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Exploring Theological Librarianship
Insights from the Next Generation
Jessica Boyer, Director of the Library, Mount St. Mary’s University 
Andy Lofthus, Information Services Librarian, Western Seminary
Elizabeth Miller, Coordinator of Digital Initiatives, Pitts Theology Library, 
Emory University 
Emily Peterson, Director of Public Services, Columbia Theological Seminary

ABSTR ACT:  This panel featured four individuals who, despite being 
relatively young, each have meaningful experiences in the field of 
theological education and libraries. The panelists reflected on their 
diverse pathways to theological librarianship and delved into the 
field’s current landscape, including emerging trends, technological 
advancements, and changing user expectations. Towards the end of the 
session, panelists turned their attention to professional associations, 
such as Atla, and discussed their role in our development and growth.

INTRODUCTION

This session was inspired after seeing what appeared to be attendance 
at Atla Annual trending younger in recent years. We organized this 
panel to give a voice to younger members of the profession and pro-
vide an opportunity for the larger Atla membership to get to know 
our generation, our collective views on the field, and our hopes 
for the future. Organized as a series of questions and answers, this 
session allowed each panelist to reflect on their pathway into the 
profession, current trends in the field, and our hopes for the future 
of the field and the association.



68    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

CAN YOU SHARE YOUR PERSONAL PATHWAY INTO THEOLOGICAL 
LIBRARIANSHIP? WHAT/WHO INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE THIS CAREER 
PATH?

Andy Lofthus
I was inspired to become a theological librarian through meeting 
with my undergrad reference librarian, herself a member of Atla, 
and hearing her describe her work. I love being a sounding board 
for other people’s ideas–especially related to philosophy and theol-
ogy–and getting to combine that with collecting resources and equip-
ping people to navigate resources made theological librarianship 
an ideal career.

Jessica Boyer
My journey into theological librarianship is a unique one. It began 
at Mount St. Mary’s University, where I currently work. Initially, 
my dream was to be a National Park Service ranger. However, an 
internship at a park led me to their library and archives, a role I 
found deeply fulfilling. I continued to work part-time in the univer-
sity archives during my junior and senior years, graduating with a 
double major in history and German. Upon graduation, I was hired 
in the library full-time in a paraprofessional role and completed 
my MLS degree online through Clarion University. As I finished my 
MLS, our then-director retired, and I was asked to serve as interim 
director before being offered the permanent position. Since 2017, I 
have been serving as the Director of the Library at Mount St. Mary’s 
University. I have also completed my PhD in Higher Education 
Leadership from Concordia University Chicago. My journey into 
theological librarianship was not a direct pursuit but a natural 
progression as I have worked to support my campus’s seminary and 
theological degree programs.

Elizabeth Miller
I originally came into theological education pursuing a Master of 
Divinity degree and thinking I would seek ordination as a Deacon 
in the United Methodist Church with the goal of serving in non-
traditional ministry settings like camping ministry or a faith-based 
nonprofit. Once I got to school, however, I landed a job in the archives 



Panel Presentations    69

as a manuscript processing assistant. After a semester of school and 
work, I realized I was enjoying the work I was doing in the library 
more than my experiential coursework and applied to switch into 
the Master of Theological Studies program. In that program, I could 
still gain subject matter expertise in theology, but be able to finish a 
year earlier and begin my library degree and the path to professional 
librarianship. After completing my theology degree and starting my 
library program, I worked in archival acquisitions while seeking 
work in a theological library. In 2019, I joined Pitts Theology Library 
as the Reserves and Circulation Specialist and in 2022 became the 
inaugural Coordinator of Digital Initiatives. Through the last five 
years, I have found that librarianship, particularly in a theological 
education setting, is its own form of ministry that brings me much 
joy and satisfaction. Ultimately, I am realizing that I’ve come full 
circle on my initial goals from entering theology school and have 
found my ministry niche in theological librarianship.

Emily Peterson
I am a relative newcomer to theological librarianship, with just 
one year spent in the field so far, but I have been in the world of 
theological education for approximately a decade. After graduating 
from Columbia Theological Seminary in 2016 with my Master of 
Divinity, I felt a pull toward working in higher education and had 
the opportunity to answer that pull in an administrative position at 
Columbia, followed by three and a half years directing the seminary’s 
Center for Academic Literacy (CAL). This work in academic literacy 
particularly aligned with my interests and values, particularly the 
delightful process of thinking collaboratively with our students in 
one-on-one coaching sessions. Eventually, however, I realized that the 
elements of the CAL director position that most energized me—such 
as clarifying and focusing questions and ideas, making connections, 
and bringing additional voices into the conversation—were actually 
quintessential elements of librarianship, especially in reference func-
tions, and that pursuing librarianship would give me the chance to 
sink even deeper and more skillfully into those elements I so valued. 
In 2022, I graduated from the University of South Carolina’s iSchool 
with a Master of Library and Information Science, and in 2023 had 
the unexpected opportunity to return to Columbia as the Director 
of Public Services in the library. The decision to pursue librarian-
ship has been repeatedly validated for me, and I find great joy and 



70    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

fulfillment in accompanying our patron communities (especially our 
students) as they learn and discern, helping them develop the skills 
and connect them with the resources that will enrich their journeys.

WHAT ARE THE EMERGING TRENDS YOUR LIBRARY IS WORKING ON?

Andy Lofthus
As a small library, we have a limited capacity to pursue or set new 
trends. However, because we are small, we often must think criti-
cally and creatively about how to be more effective in our service. 
One emerging trend we have explored and found beneficial is con-
trolled digital lending.

Jessica Boyer
Recently, I have been focused on how to scale library services while 
staffing levels remain flat. Demand for library services at my insti-
tution is at an all-time high, with the number of students receiving 
library instruction up 47% over the last academic year and 257% 
over the last seven years. How do we meet demand in a manageable 
way for our team? Some answers we have been looking to include 
(1) being intentional about what we say “yes” to and what we say 
“no” to, (2) reconfiguring practices and streamlining workflows, 
and (3) embracing new technologies to help us be more efficient.

Elizabeth Miller
At Pitts, we are fortunate to have an abundance of resources and 
staff to take on new projects and explore emerging trends. While 
there are others, I want to emphasize our focus on leveraging “the 
digital” to broaden access to our collections and staff expertise. In 
2019, the library hired a Digital Scholarship Librarian and a Project 
Digital Asset Librarian to develop a digital repository, which cul-
minated in the Pitts Digital Collections website (digital.pitts.emory.
edu). The site houses the library’s digital special collections materi-
als, digital exhibitions, virtual versions of gallery exhibitions, and 
digital assets from past library workshops. Additionally, having this 
platform enabled us to host large digital collections like the Howard 
Thurman audio archive and the Day1 sermon recording archive. 
Beyond digital collections, a team of three Pitts staff redesigned 



Panel Presentations    71

and deployed a new library website built from scratch. Outside the 
library, Pitts has partnered with the Candler Foundry, Candler’s 
center for public theological education, and the Association for 
Hispanic Theological Education (AETH) to provide the infrastructure 
to share digital theological resources with students of the Foundry 
and AETH institutions. 

Emily Peterson
Over the past year that I’ve been at Columbia, a major emerging 
trend that has featured in my work has been artificial intelligence. 
The public release of ChatGPT in particular raised concern among 
faculty, administration, and students about how to respond in defense 
of scholarly integrity. So, I and a team of colleagues were tasked 
with the development of the seminary’s first-ever policy govern-
ing student academic use of AI. While this work and the resulting 
policy did not ultimately determine our library’s response to AI in 
our daily practices, the library did demonstrate leadership in help-
ing the institution navigate these early days of generative AI and its 
impact on theological education, and it led us to start considering 
a larger slate of recommendations for the seminary related to AI 
literacy, pedagogical pivots, and additional policies.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES YOU ARE SEEING IN THEOLOGICAL 
EDUCATION AT YOUR INSTITUTION AND HOW IS THE LIBRARY 
RESPONDING TO THOSE CHANGES?

Andy Lofthus
One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is the shift toward the majority 
of students being remote, often never stepping foot on campus, let 
alone the library. With a limited budget and to serve all students 
well, we changed our collection development policy to purchase 
ebook over print books, all things being equal.

Jessica Boyer
As a Catholic university, our faith has always been foundational to 
our educational experience and curriculum. I am seeing an increase 
in the prioritization of faith-based approaches and interdisciplinary 
work at the intersection of faith. This interdisciplinary work is an 



7 2    AT L A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

opportunity for the library to lead. When we see these conversations 
happening on campus, we should seek opportunities to join them, 
noting that we have resources to support this work and can help.

Elizabeth Miller
At Candler, we recently began offering hybrid Masters-level programs, 
adding to the existing hybrid Doctor of Ministry program. As part of 
that process, librarians worked to create course material acquisitions 
policies to meet the research and access needs of remote students. 
A coworker and I presented on this process during the COVID-19 
pandemic at the 2022 Atla Annual conference in Baltimore, and you 
can find more specifics about those policies in our proceedings. To 
summarize, though, we tailored our course material acquisitions 
policy to match the course format (e.g., the library will purchase 
unlimited access ebooks, if they are available, for courses being 
taught in a fully online or hybrid format but will purchase physical 
books for courses being held in-person). Because of this policy, our 
ebook acquisitions generally duplicate the physical collections of 
the library. Unless there is not a physical copy available, the library 
will not purchase a resource as an ebook only. Since the introduc-
tion of hybrid programs, librarians have had to do many reviews 
of collecting policies to meet our community’s needs.

Emily Peterson
Columbia has experienced a rapid and remarkable diversification in 
its student body in recent years, especially (but not only) in terms of 
denominational and international representation. One of the trends 
that this reflects is the falling numbers among American mainline 
Protestants, including Presbyterians, especially among younger 
Americans. The John Bulow Campbell Library at Columbia has 
always tried to include diverse perspectives in our collection, but 
the library has welcomed further development of diverse voices in 
the collection to match these more recent changes, especially as this 
diversification has helped the seminary evolve its curriculum. To this 
end, our Bibliographic Access Services department has established, 
and is in current pursuit of, relationships with global partners, 
including Langham Publishing and several Nigerian bookstores to 
help us add more African voices to the collection, as well as potential 
agreements with Korean sister institutions. We are also engaged in 



Panel Presentations    73

concerted efforts to make our space and staff more interculturally 
welcoming, such as through programs, outreach, staff development, 
and even the artwork that adorns our spaces.

HOW DO WE OBSERVE THE DYNAMICS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, 
AND INCLUSION PLAYING OUT IN OUR VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS, 
PARTICULARLY IN THE LIBRARY’S RESPONSE AND PARTICIPATION IN 
INITIATIVES?

Andy Lofthus
One particular instance of this at my seminary is the growing number 
of students pursuing ministry as a second career. While the majority 
of students at our seminary already have a background in minis-
try or theological studies, students pursuing ministry as a second 
career often lack a frame of reference, unsure of the world they’re 
stepping into with its theologians, denominations, commentaries, 
etc. When meeting with these students I try to provide that frame of 
reference (e.g., explaining the different categories of commentaries) 
and suggest works that can familiarize them with this world (e.g., 
commentary surveys).

Jessica Boyer
The university is seeing a significant increase in the diversity of our 
student body. In looking specifically at our theological degree pro-
grams, the Seminary’s ESL program was recently accredited by the 
Commission on English Language Program Accreditation. Additionally, 
our undergraduate theology programs have been working to update 
their curriculum to include traditionally underrepresented voices. 
In the library, we have focused on DEI specifically in the areas of 
collection development and hiring.

Elizabeth Miller
At Pitts, we have undertaken several projects to be more inclusive 
and remove harmful language from our resource descriptions. The 
Cataloging and Metadata Librarian and Collection Management 
Coordinator worked together to remove racist Library of Congress 
classification cutters from parts of our collection. For example, the 
project replaced the .N4 cutter with .A35 or .B5, and the .O7 cutter 



74    AT L A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

with .A82. These reclassifications were not always possible, due to 
items not fitting into the new cutter options, but the team reclassi-
fied as many as they could while still being accurate. Pitts staff have 
also taken leadership in implementing the Homosaurus, a linked 
vocabulary of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer 
(LGBTQ) terms, across all Emory libraries. 

Emily Peterson
One of the most ambitious and impactful DEI initiatives at Columbia 
recently has been our Repairing the Breach initiative, which was 
launched in June 2020. This initiative grew out of a recognition that 
Columbia has historical ties to slavery and that, in repentance of that 
history and in a good faith effort to be more just and faithful moving 
forward, the seminary needs to take tangible steps to directly address 
the harm that slavery and its aftermath have done to Black people 
and communities. One of the major components of this initiative is 
a scholarship that offers tuition-free education for Black students 
admitted to Columbia’s master’s-level degree programs.

A great gift of this initiative has been a student body that has grown 
more diverse not only internationally, as previously noted, but also 
racially and denominationally. Now that the library supports more 
students of color in their studies than ever before in our history, we 
have a responsibility to develop a collection that speaks richly to the 
histories, theologies, worship resources, and more that reflect the 
experiences of these students. We have been intentionally seeking 
these types of resources in our acquisitions processes, but we also 
ask our students and faculty to be generous with their purchase 
requests as they encounter resources outside the library that they 
think we ought to have, and we say yes to as much of that as we pos-
sibly can. This is one way we work with our community to become 
a dynamic and supportive educational partner for our students and 
faculty as part of this larger initiative.



Panel Presentations    75

HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIANS 
EVOLVING IN THE NEXT DECADE, CONSIDERING TECHNOLOGICAL 
ADVANCEMENTS, AND CHANGING USER EXPECTATIONS?

Andy Lofthus
While not necessarily new roles, I think there will be an increasing 
need (in light of ever-increasing information and misinformation) 
for librarians to be curators of resources for their communities and 
instructors in information literacy.

Jessica Boyer
Perhaps more short-term than the next decade, we should look to 
deeper collaborations and support of discipline faculty. Faculty have 
just recovered from the pandemic and its long-term impacts on 
our students and now they are navigating AI. How can the library 
collaborate to help pick up some of that burden and continue to 
demonstrate our value and relevance on a campuswide scale? How 
can the library lead in areas such as AI, open educational resources 
(OERs), and open in general?

Elizabeth Miller
Over the past few years, we have seen increasing numbers of stu-
dents needing help navigating the “hidden curriculum” of graduate 
theological education and higher education more broadly. Students 
arriving in our programs come from various backgrounds and bring a 
wealth of knowledge from different fields and experiences, but many 
do not arrive with the specific theological background their faculty 
may expect or assume. To offer students some of this foundational 
information, Pitts staff created zines to hand out during the in-person 
orientation attended by all students, regardless of their hybrid/in-
person status. The zines include some basic theological terms, like 
exegesis and critical, a research primer and graphic, tips and tricks 
from other Candler students, and guides on how to make the best 
use of the library and its resources. We received positive feedback 
about the zines and plan to do them again in the years ahead.



76    AT L A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

Emily Peterson
Despite the constant anxiety that libraries will become defunct 
in light of rapid technological development, I believe our role as 
librarians becomes ever more important when it comes to info 
literacy in a saturated and overcomplicated info landscape. In the 
library at Columbia, we have had students come to us and say, “I 
know how to find stuff—I just don’t know how to tell if it’s good.” 
While the designation of “good” may require some more critical 
reflection, the underlying challenge remains that there’s so much 
out there to be found, and it is a mixed bag. Helping to develop the 
tools of information literacy that allow students (and, frankly, all our 
patrons, including faculty) to navigate their search for information 
with more skill and confidence is something that we offer that has 
only become more essential over time.

HOW CAN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIES ADAPT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A 
MORE DIGITALLY CONNECTED AND GLOBALIZED USER BASE?

Andy Lofthus
As most of the students I work with are remote, I’ve tried to find ways 
to make my interactions with them more personal. One of the ways 
I’ve done that is through making short (one to two minutes) screen-
casts in response to their emails. This has made my communication 
clearer and more personal, and student feedback has been positive.

Jessica Boyer
We need to find additional ways to collaborate and share resources. 
Many institutions and libraries are struggling with unsustainable 
financial models. This challenge looks different in various institu-
tions around the globe, but it is a common struggle. We must be 
intentional about thinking through ways to support each other.

Elizabeth Miller
At Pitts, we have had many discussions about the resources avail-
able to remote students versus in-person students. Through those 
discussions, we concluded that remote students have a fundamen-
tally different library than on-campus students, partly because of 



Panel Presentations    77

the availability of ebooks and electronic resources versus physical 
items, and partly because of the way we interact with electronic 
interfaces. I think one of the most important things we can do as 
librarians and educators is to be straightforward and realistic, when 
working with our patrons or enrolling them in hybrid programs, 
about the disparity in resources. By acknowledging our limitations, 
we offer patrons accurate information and set realistic expectations 
for when they begin using online library resources.

Emily Peterson
The broadening of the user base can pressure our libraries to be 
everything to everyone, a daunting prospect especially for theological 
libraries, which trend smaller and more focused. To adapt to these 
realities, it is important to leverage our strengths and acknowledge 
our limits, to continuously learn from one another, and to be inten-
tional about assessing patron needs, preferences, and patterns of 
usage and access to make sure that we are putting our resources and 
energy toward the resources and services that best match our users.

WHAT STRATEGIES DO YOU EMPLOY TO STAY CURRENT WITH THE 
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS IN OUR FIELD?

Andy Lofthus
To stay current, I use a combination of listservs, catalogs, conferences 
and their proceedings, and talking with other librarians.

Jessica Boyer
I follow library Twitter, browse listservs, and follow updates from 
professional associations.

Elizabeth Miller
I mostly stay current by chatting with coworkers about their pro-
fessional activities and associations, as well as monitoring listservs 
for information (and drama). I also enjoy following social media 
accounts of professional organizations, like library Twitter. I want 
to specifically give a shoutout to ALA’s American Libraries print 



78    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

magazine; I love reading the physical magazine and paging through 
for fun and creative ideas!

Emily Peterson
I try to take advantage of listservs (through professional associations 
and otherwise), particularly those that offer learning opportunities 
like webinars. I also draw on collegial connections and conversa-
tions, and where a deep dive is needed, I sometimes dive into a book.

WE HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY 
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS—ACADEMIC AND FAITH-BASED ONES. 
SO, WHY ATLA? WHAT IS IT ABOUT ATLA THAT KEEPS US ENGAGED?

Andy Lofthus
I love Atla because while the schools and seminaries we come from 
can be very different (e.g., a small evangelical seminary versus a 
large mainline seminary), the work we do as theological librarians 
is very similar. That combination of similarities and differences 
makes for consistently fruitful conversations.

Jessica Boyer
I became involved in Atla after meeting Atla’s Director of Membership 
& Engagement, Gillian Harrison Cain, in the exhibit hall at ACRL 2017. 
I started volunteering with Atla in 2020 when I joined the Conference 
Committee. Atla’s outstanding community of members keeps me 
engaged. I have found a welcoming community within the associa-
tion and a generosity of spirit within the membership. Everyone 
has always been happy to lend some advice and often introduces 
me to additional members to help. Atla also does an excellent job of 
keeping up with the latest trends and innovations. Atla has been a 
leader in AI and libraries among professional library associations. 
These innovations keep me engaged and returning to Atla for my 
professional development and learning.



Panel Presentations    79

Elizabeth Miller
I value Atla because it has always been a place I’ve felt welcome and 
part of the community. I appreciate that Atla is small enough that 
we can get to know others, while also being known in return. As 
many of us know, library school does not prepare you for the specif-
ics of working in a library and the variety of issues we encounter. 
Through the years, I’ve been able to reach out to colleagues I’ve met 
at Atla to help think through issues that are unique to theological 
libraries and come up with creative solutions together. Those kinds 
of relationships are what keep me coming back to Atla each year.

Emily Peterson
Atla’s specificity is powerful. The uniqueness of theological librari-
anship makes it incredibly valuable to know, learn from, and col-
laborate with colleagues who live in our subfield as well. Yet the 
breadth of our theological library contexts also allows us to learn 
from institutions that are different in scale, model, and theology 
than our own. That balance of similarity and difference creates a 
really rich community of mutual support and learning.

HOW DO PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, SUCH AS ATLA, SUPPORT 
YOUR DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AS A THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIAN? 
CAN YOU SHARE ANY VALUABLE EXPERIENCES OR RESOURCES 
PROVIDED BY THESE ASSOCIATIONS?

Andy Lofthus
Two ways that I’ve felt most supported by Atla are the personal/
professional connections it’s allowed me to make and the opportuni-
ties it’s provided me to participate (e.g., presenting at conferences, 
being a member of a committee, etc.). This is the most welcoming 
and supportive professional association I know.  

Jessica Boyer
I am the only panelist without a degree in theology. I also work at a 
comprehensive university. When I first started attending Atla Annual, 
I did not think of myself as a theological librarian any more than I 
was a business or a science librarian. However, Atla has helped me 
gain confidence in my work in supporting our theological degree 



80    ATL A 2024 PROCEEDINGS

programs. Attending Atla Annual and reading Atla publications, 
especially past Summary of Proceedings, have been valuable resources 
and given me confidence and proficiencies in completing collection 
development and reference for our theological degree programs.

Elizabeth Miller
Atla has been incredible for me to grow professionally and try out 
new things. Since joining a few years ago, I have had the opportunity 
to present at several Atla annual conferences, write a book review 
for Theological Librarianship, and contribute to an edited volume 
with Atla Open Press. I am so grateful that Atla has been a safe space 
for me to try things, learn from peers, and receive constructive 
feedback in order to grow professionally and make connections 
with colleagues around the world.

Emily Peterson
I attended Atla in my first month as a theological librarian, and it 
was an immensely valuable experience in terms of building a com-
munity of colleagues, learning more about the field, and gathering 
ideas and information to implement as I hit the ground running.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF ATLA 
IN FOSTERING COLLABORATION, INNOVATION, AND EXCELLENCE IN 
THEOLOGICAL LIBRARIANSHIP?

Andy Lofthus
There are many things Atla can and should do, but my hope is that 
the organization always remembers its core strength: the members 
of its community and their relationships with one another. In my 
mind, investing in ways to foster community among its members 
is an investment in all that Atla does.

Jessica Boyer
Atla’s suite of research tools are outstanding resources that continue 
to evolve and expand. I also appreciate members’ opportunities to 
get to know the metadata team in recent years through presenta-
tions at Atla Annual, blog posts, and webinars. This relationship with 



Panel Presentations    81

librarians and product creators is unique to Atla and is one of the 
ways I see Atla as a leader in the library vendor space.

Elizabeth Miller
I keep joking about starting a Discord for Atla folks to stay in touch 
throughout the year in a more informal way, but I think I might 
actually start one this year! I always have such a great time getting 
to know folks at Atla Annual but lose touch until the following sum-
mer. As I mentioned before, one of my favorite things about Atla is 
the relatively small size and sense of community, so keeping those 
communication channels going outside the conference would be a 
huge benefit for me.

Emily Peterson
I would love to see how we can foster relationship-building year-
round so that we can keep the flow of mutual learning and support 
running outside of Atla Annual. I deeply appreciate remote or self-led 
learning opportunities like webinars and articles, but I especially 
value real-time conversation as a means of learning. Fostering that 
through perhaps the formation of short-term cohorts or small dis-
cussion groups could be a huge asset to Atla participants.




	_Int_OnZIhIKD

