Committee Task Force - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion


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CRRA
COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• Mark Shelton, Chair, College of the Holy Cross (Feb 2024 – Jun 
2026)

• Caroline Fuchs, St. John’s University (Apr 2024 – Jun 2027)
• Kathy Harty, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology 

(Feb 2024 – Jun 2026)
• Jean McManus, University of Notre Dame (Feb 2024 – Jun 

2025)
• Dr. Brian Morin, Mount Angel Abbey (Feb 2024 – Jun 2027)
• Leslie O’Neill, Catholic Historical Research Center of the 

Archdiocese of Philadelphia (Feb 2024 – Jun 2026)
• Marianne Ryan, Loyola University Chicago (Feb 2024 – Jun 

2025)
• Gillian Harrison Cain, Staff Liaison

YEAR IN REVIEW

In October 2023, CRRA became a program of Atla and its members 
welcomed as Atla members. CRRA and Atla had a history of col-
laborating, including working on joint grant proposals, developing 
programming for ALA Annual conferences, cross-promoting pro-
fessional development events, and offering free or reduced regis-
tration to each other’s membership.

Increasingly, the stand-alone nature of CRRA had presented 
challenges in capacity, including in securing grant funding, mar-
keting CRRA resources, and recruiting new members to help sus-
tain its mission. As CRRA began to explore possibilities of working 
with a new strategic partner, Atla was a logical choice. Both organi-
zations have a strong history of providing theological resources to 
individuals, institutions, and scholars in the field of religious stud-
ies as well as professional development and networking opportu-
nities for librarians supporting the study of religion and theology.

A task force with members of both organizations was formed 
and developed a plan for CRRA to become a program within Atla, 
retaining a Catholic identity, offering Catholic-focused program-
ming and networking for libraries, archives, and other institu-



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tions; and ensuring the suite of scholarly resources developed by 
CRRA continues to be openly available.

In February 2024, the CRRA Program Committee met for the 
first time to begin their work together, advising Atla on matters 
related to existing CRRA projects as well as helping to develop a 
strong community within Atla that is ready to explore new oppor-
tunities together. This committee also directs the work of various 
sub-committees focused on specific aspects of the CRRA Program.

The committee met monthly throughout the remaining months 
of FY24, with an in-person meeting held prior to Atla Annual 2024 
in June. Several members of the committee presented a program at 
conference entitled “CRRA: The Past, the Present, and the Future” 
outlining the history of the two organizations, the work of coming 
together, and expressing the potential of the program.Several of 
the committee members enrolled in the “Critical Information Lit-
eracy” class through the Library Juice Academy in July 2024. They 
hope to bring the information learned to their work in the com-
mittee.