| International
Report - February 2004 Newsletter |
Association
for British Theological and Philosophical Libraries
by Judith Powles, Chairman
ABTAPL
is the Association of British Theological and
PhilosophicaLibraries, an organisation
- in liaison with the Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals - of libraries and librarians working with
theological and philosophical collections and related materials.
ABTAPL provides for its members an informal network for sharing
information and experience, for consultation, for advice and for support
for both individual problems and continuing professional development.
ABTAPL
was originally formed to be the United Kingdom member of the International
Association of Theological Libraries, which was set up in 1954 under
the auspices of UNESCO.
It was felt that there was a vital need, throughout the world of
information, for wider dissemination about theological libraries,
theological librarianship and theological and philosophical literature.
Although this original international association was short-lived, it
provided the impetus for the establishment of several national
associations of theological libraries.
Later, many of the aims and objectives of the original
international association were carried on by the International
Council of Theological Library Associations, which today is known as
European Theological Libraries (BETH
– Bibliothèques Européennes de Théologie), of which ABTAPL is an
active member. In 2000 ABTAPL hosted the BETH annual assembly in York.
The
first meeting of ABTAPL was held in 1956 and the Association flourished
for ten years, after which there was a loss of impetus until 1974 when a
revival of interest began and has continued to the present day.
MEMBERSHIP
The
majority of our members are librarians working in theological and/or
philosophical libraries. However, the membership is not confined to
professional librarians, nor are there geographical restrictions; many
of our members are overseas. Anyone who has an interest in theology
and/or philosophy may join the Association.
Many of our members work in professional isolation, so sharing
experiences from a wide range of disciplines does much to lift
professional horizons. Some
of our members have spent all of their working lives in a specialist
library; others have transferred from the public service; some have
bookselling experience; some carry library responsibilities because they
lecture in theology or in philosophy. The only membership qualification is to have an interest in
the bibliography, librarianship or management of our specialist
subjects. All are welcome
in ABTAPL.
ACTIVITIES
ABTAPL
usually meets twice a year - a day meeting is held in the autumn, which
includes a visit to a library in the specialisation, and a residential
three-day conference, which is held in the spring.
Although the autumn meetings are usually convened in London for
convenience of travel, the spring conferences are held in different
locations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
These meetings are valuable not only for seeing the wide variety
of modern library practice in many different institutions, but also for
the opportunities to meet other librarians in the same specialisations.
These occasions are highly regarded by our members, many of whom
work alone in their libraries and are not otherwise afforded the
opportunity to broaden their professional education.
The schedule of meetings is posted on our website.
PUBLICATIONS
·
The ABTAPL Union List of Periodicals
includes the philosophy, theology and religious study journal
holdings of 45 different institutions in Britain and is a useful tool
for tracing the location of titles.
The publisher details are given for some titles and links to free
electronic journals are also included.
This list is now available online at http://www.le.ac.uk/abtapl/
·
The Bulletin is published by
the Association as a forum for professional exchange and development in
the fields of theological and philosophical librarianship.
It is published three times a year - March, June and November -
and now has a circulation of approximately 250 copies, with about
one-third of these going to libraries in Europe, North America and the
Commonwealth. There are
indexes covering 1974 -1981 and 1981-1996.
For subscription details, please see our website.
·
The Guide
to Theological and Religious Studies Collections of Great Britain and
Ireland is a comprehensive compilation of theological libraries in
the United Kingdom and Ireland, including the location and a brief
description of the holdings of each library listed.
A third edition is now in preparation.
·
Religious
Bibliographies in Serial Literature: a Guide compiled by Michael Walsh, assisted by other ABTAPL
members, was published by Mansell in 1981. Although no longer current,
this was a major co-operative effort at the time.
DISCUSSION LIST
ABTAPL
also has a free online discussion list for all its members who have
access to e-mail. Details
and information can be found by accessing http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/abtapl.html
.
Judith
Powles, Chairman (E-mail: j.powles@spurgeons.ac.uk)
The Librarian,Spurgeon’s College, 189 South Norwood Hill, London SE25
6DJ, UK.
ABTAPL website: http://www.abtapl.org.uk
