Last year, Atla launched a new online, open access Institutional Repository (IR) for theological schools (
ir.atla.com). In this Listen & Learn session, audience members will have the opportunity to learn about this IR platform and IRs in general from the librarian who manages Atla’s IR as well as two library directors who have used Atla’s platform to build electronic theses & dissertations repositories (ETDs) for their institutions. Christy Karpinski, the Atla Digital Initiatives Librarian, will provide an overview of Atla’s IR platform and its capabilities. Yasmine Abou-El-Kheir and John Dechant—Library Directors at the Chicago Theological Seminary and Meadville Lombard Theological School, respectively—will detail their experiences in subscribing to the platform and using it to advance their schools’ institutional goals and mission statements. The three presenters will show how Atla’s IR looks and functions, as well as how it can improve the impact of students’ scholarship and the visibility of the institution. Audience members will learn strategies for successfully proposing an IR to school leaders and develop insights into different workflows for building and maintaining an IR or ETD.
