2017 American Theological Library Association Annual Conference

Many catalogers are making use of the ability to batch process MARC records with MarcEdit. Come learn the new features that have been added to this software since last year. This is a good opportunity to learn and share about how this tool is used in a real world setting.

This session will include the annual business meeting of theTechnical Services Interest Group (TSIG). The business meeting's agenda items include a chance to discuss areas of interest and concern and to fill in any needed positions on the Steering Committee. Changes to the Interest Group needed because of the changes in ATLA's bylaws will also be presented and discussed (and voted upon, if applicable).

Limited to official members of the ATLA NACO Funnel program, the lunch meeting provides a chance for members to discuss the specific policies and procedures of the program. There will be time for discussion of how the funnel is working and how the process can work more smoothly. It is a chance for Funnel members to compare notes and ask questions.

What counts as data within a theological context? How are theological data different from other forms of data? And what is data curation, and why should theological librarians care?

This workshop will explore the relevance of this quickly developing field within scholarly communications for theological librarians, and will also offer examples of practical and easy to implement solutions.

The presenters will introduce the basics of data curation, including the data curation lifecycle, data management plans, and digital preservation practices. Additionally, they will address questions about the ethics of data collection, the role of institutional review boards (IRBs), data licensing, and data privacy. Finally, they will demonstrate practical data visualization techniques to convert information theological libraries already collect into shareable datasets that can be used for making data-driven decisions about collections and access.

This session focuses on the use of Amazon's innovative web services (AWS) in libraries. The presentation is framed as an argument that embracing this suite of services from Amazon, increasingly the core of its business, will help librarians understand Amazon to be more of a savior than a threat to academic libraries, as it is often understood. Included are demonstrations of how libraries can leverage the relatively affordable offerings of Amazon Web Services, including S3, Glacier storage, EC2 web servers, to solve the challenges libraries face in the digital age. The argument is based on the experience of the Pitts Theology Library’s implementation of AWS for web development, archival storage, and digital information literacy instruction. The hands-on session will show librarians how AWS can help them not only offload information technology needs, but to drive down costs, increase the flexibility of their digital assets, and foster their on-staff skills of software development.