









































Committee Reports  3

Conference
By Paul Tippey, Chair

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

 • Paul Tippey, Chair

 • Cindy Aalders—2019 Local Host Committee Representative 

 • Robert Burgess

 • Erica Durham—2017 Local Host Committee Representative

 • Shaneé  Yvette Murrain

 •  Robert Roethemeyer—2018 Local Host Committee  
Representative

 • Matthew Thiesen

 • Rebecca Yowler

 • Miranda Bennett—Proceedings Editor in Chief, Editor-in-Chief

	 •	 Gillian	Harrison	Cain,	ex-officio

 • Denise McFarlin, staff liaison

The committee was charged with developing the program for the 2018 
ATLA Annual Conference and met October 17–20, 2017 at the confer-
ence hotel, the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Indiana. Working from 
rubric-based evaluations of the many wonderful proposals submit-
ted by ATLA members and friends, the committee selected a variety 
of sessions that illustrated the conference theme, Connections at the 
Crossroads: Creative Collaboration in a Changing Landscape; advanced 
ATLA core values and strategic goals; and promised to inform and 
delight conference participants. 

With the help of Denise McFarlin’s legendary assortment of colored 
sticky notes, the committee assembled an impressive draft schedule, 
which	they	and	ATLA	staff	refined	over	the	next	few	months.

The committee’s hard work paid off in June, when over 300 confer-
ence attendees were treated to a strong program of engaging, educa-
tional sessions, as well as inspiring keynote presentations. The 



4  ANNUAL YEARBOOK

conference began with Timothy Beal, Florence Harkness Professor of 
Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Case West-
ern Reserve University on Thursday, followed on Friday by Stephanie 
Crumpton, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, McCormick Theo-
logical Seminary, and closed with David C. Lewis, Dean of the IUPUI 
University Library on Saturday.

We had a record number of attendees for the stellar pre-conference 
sessions, which provided additional learning opportunities. Sessions 
were presented by PALNI OCLC, the Stone-Campbell Denominational 
Group, the Wabash Center, ATLA Publishing Program, and the Special 
Collections Interest Group. New this year was a THATCamp, which held 
“unconference sessions” that were decided by the participants.

The work of the 2017–18 Conference Committee concluded with the 
close of the Indianapolis conference after a brief review of the imple-
mentation of all conference activities. The committee then turned its 
thoughts and the meeting to begin conversations about the 2019 confer-
ence in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 

Get your passports ready to join us in Vancouver, at the Sheraton 
Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, June 12–15, 2019.

[Front, left to right] Rebecca Yowler, Cindy Aalders, [Back, left to right] Robert Burgess, 
Matthew Thiesen, Miranda Bennett, Erica Durham, Robert Roethemeyer, [Not pictured] 
Paul Tippey, Shaneé Yvette Murrain


	Preface
	Committee reports
	Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
	Conference
	Endowment
	Professional Development

	Task Forcereports
	International Theological Librarian Education
	Scholarly Communication

	Interest Group Reports
	Public Services
	Small Libraries 
	Special Collections 
	Technical Services 
	World Religions 

	denominational Group reports
	Anabaptist Mennonite
	Anglican/Episcopal
	Baptist
	Campbell-Stone
	Lutheran 
	Methodist
	Orthodox
	Presbyterian and Reformed Librarians
	Roman Catholic

	memorials
	Officers of ATLA (1947–2018)
	ATLA Organizational Directory (2017–2018)
	ATLA Member Directory (2017–2018)
	historical Annual conferences
	AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS OF AMERICAN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
	2017 ATS Library Statistics

