








































Scholarly Communication & Digital Initiatives 


11

Scholarly Communication & Digital 
Initiatives
Matthew Davis, Davidson College, Chair

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• Melissa Chim, General Theological Seminary
• Melody Diehl Detar, Duquesne University
• Ann McShane, Emory University, Chandler School of Theology
• Greg Murray, Princeton Theological Seminary
• Brad Ost, Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center
• Erica Pye, Abilene Christian University
• Christine Fruin, Staff Liaison
• Christy Karpinski, Staff Liaison

YEAR IN REVIEW

It was the year of grants for this newly expanded Scholarly Com-
munication & Digital Initiatives Committee. The expansion allowed 
for greater reach into digital initiatives with the addition of an Atla 
staff liaison (Christy Karpinski), and four new members (Ann Mc-
Shane, Greg Murray, Brad Ost, and Erica Pye). 

The committee led the review and awarding of both the Open 
Educational Resources (OER) and Digitization grants. The commit-
tee successfully reviewed and awarded an OER grant to General 
Theological Seminary this year. Their OER, Living Archives: A His-
tory of the Center for Christian Spirituality, was recently posted 
to the Books@Atla Open Press site for hosting. Melissa Chim also 
presented “Creating an OER Textbook at the General Theological 
Seminary: Recipient of the Atla OER Invention Grant” at the Atla 
2022 Annual Conference. There’s a third round of OER applica-
tions, which are due at the end of August 2022.

With the partnership of the committee, OER was the focus of the 
ACRL Virtual Roadshow Workshop, a webinar titled “Creating and 
Implementing Open Educational Resources,” and an Atla 2022 An-

https://www.atla.com/about/scholarly-communication-committee/
https://www.atla.com/about/scholarly-communication-committee/
https://www.atla.com/member-benefits/atla-oer-grant-program/
https://www.atla.com/member-benefits/atla-oer-grant-program/
https://www.atla.com/member-benefits/digitization-grant-program/
https://www.atla.com/blog/open-educational-resource-on-spiritual-direction/
https://books.atla.com/atlapress/catalog/book/95
https://books.atla.com/atlapress/catalog/book/95
https://books.atla.com
https://atlaannual2022.sched.com/event/10a1y/creating-an-oer-textbook-at-the-general-theological-seminary-recipient-of-the-atla-oer-invention-grant
https://atlaannual2022.sched.com/event/10a1y/creating-an-oer-textbook-at-the-general-theological-seminary-recipient-of-the-atla-oer-invention-grant
https://www.atla.com/event/atla-acrl-virtual-oer-roadshow-workshop/
https://www.atla.com/webinar/creating-and-implementing-open-educational-resources/
https://www.atla.com/webinar/creating-and-implementing-open-educational-resources/


12    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

nual Conference panel titled “Supporting the Creation and Imple-
mentation of OERs in Religion and Theology.”

With the expansion of the committee, we were able to dedi-
cate time to review and award a new Atla Digitization Grant. Four 
grants were awarded in its inaugural round, totaling over $13,000! 
The collections that are covered under these four grants explore 
resources from around the globe: topics include   Resources for the 
Study of Protestantism in Puerto Rico, Digitization of the Ecumeni-
cal Press Service, The Last Leg: Digital Upload and Description of 
the Mary Bray Spence Collection of Crosses and Religious Symbols, 
and Emma Beckingsale: An Extraordinary Missionary. “Upon com-
pletion of work in 2023, the metadata for these collections will be 
added to the Atla Digital Library to promote discoverability and 
accessibility.”

In addition to the two grant programs and OER initiatives, the 
committee helped facilitate the Wikidata Religion & Theology Com-
munity of Practice and updated the Digital Humanities in Religious 
Studies and Institutional Repositories LibGuides.

Two committee members will end their terms this year. Thank 
you to Melody Diehl Detar and Matthew Davis for your service to 
the committee these past years.

https://atlaannual2022.sched.com/event/10N8l/supporting-the-creation-and-implementation-of-oers-in-religion-and-theology
https://atlaannual2022.sched.com/event/10N8l/supporting-the-creation-and-implementation-of-oers-in-religion-and-theology
https://www.atla.com/member-benefits/digitization-grant-program/
https://www.atla.com/blog/atla-awards-digitization-grants/
https://www.atla.com/blog/atla-awards-digitization-grants/
https://dl.atla.com/
https://www.atla.com/blog/atla-awards-digitization-grants/
https://www.atla.com/blog/atla-awards-digitization-grants/
https://www.atla.com/webinar/wikidata-religion-theology-community-of-practice-conversation-group/
https://www.atla.com/webinar/wikidata-religion-theology-community-of-practice-conversation-group/
https://atla.libguides.com/digitalhumanities
https://atla.libguides.com/digitalhumanities
https://atla.libguides.com/IR

