ACRL Philosophical, Religious, and Theological Discussion Group

Liaison Librarian for Theology, Religion, and Philosophy

2012-12-06T21:05:00.004-06:00

Position at Baylor University in Waco, Texas:

http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/Liaison-Librarian-for-Theology-Religion-and-Philosophy/21542.cfm

Baylor University Human Resources page:

http://www.baylor.edu/hr/index.php?id=81307

Digital Projects Librarian at Yale Divinity Librarry

2012-07-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

Digital Projects and Technology Librarian
Divinity Library
Yale University

New Haven, CT
Rank: Librarian 2-3 (Grade 24-25)

www.yale.edu/jobs

DEPARTMENTAL FOCUS

The Yale University Library seeks an innovative specialist in digital library programs to serve the Yale Divinity Library. The position reports to the Divinity Librarian. With a thorough knowledge of Library software applications and academic resources, the successful candidate will help guide the design, implementation, and improvement of existing services and library technology applications in support of the mission of the Yale University Library. Working in close collaboration with Library IT, the Director of Digital Initiatives, the Digital Preservation Librarian, and other library and campus stakeholders, the Digital Projects and Technology Librarian will develop a clear, comprehensive, and compelling strategic vision of the technological infrastructure, and the bibliographic and metadata organization necessary for the Divinity Library to participate in University-wide digital information management strategies and to ensure that current and prospective independent digital initiatives are maintained, upgraded, and successfully incorporated within the Library’s growing digital landscape. Plays a role in creating, describing, and delivering digitized resources and in exploring, proposing, and developing innovative tools and services that improve the ability of scholars, students, and educators to make use of existing and emerging digital resources in the Divinity Library. Provides instructional and technical support to faculty and students in all aspects related to the use of the Library’s digital collections.

Schedule: Full-time (37.5 hours per week); Standard Work Week (M-F, 8:30-5:00)

Yale University offers exciting opportunities for achievement and growth in New Haven, Connecticut. Conveniently located between Boston and New York, New Haven is the creative capital of Connecticut with cultural resources that include two major art museums, a critically-acclaimed repertory theater, state-of-the-art concert hall, and world-renowned schools of Architecture, Art, Drama, and Music.

THE UNIVERSITY AND THE LIBRARY

The Yale University Library, as one of the world's leading research libraries, collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to and services for a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. It fosters intellectual growth and is a highly valued partner in the teaching and research missions of Yale University and scholarly communities worldwide. A distinctive strength is its rich spectrum of resources, including more than 12.5 million volumes and information in all media, ranging from ancient papyri to early printed books to electronic databases. The Library is engaged in numerous digital initiatives designed to provide access to a full array of scholarly information. Housed in the Sterling Memorial Library and fifteen school and departmental libraries, it employs a dynamic, diverse, and innovative staff of over 500 who have the opportunity to work with the highest caliber of faculty and students, participate on committees, and are involved in other areas of staff development. For additional information on the Yale University Library, please visit the Library's web site at http://www.library.yale.edu/.

YALE DIVINITY LIBRARY

The Divinity Library has world-renowned collections documenting the history, thought, and life of Christianity. The primary strengths of the Library are in the history of missions, Christian doctrine, Biblical literature, and church history. The Yale Divinity Library contains more than 500,000 volumes, 250,000 microforms, and 4,000 linear feet of manuscript and archival material.

JOB SUMMARY

Yale University librarians work in libraries across the Central, West, Medical, and Science campuses, to build, manage, and provide access to a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. They demonstrate flexibility, creativity, and imagination in their work and adapt to and help shape a continuously evolving work environment. Yale librarians provide consistently high quality service to the University, and help meet the needs of the local, national, and international teaching and research communities.

DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Actively practices and advocates effective communication in all aspects of digital initiatives within the Divinity Library and throughout the YUL system. Establishes productive relationships with individuals and organizations both at Yale and at other institutions in order to advance Library objectives.
Work closely with key staff to assess feasibility, propose, and develop plans for digital projects.
Work with Library IT and the Director of Digitization Initiatives to design and implement technical infrastructure and workflows.
Evaluate and make recommendations on digitization procedures for a wide range of collection materials considering issues of original format, productivity and preservation, as well as YUL standards.
Analyze faculty and student needs and develop programming in support of digital teaching. Analyze the feasibility of new services or modifications to existing Divinity Library services. Work independently or lead a project team to improve Divinity Library goals.
Work with usability staff to design and implement patron surveys to analyze faculty and student use of digital collections within the scope of the Library’s digital landscape.
Work with faculty to identify gaps in institutional collection content and facilitate the development of new digital content by coordinating requests for digitization or discovering sources of new material in the Library’s collections (print or digital).
Plan and conduct presentations, demonstrations, or workshops for students, faculty, or Library staff on any topic related to digital teaching using the Library’s collections.
Within a shared information environment, document software use, procedures, and services.
Contribute to best practices evaluation, development and documentation in digital library initiatives. Remain alert to development sin digital library initiatives at peer institutions.
Assume full or partial responsibility in project management for Divinity Library digital initiatives, including assessment and evaluation of project scope, analysis, project proposals, quality assurance, workflows, staffing, budgeting, documentation, and reporting.
Contribute to preparation of project grant proposals for submission to the library administration and/or to external funding agencies.
Provides strategic and tactical analysis concerning the Divinity Library’s technology and digital production requirements, infrastructure, and goals, based on a strong understanding of technological trends of audio, video, and image formats and the higher education environment.
Evaluate, recommend, and assist with digitization equipment and software selection as well as facility oversight, including staff and patron workstations located in the Divinity Library.
Train staff on use of appropriate digital content creation and editing tools and software programs such as Adobe Creative Suite, audio and video editing software, and infrastructure programs developed locally by Library IT staff.
Creates and/or maintains selected Web sites using SHTML, ASP, PhP, or other scripting languages and with content management systems such as Drupal.
Fulfills requests for Divinity Library digital assets and oversees digital rights management.
Serves on various Divinity Library, Yale University Library, and Yale University committees in support of the Library and University’s mission relevant to digital initiatives.
Participates in professional activities outside of Yale and monitors developments and best practices elsewhere to help ensure the excellence of the Divinity Library’s technology activities.
May be required to assist with disaster recovery efforts.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree in Library Science from an American Library Association accredited Library school and two years of related experience. In selected instances, a post-graduate degree in a related discipline may be required or substituted for an MLS. Appointment to this rank is limited to three years at which time it is expected that the individual will develop necessary requirements to meet expectations of performance at the Librarian 3 level.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Advanced degree from ALA-accredited program for library and information science, or information management, computer science, humanities computing, or a related field and a minimum of four years of relevant experience in information technology.
Demonstrated understanding of a wide range of digital library standards and practices, including standards for media content, metadata, controlled authorities, and digitization.
Project management skills, especially the ability to devise and achieve agreed-upon completion dates for technology based projects; ability to multitask and keep priorities aligned to objectives.
Excellent analytical, oral and written communication skills, especially the ability to convey and explain, to non-technical audiences, the importance and impact of technology trends and issues relevant to YUL’s operation and mission.
Well-developed interpersonal skills and experience as a collegial leader and/or member of a multidisciplinary team. Demonstrated ability to work collegially with staff, researchers, and colleagues.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills

Appointment to the Librarian 3 rank requires a minimum of 5 years of professional experience and professional accomplishments appropriate to the rank.
Experience working in a library, academic institution, or other non-profit computing operation.
Advanced degree in theology or a related field.

Salary and Benefits

We invite you to discover the excitement, diversity, rewards and excellence of a career at Yale University. One of the country's great workplaces, Yale University offers exciting opportunities for meaningful accomplishment and true growth. Our benefits package is among the best anywhere, with a wide variety of insurance choices, liberal paid time off, fantastic family and educational benefits, a variety of retirement benefits, extensive recreational facilities, and much more. Applications consisting of a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information of three professional references should be sent by creating an account and applying online at www.yale.edu/jobs for immediate consideration - the STARS req ID for this position is 17769BR. Please be sure to reference 17769BR in your cover letter.

Background Check Requirements

All external candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent on successful completion of a background check. Please visit www.yale.edu/hronline/careers/screening/faqs.html for additional information on the background check requirements and process.

Yale University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity in its faculty, staff, and students and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

Philosophy Research Index

2012-07-27T15:01:00.004-05:00

Fellow philosophy and theology librarians intrigued by the new Philosophy Research Index may be interested in my (largely negative but undoubtedly already quite dated) review of this in Journal of religious and theological information 11:1-2 (2012): 68-76.

Catholic Library Association Periodical Indexes 1930-1980 coming soon

2012-06-19T12:48:00.001-05:00

The Catholic Library Association (CLA) has announced that Villanova University will be digitizing the Catholic Periodical Index (1930-1966) and the Catholic Periodical Literature Index (1967-1980). The word searchable index will be made available on the CLA's and Villanova University's website as the Catholic Library Association Periodical Indexes (1930-1980).

Librarian for Asian Christianity

2012-06-07T08:33:00.000-05:00

From the ALA Job List:

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Salary: $55,500 to $130,000
Status:Full-time
Posted:06/06/12
Deadline:
Librarian for Asian Christianity
Yale University Library Seeks Applications and Nominations for Librarian for Asian Christianity Yale Divinity School Library Reporting to the Divinity Librarian, the Librarian for Asian Christianity is responsible for selection of materials for the Divinity Library’s collection in Asian languages, including fund management, reporting, and management. The Librarian collaborates with the East Asia Library on collection development. Collection development focuses on Asian imprints and may include Asian studies materials related to Christianity published world-wide, with particular emphasis on Chinese-language material. For a complete position description and application guidelines, please see: http://goo.gl/YSRZW. Yale University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

"Info lit" in Philosophy

2012-05-18T17:08:00.005-05:00

     I'm not at all sure that the blog is the place for this (or even the PRTLDG), but don't know of any other more specifically philosophical organizations offhand.
     In any case, I would be interested to hear of "info lit" successes and/or best practices in Philosophy. Who makes inroads, how, and on the basis of what mutual understanding?
     Does anybody else struggle here?

Steve Perisho
Theology and Philosophy Librarian
Seattle Pacific University

Call for presentations, discussion, convenors

2012-05-08T08:45:00.002-05:00

ACRL Philosophical, Religious, Theological Studies Discussion Group

ALA Annual 2012 / Anaheim, CA

Sunday, June 24 / 4:00-5:30 PM

Disneyland Hotel - Frontier Board Room

The PRT Discussion Group invites proposals for brief presentations and suggestions for discussion topics within the realm of library and information services to philosophy, religious studies and theological studies for its upcoming meeting at ALA Annual in Anaheim. Recent discussions have focused on Big Deal packages and e-books and their implications for philosophy, religion and theological studies. Any relevant suggestions are welcome. Please send your ideas and proposals to Colin McCaffrey, colin.mccaffrey@yale.edu.

PRT Is also looking for new leadership. If you are interested in serving as a convenor or co-convenor of the discussion group, please send an expression of interest to Joshua Barton: bartonjp@msu.edu.

Best,

Colin McCaffrey: colin.mccaffrey@yale.edu

Joshua Barton: bartonjp@msu.edu

Postion: Liaison Team Leader for Philosophy, Theology & Humanities

2012-05-07T09:07:00.001-05:00

From the ALA Job List:

"Liaison Team Leader for Philosophy, Theology & Humanities
Work in one of the most innovative academic libraries in the country, home of VUFind and other similar projects. Plan and coordinate the work of the Philosophy/Theology/Humanities liaison team, including collection development (the selection and acquisition of print, media and electronic library resources), course-integrated information literacy instruction, faculty research assistance, student research consultation services, and the formal and informal connection of pertinent academic departments to all library program areas. Provide support for emerging digital humanities, open access publishing projects and other similar initiatives with emphases on Philosophy, Theology and Humanities; support critical library activities on a secondary team (Assessment, Communication, Scholarly Outreach, Digital & Special Collections or Technology & Web Services) based on interest, expertise and experience."

http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/Liaison-Team-Leader-for-Philosophy-Theology--Humanities/19846.cfm

Position: Bibliographer for Religion and Philosophy

2012-01-05T09:12:00.003-06:00

From the Chronicle of Higher Education posting:

"The University of Chicago Library invites applicants for the position of Bibliographer for Religion and Philosophy. The Religion and Philosophy collections in the University of Chicago Library are among the strongest research collections in the nation. A full spectrum of library resources, from rare books and manuscripts to a full network of electronic resources, constitutes one of the distinctive strengths of the University of Chicago Library in meeting the diverse and changing needs of faculty, students and researchers in these fields.

The collections for which the Bibliographer is responsible support the research and teaching programs in the Divinity School, with its three committees and ten areas of study, and the Department of Philosophy. The Divinity School numbers some 36 faculty and over 300 graduate students of whom about 200 are in doctoral programs; the Philosophy Department counts 27 faculty with over 60 doctoral students. The University encourages interdisciplinary teaching and research and there is strong use of the religion and philosophy collections by faculty and students from area studies programs as well as many humanities and social science disciplines."

Nov. 15 Webinar: "Religion and Libraries

2011-11-10T13:23:00.004-06:00

At 10am CT, November 15, 2011, the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and the IFLA Committee on Freedom of Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) will present a webinar on Intellectual Freedom Across the Globe: Religion, Free Expression and Libraries. It explore the challenge of blasphemy laws to freedom of expression, issues concerning donation with proselytizing objectives, and the place of prayer at public libraries. Read more about it on the OIF blog.

PRT Agenda for ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans

2011-06-20T08:51:00.001-05:00

ACRL Philosophical, Religious & Theological Studies Discussion Group
ALA Annual 2011 / New Orleans, LA
Sunday, June 26, 2011 / 4:00-5:30 PM
New Orleans Marriott, Balconies I-K

The PRT Discussion Group invites all who are interested in library support to philosophy, religious studies, theology and related disciplines to our discussion at ALA Annual in New Orleans. Recent discussion group meetings have focused on implications of e-book packages and digital publication for philosophy, theology and religion. These and any other relevant topics are welcome. Please join us!

Colin McCaffrey: colin.mccaffrey@yale.edu
Joshua Barton: bartonjp@msu.edu

Peer Reviewers Sought for Resources for College Libraries

2011-06-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

Resources for College Libraries (RCL), a publication of ACRL’s Choice magazine and R.R. Bowker, is currently seeking academic librarians and faculty with specific subject expertise to participate in our peer review process. The RCL bibliography provides a list of titles that are essential for undergraduate study.

We seek peer referees in the following areas:

- Classics

- Philosophy

- Religion

….and additional arts + humanities disciplines

Referees will be responsible for evaluating the RCL subject’s bibliographic content, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and its taxonomic structure. All referee work is scheduled for completion by August 15, 2011. This is a one-time peer review commitment and the review should only require 2-3 days time in total. Referees will receive temporary access to the online RCLweb database during July and August to complete the review.

Please consider submitting your name to participate in this important professional service opportunity. Preference will be given to those with experience in teaching and/or collection development in the subject area. To volunteer as a reviewer, send an email to adoherty@ala-choice.org with your contact information, CV/resume, and a brief description of your qualifications, particularly any experience maintaining or assessing core bibliographies in the subject area.

RCL is the premier list of core print and electronic resources for academic libraries, featuring over 75,000 titles in 117 subjects that are vital for teaching and study at the undergraduate level. For more information, visit: http://www.bowker.com/RCL/.

Contact:

Anne Doherty

Project Editor, Resources for College Libraries

CHOICE/ACRL

http://www.bowker.com/RCL/

adoherty@ala-choice.org

860.347.6933 x140

ALA Annual 2011 - Call for discussion topics

2011-05-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

ACRL Philosophical, Religious & Theological Studies Discussion Group
ALA Annual 2011 / New Orleans, LA
Sunday, June 26, 2011 / 4:00-5:30 PM
New Orleans Marriott, Balconies I-K

CALL FOR DISCUSSION TOPICS

The PRT Discussion Group is seeking suggestions for discussion topics at our meeting for ALA Annual in New Orleans. Topics can be on any aspect of library support for philosophy, religion, theology and related fields.

Please send suggestions by June 11 to either of:

Colin McCaffrey: colin.mccaffrey@yale.edu
Joshua Barton: bartonjp@msu.edu

Position available: Theology, Religious Studies, and Philosophy Librarian at San Diego

2011-03-09T10:40:00.000-06:00

The University of San Diego is looking for a Theology, Religious Studies, and Philosophy Librarian. Review of applications begin April 11th. Details

PRT Agenda for Midwinter 2011 in San Diego

2010-12-08T13:13:00.000-06:00

ACRL Philosophical Religious Theological (PRT) Discussion Group

2011 Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, CA

Sunday, January 9, 4:00 to 5:30 pm

Hilton Bayfront, Aqua 308

Co-convenors:

Joshua Barton

Michigan State University

bartonjp@msu.edu

Colin McCaffrey

Washington University-St. Louis

cmccaffr@wustl.edu

Join us at the PRT Discussion Group for discussion of “big deals” or “bulk purchases” of eBooks from publishers and aggregators (ebrary, NetLibrary, Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, etc.) and the impact they have on philosophy and religious studies. We will consider some of the following questions:

What is the impact of “big deals” on the acquisition of print materials in philosophy, religion, and theology?
Do these large-scale purchases replace or supplement traditional print selection or approval plans?
Does the ready, but inconsistent, availability of monographic material online have an impact on print usage?
Can we help answer any of these questions with usage and circulation statistics?

We will reserve time for open discussion and to share ideas for ALA Annual 2011.

Anyone interested in these issues or in library and information service to philosophical, religious and theological studies is invited to join the discussion.

Philosophy Best Sellers

2010-07-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

Best Sellers in Philosophy from October 2009 to date from Library Journal, based on data from academic-library book vendor YBP.
"Continental" and historical titles are heavily represented.

ALA 2010 Annual Meeting Report

2010-07-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

ALA Annual 2010 Joint Meeting of the Philosophical Religious and Theological (PRT) and Classical Medieval Renaissance Discussion Group (Washington, D.C. Saturday, June 26th, 2010)

New Developments in Online Publication

Convened by Colin McCaffrey, Washington University in St. Louis, and Joshua Barton, Michigan State University.

1. George Leaman, Director of the Philosophy Documentation Center (PDC), debuted a beta version of PDC’s forthcoming product, Philosophy Research Index. PDC is actively seeking feedback on their new resource. Those interested can see further information, including how to set up a free trial, here:
http://secure.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/journal?openform&journal=pdc_pri

Leaman demonstrated many features from a live instance of the index. He emphasized that they are striving for "complete" coverage of a portion of philosophical literature, rather than selective coverage. A goal of the product is to include bibliographic information for philosophy literature in many Western languages. To this end, the index includes a translation feature, to roughly translate information such as article titles into English. Other features include faceted browsing, links to share items via social networking sites, and a timeline visualization of search results.

When asked about how PDC’s product would compete with Philosopher’s Index, the established philosophy index used in North America today, Leaman pointed to his product’s scope. He indicated that materials would be indexed more thoroughly, not selectively, and that non-English materials would have a greater representation. His hope is that North American and European bodies of philosophical literature will find a greater shared readership through the use of PDC's forthcoming index.

2. Damon Zucca, Executive Editor, Reference Division, at Oxford University Press, discussed two products: Oxford Biblical Studies Online (OBSO) and Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO). OBSO brings together Oxford’s reference works on the Bible into one integrated resource. Presenting from screen captures, Zucca demonstrated OBSO as an immersive biblical studies tool, appearing to have relatively seamless navigation between the various resources within. More information is available on the OBSO site: http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/ The full list of OBSO contents is here: http://www.oup.com/obso/whats_inside/

The other product, Oxford Bibliographies Online, consists of a series of discipline-based bibliography modules that can be searched and accessed together or separately, such as Classics, Philosophy and Renaissance & Reformation. OBO modules bring together citations to the essential literature through the guidance of an expert in the field. Each entry (e.g. Feminist Philosophy in the Philosophy module) has its own scholarly expert guiding the user through citations to essential and helpful works, from general to specific. Citations included are not limited to Oxford publications. More information is available at the OBO site: http://www.oxfordbibliographiesonline.com/

3. "Moving to Online Publications: Practices, Policies, and Goals of the Center for Hellenic Studies." Noel Spencer and Jeremy Linn presented an overview of the Center of Hellenic Studies's online publication program.

CHS is a research institute located in Washington, D.C. affiliated with Harvard University. It was established in 1962 as "an educational center in the field of Hellenic Studies designed to re-discover the humanism of the Hellenic Greeks." Responding to trends affecting libraries and publishing, CHS is taking advantage of digital technologies to expand its publishing program online. This includes publishing monographs and journals (Classics@) as well as innovative projects in the "digital humanities," such as the Homer Multitext. CHS has also established a IT/Humanities Non-Residential Fellowship for scholars working on technological projects.

CHS takes advantage of open-source software and open standards for publishing online, utilizing TEI-XML for its documents and developing an interactive structure for using texts online. It has moved authors into the production processes, having them submit marked-up text. Texts are released with a creative-commons license. Navigating copyright issues, especially regarding images, in a way that maximizes the reach of publications while ensuring proper attribution remains a challenge.

Presentation Slides (on Slideshare)
Note: The background images for these slides where compiled from the Venetus A manuscript of Homer (Marcianus Graecus Z 454=822, currently in the Marciana Library, Venice).

Journal of Religious & Theological Information

2010-07-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

The Journal of Religious & Theological Information is always looking for scholars and librarians to write articles and book reviews. From the web page:

"This journal focuses on various stages in librarianship for religious and theological information, such as:

production (including printing and publishing)
dissemination
use
storage
retrieval
preservation
bibliography
collection development
instruction and information literacy
digitization and multimedia
special collections and archives
history of libraries and librarianship
censorship and intellectual freedom"

A current list of titles for review is available.

PhilPapers

2010-06-14T13:49:00.000-05:00

If you've seen the recent announcement for the PRT meeting in D.C., you know that the broad topic of discussion for PRT at Annual will be Online Publication. PhilPapers is an interesting resource to consider in this regard. It is an aggregator of online publications in philosophy with several services built around the online content. It was created by David Bourget and David Chalmers, incorporating a similar, earlier project by Wolfgang Schwarz that was known as Online Papers in Philosophy.

PhilPapers uses automated processes to monitor and harvest indexing content of online journals (including subscription-based ones; full list is here). They also harvest papers on philosophers' web sites, certain online archives of papers, original submissions from users and papers inherited from an earlier project, Mindpapers. While all papers are indexed and searchable by their respective metadata, subscription-based journal content is only accessible if the user has the appropriate permissions (via personal or institutional subscription). The result of all this aggregation is an impressive, centralized index of philosophy content - not unlike what Google Scholar would be if scoped only to philosophy and curated by academic philosophers.

PhilPapers is a step beyond online philosophy archives thus far, and in many ways. It aggregates much more content than other archives have, and does much more with that content to make it accessible and meaningful. One of the key features of PhilPapers is its categorization of papers into philosophical subfields and sub-subfields based on an original taxonomy of philosophy. The librarians among us are likely to appreciate the value that controlled vocabulary, taxonomy and /or tagging can contribute to an index. Some categorization of materials is automated in PhilPapers, but users are also encouraged to use the taxonomy to supply categories to papers.

This isn't the only contribution that users are encouraged to make. As mentioned earlier, PhilPapers also accepts original content from users, if the original content is "professional-quality work in academic philosophy." The submission can be a link to an online paper hosted elsewhere, or the file itself.

PhilPapers also hosts an online forum for users to interact on professional or philosophical issues (noted as being intended for professional philosophers and graduate students). These forums tend to be a vibrant space for discussion, refinement of argument and sharing.

All in all, PhilPapers seems to be getting it right. They've created a highly useful and highly used service for a defined user community, leveraging the flexibility of online publication to make materials accessible in an interactive context. As a service to academic philosophers, the defined scope will likely be appealing: it fulfills a digital-savvy philosopher's expectations while also eliminating the non-philosophical "noise" that would have been encountered on the open web, in Google Scholar or in institutional library catalogs and repositories. The "good stuff" is here and PhilPapers' criteria for inclusion seem to indicate that if materials aren't peer-reviewed, they will at least be vetted as "professional-quality."

In terms of service to the public at large, PhilPapers is susceptible to the same criticism leveled at Google Scholar by librarians, namely that indexing of subscription-based items is misleading since users not affiliated with a subscribing institution won't have access. But the intended audience for this resource - professional philosophers - generally doesn't have this problem.

So what do you think? Are you impressed with PhilPapers? Unimpressed? Are faculty at your institution using it? How might we engage PhilPapers in outreach to faculty? How might we use it in instruction? Are their other open web resources you're aware of doing similar things, especially any in religion and theology?

ALA Annual Meeting

2010-06-09T16:50:00.004-05:00

Saturday, June 26th, 2010, 8:00 to 10:00am.

Location: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, Room: Columbia B

This will be a joint meeting with the WESS Classical Medieval Renaissance (CMR) Discussion Group, on the very general topic of "online publication."

Agenda

The Philosophy Documentation Center www.pdcnet.org
George Leaman, Director, and Susanne Mueller-Grote, Electronic Publishing and Marketing Manager

Oxford Bibliographies (www.oxfordbibliographiesonline.com) and Oxford Biblical Studies Online www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com
Damon Zucca, Executive Editor, Reference Division, Oxford University Press

The Online Publications Program of the Center for Hellenic Studies chs.harvard.edu
Noel Spencer and Jeremy Linn

Theology, Religion, and Philosophy Librarian position at Baylor University

2009-02-27T15:08:00.002-06:00

There is an opening as the Theology, Religion, and Philosophy Librarian at Baylor University. Here is the ALA and Baylor links:

http://joblist.ala.org/modules/jobseeker/controller.cfm?scr=jobdetail&jobid=12740
http://www.baylor.edu/hr_services/index.php?id=22640

Such a rare event to see all three disciplines in one heading!

2009 Midwinter Agenda

2009-01-20T12:34:00.001-06:00

Preliminary Agenda for ALA Midwinter Session of the ACRL Philosophy and Religious Studies Discussion Group

1/25/2009 Sunday 04:00 pm - 05:30 pm RITZ Cameron

(1) Vendor Presentation of Brill's Online Resources for Islamic Studies cf. http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=220

(2) Faculty outreach. What are some ways we've successfully (and unsuccessfully) reached out to faculty? Let's post some of the more promising strategies on the PRT blog. http://prtdiscussiongroup.blogspot.com/

(3) Bibliographic instruction in philosophy. Philosophy doesn't seem to be an area that lends itself readily to library instruction. Lower-level courses usually don't involve much independent research, while faculty often are reluctant to sacrifice class time in higher-level courses. Has anyone had any success in providing bibliographic instruction for such classes? What works? What doesn't?

(4) Collections Budget. Meeting faculty needs with reduced budgets.

(5) Ideas for Annual

(6) Open Discussion

Hope to see you there!

World religions resources

2008-07-25T15:58:00.003-05:00

I know a number of people in this group are always in the market for good lists of materials in world religions. The American Theological Library Association's World Religions Interest Group has made available a couple of bibliographies, based on the work of scholars in Islam and--coming soon!--Hinduism. I hope you'll find them useful.

-Miranda

Minutes from 2008 Annual

2008-07-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

Philosophy, Religion and Theological Studies Discussion Group

June 29, 2008

Anaheim, CA

Ted prepared an agenda which we followed (kind of!)

1. selected note taker

2. everyone introduced themselves

3. Products, Databases, Resources

LibGuides: Several members are currently constructing guides. Since there is a ‘community’ link available to authors, it facilitates sharing of information and sources.

Poeisis: Database that offers smaller press and society journals online, but the library must have a subscription to the journal in print.

Philosopher’s Index: Database is not comprehensive but offers select literature as building blocks for new thought.

Oxford Biblical Studies: similar in format to Oxford Islamic Studies. Oxford Classical Studies is forthcoming.

Ebsco/American Antiquarian Project: Project availability in 2009. They will be offering historic American periodicals (1693-1876) that include sermons and church notes. These will be sold as collections with a one time cost.

Reference Universe: mentioned as a way to promote print collections.

Guide to Reference: ALA electronic source that will be updated annually.

4. Collection Analysis Tools: OCLC and Resources for College Libraries

Member discussed varied experiences with each and compared costs. RCL doesn’t pick up superseded editions.

5. Collection Development

Gifts: Large collections are costly to process, house, and manage. OCLC provides processing services. Discards can go to Better World Books or booksontherun. Some member libraries are able to sell used books or unwanted gift books as fund raisers. Ebay is a way to sell rare books to raise money for the library (or to locate rare titles to buy).

Move to electronic rather than print: partly to address space issues, partly driven by faculty preferences. There was a discussion of the stability of electronic sources and the group expressed trust in JStor and Project Muse but not other aggregators. Many libraries have stored JStor –held print off site or relied on agreements to make certain one copy exists for a consortium. Other options include not binding JStor titles pending discard once they are included in the database.

Faculty Relations: be vocal, know the chair of the department, be open to suggestions. An issue for some libraries: faculty have figured out that requesting a book for reserve that the library doesn’t own will mean it gets ordered from another part of the budget. They are working the system

Media Requests: Most have noticed a decline in requests.

6. Instruction

Graduate Students: renewed focus on guiding to the sources they learned as undergrads in a new system. For older returning graduate students instruction introduces them to sources that are new to them.

Workshops for Faculty: Names such as “Resource Update” work better than “Faculty Workshop”

7. Blog Value?

Ted will check on the upcoming ALA Connect that may offer blog space to groups.

8. Colin agreed to co-chair with Ted. Group discussed inviting vendors or speakers to meetings such as ATLA when we meet in Chicago.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Gaspar

Church, Insurance and Risk Management

2008-07-10T10:53:00.004-05:00

Greetings,

As a new member of this blog and an interest in this ACRL group I thought would make a brief post. I am the Digital Services Librarian at St. John's University - Manhattan Campus. The library I work in is primarily focused on insurance and risk management. I recently received an MA in theology from SJU and have been working on building up our collection in the general subject areas of Churches - Insurance; Clergy - Insurance, Professional Liability; and Religion and insurance. The link to our Website is www.stjohns.edu/davislibrary and our catalog link is InsureCat. You're welcome to see what we already have. I'm interested if anyone in this group has a specific resources in these subject areas that you think would be helpful addition. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Ricky