








































Roman Catholic


57

Roman Catholic 
David Kriegh, Saint Mary’s College of California, Convener
Kathy Harty, Sacred Heart Seminary & School of Theology, Secretary

MEMBERS PRESENT

• Anthony Amodeo, Retired
• Jessica Boyer, Mount St. Mary’s University
• Clay-Edward Dixon, Graduate Theological Union
• Connor Flatz, St. Joseph’s Seminary
• Stephanie Garrett, Catholic International University
• Kathy Harty, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology
• Barnaby Hughes, Atla
• Alexander Justice, Loyola Marymount University
• Br. Andrew Kosmowski, SM, North American Center for 

Marianist Studies
• Alan Krieger, University of Notre Dame
• David Kriegh, Saint Mary’s College of California
• Brian Morin, Mt. Angel Abbey
• Ann Owen, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology
• Steve Perisho, Seattle Pacific University
• Derek Rieckens, Baker & Taylor
• Stephen Sweeney, St. John Vianney Seminary

MEMBERS ABSENT

• Fr. John Martin Ruiz, OP, Dominican Theological Library 

YEAR IN REVIEW

A wonderful time was had by all of our in-person attendees at the 
annual conference in Long Beach, culminating in our traditional 
denominational dinner held at Solita Tacos and Margaritas, an 
event so large we had to make two reservations! With all of that 
socializing out of the way, we were more than ready to conduct our 
business meeting on the following Tuesday, June 25. With much 
old business to unpack, following up on these projects was the 



58    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

main focus of the meeting. We kicked things off with some quick 
introductions, including the sharing of the books we were reading. 
Regular features of the meeting include a recap of presentations 
at the conference by members of our group and an update from 
our friends at the Catholic Library Association. The recent inte-
gration of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance into the Atla 
family of products and services dominated the conversation, with 
an interest in adjusting our previous conversations about devel-
oping LibGuides of Catholic content into a more comprehensive 
partnership. Two matters of old business around the defunct Ori-
gins and problematic L’Osservatore Romano appear to have run 
their course. Meanwhile, conversations around collaborative col-
lections have shifted into exploring new tools that may be more ef-
fective than GreenGlass to provide insights to similar type libraries 
as to how they can support one another. Finally, prior to the closing 
prayer, we reported to the group on the successes and challenges 
our libraries face. We remain resilient and committed to connect-
ing the populations we serve through access to quality resources. 

AGENDA

1. Opening prayer by David Kriegh
2. Welcome and Introductions 
3. Old Business 

a. Presentation Roundup
• Stephen Sweeney, Kathy Harty, Dyan Barbeau, 

Stephanie Garrett, Brian Morin, David Kriegh all 
presented at this year’s conference.

b. CRRA integration into Atla (was LibGuide Project)
• CRRA has come under the umbrella of Atla, which 

has agreed to keep those resources freely and openly 
available.

• In addition to the Catholic Portal and the Newspaper 
Archive, the subject guides created by Ted Bergfelt at 
Duquesne University will be maintained. There is a 
need to update some of the information in those.

• Additionally, there is still a place for a “Catholi-
cism 101” guide within the Atla LibGuides, which is 
where this group may best be able to contribute. The 



Denominational Group Reports    59

RC LibGuide Suggested Sources spreadsheet created 
last year may be a good starting place.

• Regarding the Newspaper Archive, what about 
resources from religious congregations? They may 
have materials that would be excellent prospects 
for digitization, but would need assistance with the 
process. Contacting Jean McManus might be helpful, 
as she had dealt with this.

c. Core Print Analysis
• This may be a fading need for the group. However, 

several members are either investigating or using 
Choreo from OCLC to analyze their collections.

• This may be a fruitful topic for a presentation next 
year.

d. Catholic Library Association Update (presented by Br. 
Andrew Kosmowski)

• The spring conference was in April, held virtually. 
CLA is planning two webinars for continuing educa-
tion.

• Sometime in October, Dr. Leslie Farmer will present 
on AI in schools, and a second webinar on Eastern 
European libraries is being planned.

• Finally, the Catholic Library World will be full-text 
in the Atla databases once contract negotiations are 
completed. 

e. Origins
• The publication seems to be well and truly defunct, 

and mourned by all. 
f. l’Osservatore Romano

• Some members have been having difficulties in 
receiving their English-language issues, most likely 
due to changes in U.S. distributors.  If anyone has 
back issues they would like to contribute, Barnaby 
Hughes will be happy to receive them for indexing.

4. New Business
• There was no new business raised.

5. Closing Prayer was offered by David Kriegh following the 



60    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

Round Robin Reports. 

ROUND ROBIN REPORTS

Saint Mary’s College of California - David Kriegh is the Head of 
Collection Management, and will be adding Theology to his port-
folio of subjects. There have been budget cuts, but they expect to 
weather this well.

Graduate Theological Union - Is losing the Episcopalian school 
because it is moving entirely online. This loss in revenue and re-
sources has impacted their collection development, particularly in 
periodical standing orders.

North American Center for Marianist Studies - Has had a slight 
increase in their budget. Br. Andrew will be training several mem-
bers from overseas in the basics of cataloging. If anyone has sug-
gestions or materials for training, please contact him.

University of Notre Dame - The library is reorganizing its staff-
ing and is moving to a collection strategy featuring annual pur-
chases of large interdisciplinary ebook packages from a variety of 
publishers. Alan Krieger will become more involved with resource 
vendor communications as well as continuing his role in ‘back-
end’ collection development through selection of individual titles 
in both print and electronic formats. The university also has a new 
president, Rev. Robert A. Dowd, CSC. 

Seattle Pacific University - Is undergoing drastic budget cuts, re-
sulting in losing at least 40% of their faculty, and it may be a strug-
gle to survive in the long haul. On a positive note, the seminary 
dean has shown an interest in the Catholic tradition of praying.

Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology - Enrollment is 
steady. An interim rector has been appointed for one year until the 
new permanent rector is ready to serve. The library is getting new, 
low-E windows with UV protection, after years of requests.

St. Joseph’s Seminary - Is preparing for its ATS accreditation visit. 
The library lost one employee, by transfer to another department, 
but is expected to be able to replace the position. The propaedeutic 
and discipleship stage students have been moved to the seminary 
campus, as well as the supporting library collections. Connor has 



Denominational Group Reports    61

been busy integrating philosophy collections into the main collec-
tion.

Mt. Angel Abbey - The integration of the propaedeutic students 
has gone well. They will have a new rector, Rev. Jeff Eirvin, begin-
ning in August. The head of technical services is retiring, and the 
seminary is paying for the archivist to complete her MLS to take 
on the position. A search for a new archivist will be forthcoming. 
There are plans to do some remodeling, particularly the computer 
area, and architects are being consulted. 

Mount St. Mary’s Emmitsburg - The library migrated to ExLibris’ 
Alma/Primo/Rapido in January and has been very well pleased with 
the system. They have been working on several grant-funded proj-
ects: a 10K NEH grant to support the preservation of the rare book 
collection, as well as two rounds of funding from ALA’s Libraries 
Transforming Communities grants totaling 30K. These funds are 
being used for capital building improvements: new furniture and 
improving accessibility.

Catholic International University - Just went live with its new 
name, changed from Catholic Distance University. They are offer-
ing several new degrees, with subsequent budget doubling to sup-
port the programs. They are looking for a bilingual librarian who 
can also do writing support.

Loyola Marymount University -  There is a new dean of the Liberal 
Arts college, and the school is gradually updating and remodeling 
the campus. The adjunct professors have voted to unionize. The 
digital special collections “display” changes monthly - check it out!

Atla - Natalie Whitaker has been hired as the new membership 
coordinator for Atla. Barnaby’s webinar article on Catholic Church 
documents will be published shortly in the Catholic Library World.

Catholic Theological Union - An update was provided by Derek 
Rieckens, since he started his new position with Baker & Taylor 
only in the last couple of months. The staff has been reduced to 
three, and the weeding of the collection continues, with at least a 
sixth gone. 

Tony Amodeo - Has been weeding his personal collection, and is 
looking for places he can contribute them. Members suggested 
checking out Better World Books, Windows Booksellers, and the 
Theological Book Network.


