2017 American Theological Library Association Annual Conference

This session will explore some of the emerging trends in graduate theological education as observed by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, with specific attention to ATS data resources and recent patterns in accrediting actions as well as the speaker’s own experience working with member schools. The session will also describe the ATS Educational Models and Practices study and will share some of the initial discoveries from this major research initiative. Participants will be invited to reflect on these trends in light of their own institutional contexts, with particular emphasis on the ways in which these affect the current and future work of theological libraries and librarians. The session will also include time for discussion of the current adequacy and possible future directions for the ATS Commission on Accrediting’s Standards of Accreditation and well as its data collection services, and will also explore how these same issues might relate to other accrediting and institutional contexts.

The open access Anti-racism Digital Library and International Anti-racism Thesaurus (ADL/T) is a clearinghouse of anti-racism resources (http://endracism.info). By developing and using the language of anti-racism, it mitigates the unintended structural racism of library information infrastructures, such as the LCSH. I will highlight recent ADL/T developments, specifically, in the areas of communications, media, and digital justice. I will show how the ADL/T can be used in theological libraries for informational professional growth and development, research, and the promotion of critical thinking and learning about information access, authority, value, and privilege.