








































Public Services


17

Public Services
David E. Schmersal, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Chair

MEMBERS PRESENT IN BALTIMORE

• Kaeley McMahan, Wake Forest University
• Jude Morrissey, Yale Divinity School
• Beth Perry, McAfee School of Theology
• Deanna Roberts, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
• David E. Schmersal, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• Caitlin Soma, Candler School of Theology
• Tisha Woo, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

MEMBERS PRESENT AT VIRTUAL MEETING

• Chris Anderson, Princeton Theological Seminary
• Daniel Baek, Vancouver School of Theology
• Jane Elder, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, 

Southern Methodist University
• Virginia Dearborn, Princeton Theological Seminary
• Steve Jamieson, Covenant Theological Seminary
• Juliana Morley, Biola University
• James Pakala, Covenant Theological Seminary (emeritus)
• Susanne Ridenour, St. Mary’s Seminary and University
• Leslie Starasta, Lincoln Christian University
• Patsy Yang, Gateway Seminary

ABSENT MEMBERS

• Suzanne Estelle-Holmer, Yale Divinity School Library
• Daniel Smith, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
• Jennifer Ulrich, Eastern Mennonite University
• Garrit Van Dyke, Brigham Young University



18    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

AGENDA AND DISCUSSION

1) Both meetings began with a welcome for new and return-
ing members and a brief description of the nature, focus, and 
activities of the group.

2) Atla LibGuide: Websites on Religion: https://atla.libguides.
com/WOR 
 
Since 2019, the Public Services Interest Group, in collabo-
ration with the World Religions Interest Group, has been 
collectively responsible for developing and maintaining the 
Websites on Religion LibGuide https://atla.libguides.com/
WOR. This entails collaborating with other members of Atla 
and the wider realm of religious and theological studies to 
update and expand content.  
 
Developing this guide to include curated, free, open-access 
online resources in religion and theology will be useful not 
only for librarians but also for alumni and others who do 
not have access to subscription databases. It is our hope that 
the development of this guide will serve as a catalyst for the 
creation of additional stand-alone guides that will facilitate 
exploring individual faith traditions, their history, and their 
sacred texts in greater depth.  
 
Anyone interested in participating in this projectmay contact 
Atla’s LibGuides system administrator Christine Fruin: 
cfruin@atla.com to request administrative access with edit-
ing privileges, and contact David Schmersal dschmersal@
austinseminary.edu for additional guidelines and to coordi-
nate areas of interest and responsibility.

3) Discussion  
 
In both the in-person and virtual meeting, all members of 
the group who were present introduced themselves and 
provided updates on their respective institutions. 

OTHER

The PSIG sponsored a session at the 2022 Atla conference: Out-
reach and Promotion to Distance and Online Learners: Lessons 
from a Pandemic, featuring three panelists: Deanna Roberts, New 

https://atla.libguides.com/WOR
https://atla.libguides.com/WOR
https://atla.libguides.com/WOR
https://atla.libguides.com/WOR


Interest Group Reports    19

Brunswick Theological Seminary; Patsy Yang, Gateway Seminary; 
and Jude Morrissey, Yale Divinity School. The session was moder-
ated by Elizabeth Young Miller, Moravian Theological Seminary.


