minutes. 

James Pakala welcomed all who were present, either because they 
work at a Presbyterian or Reformed seminary or because they are 
committed to the Presbyterian/Reformed church and faith, and then 
opened the discussion by asking who makes decisions about physical 
space at the libraries where members work. For example, who decides 
what artwork will be hung, how storage space will be used, etc.?

Western Theological Seminary in Michigan has some say over what 



Denominational Group Meetings  33

is currently in the library space, but the building maintenance depart-
ment controls items that are in shared spaces.  Pittsburgh Theologi-
cal Seminary completed a renovation and Michelle Spomer had lots 
of input in the design, construction, etc.  She anticipates having input 
into any future changes that need to be made. There is much empty 
wall space and she said that they are thinking about this creatively, 
such as the possibility of a resident artist, etc.  Christopher Richard-
son (Union Presbyterian) noted that at times committees make these 
decisions at Union.  Steve Crocco (Yale) says there is a “wall commit-
tee” and while there have been many meetings, only two pieces of 
artwork are installed!

Members present who are currently not on the Presbyterian and 
Reformed denominational email discussion list were encouraged to 
sign up personally via the Atla members website. Please contact an 
Atla staff member to be added to the email list. The list is very inac-
tive, so your email inbox will not overflow as a result.

All present were asked to provide a brief update on their institution 
or other professional activities they have been involved with. 

Christopher Richardson, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Christopher was the ATS Self-study coordinator and the staff members 
in the library have also been busy with ATS work.  The library installed 
compact shelving via someone who finds used shelving and installs it. 
Feel free to contact Christopher for more information. Union is also 
updating its website.

Dora Rowe, Union Presbyterian Seminary
The library received a grant to improve its makerspace. The library 
also offers many child-friendly resources (e.g., Lego), and this allows 
parents to study while their children are suitably and safely occupied. 
They have a podcasting studio set up now and can film Powerpoint 
presentations, etc.  Some nice features are a large prompting screen. 
They have also a glass cutter. 

Daniel Baek, Vancouver School of Theology
Daniel is the only librarian there and works with a library assistant, 
who is currently on sick leave. The enrollment has gone up to about 
80 FTE.  Daniel is looking at increasing the ebook collection. 

Arnel Z. Faller, Silliman University 



34  ANNUAL YEARBOOK

This was Arnel’s first time attending the denominational meeting. 
He noted that the institution he is employed at has historic ties to 
the Presbyterian Church.

Dan Flores, Western Theological Seminary
Beardslee Library has now become the Cook Library. Cook Library is 
housed in a new building with less space than the previous location. 
A new addition to the library space is the café on the first floor.  Dan is 
the new director and has been on the job in this role for approximately 
30 days. The library staff are also looking at increasing their digital 
presence and foreign language resources.

Sharon Taylor is not currently employed at a library connected to an 
educational institution. She is the librarian at Shadyside Presbyterian 
Church and has been working many hours on the library and on the 
archives, which are being found in many nooks and crannies of the 
building. The problem is that the church has no space for the archives 
but some interesting items have been found, such as a collection of 
poetry by Milton. The church has never had a professional librarian 
before and Sharon is trying to renew the book collection.

Steve Crocco is here personally as a Presbyterian, but not repre-
senting a Presbyterian or Reformed seminary. He reported that Yale 
has a large endowment fund with a subject restriction, which Yale 
cannot spend because the funds are so large that there are not enough 
resources in that subject area to spend the money. Yale is continuing 
with its petition to the state to change the restrictions on the fund.  
Steve also reported that a staff member encountered an older patron 
in the library, and after striking up a conversation, the staff member 
realized that the patron had materials of significant interest for the 
library. All present were reminded to take an interest in all patrons 
and not to underestimate who might walk through the doors.

Deanna Roberts, Union Theological – NYC at Columbia University
Deanna is working on a getting an MLIS and determining how to be 
a librarian while maintaining ordination status in the Presbyterian 
Church (USA). There are still issues surrounding the amalgama-
tion issues of Burke Library within Columbia University. Burke staff 



Denominational Group Meetings  35

serve Union Theological Seminary as well as patrons from the Jewish 
Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary, and of course 
Columbia University. They have just hired a sixth professional staff 
member to deal with the many patrons in their busy library.

Michelle Spomer, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The library has moved into its new library space and hosted a grand 
opening. There are some minor problems such as photocopiers not 
fitting into the niches built for them, but other than similarly minor 
and/or annoying issues, the library space is greatly appreciated. The 
special collections are not back in the building yet because the HVAC 
system for the special collections area is not working. The record-
ing and media room can also be used to listen to media in the library. 
Patrons can record themselves for homiletics courses and other 
community uses. Another interesting item to note is that the new 
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary library has office and space built 
for an archivist, but the institution is not willing to hire an archivist. 
The year the library opened, the school also changed to the semester 
system and made changes to the curriculum, so changes were plen-
tiful in one academic year. The school is also looking into replacing 
the server for Sierra because it is aging. All options are on the table, 
including changing the library’s ILS. 

Patrick Milas, New Brunswick Theological Seminary 
Patrick was not present, but reported the following via email:

It has been an incredible year at the Sage Library. Since 
the last institutional report, there have been several staff 
transitions. Rev. James Brumm (Reformed) is the new 
Archivist. Dr. Patrick Milas (Episcopal) is the new Director 
of the Library. Mr. Gerone Lockhart (Reformed) is the new 
Collection Services Librarian. Ms. Laura Giacobbe (Roman 
Catholic) is the new Public Services Librarian. A new half-
time position, Library Associate for Collection Services, has 
just been advertised. Please direct any interested parties 
to: http://www.nbts.edu/employment-at-nbts/. Review of 
applications will begin July 1, 2019. 

Sage Library celebrates several accomplishments, 
including: an updated online catalog, updated print serials 



36  ANNUAL YEARBOOK

program, a new Faculty and Alumni Monographs Book 
Reading/Signing series, a new monthly thematic book 
display program, an updated social media campaign, and 
new video tutorials about library services. Sage Library 
partnered with the NBTS Archives and members of the 
Reformed Church in America to host “The Dutch in Two 
Worlds Revisited: a Rare Books and Manuscripts Exhibition.” 

Next year, NBTS Library staff will serve the Southeastern 
Pennsylvania Theological Library Association (SEPTLA) 
as officers—Patrick Milas (President) and Laura Giacobbe 
(Secretary). Two Reformed seminaries may host the next 
SEPLTA meetings, including Westminster Theological 
Seminary and NBTS.

James Pakala, Covenant Theological Seminary
James reported that Denise Pakala is retiring this summer on June 
30th. She will continue to volunteer for special projects at the library 
and share her skills with the library. Libraries in some other states 
besides Missouri have joined or are interested in joining the MOBIUS 
consortium, so it continues to grow. Innovative’s Sierra and their 
INNReach system constitute the platform and courier service speeds 
sharing resources among over a half-dozen states. MOBIUS and Colo-
rado’s Prospector consortium also have a special relationship and 
means of sharing.

Margaret Alkema, Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary
Margaret reported that the school had its largest ever enrollment of 
25 students. The seminary is also preparing for a spring ATS visit 
and Margaret is coordinating the self-study process. Since she is a 
solo librarian, this is taking up some of the time otherwise devoted 
to library projects.


