Atla Announces Publication of Grant Funded Open Educational Resource on Church History

Chicago, IL, September 28, 2023 – During the third round of funding of the OER Grant Program, Atla awarded Ashland Theological Seminary a grant to create a multimedia resource on Christian Church history consisting of an interactive timeline linking to informative and educational elements. The resource was developed as a LibGuide and is now available under a CC-BY-NC for use and adaptation by anyone who may be seeking OER in church history. 

The grant team consisted of six persons from Ashland Theological Seminary’s faculty, library, and other support staff: Dr. Jason Barnhart (Assistant Professor of Historical Theology), Sadie Vanderzyden (Grant Assistant), Dr. Pidge Bannin (Senior Instructional Designer), Karen Reaume (Associate Program Director), Sarah Thomas (Theological Librarian), and Daniel O’Brien (Circulation & Digital Services Librarian). The team created a visually appealing interactive timeline that includes informative text and images to illustrate the subject. Dr. Barnhart explains “This interactive church history timeline will provide a free resource to both students taking church history courses, and those looking to increase their knowledge of key people, events, and places that have shaped the Christian story. Instead of costly books of charts and maps, students will now have a resource available through the online presence of our library. My hope would be for this resource to expand further with more church history data along with historical data from the Old and New Testaments and the intertestamental period. With photos, charts, and videos, students will be able to immerse themselves in both the biblical and ecclesiastical stories of Christianity.” 

Participating in the OER Grant Program is a unique opportunity for religious studies and theological librarians. “I am new to the world of grants. The Atla OER Grant was a wonderful experience to learn more about managing grants. I had such an enjoyable time working with seminary faculty and staff to help create the OER product. Atla was always immensely helpful with any questions. I would encourage any librarian who is new to the world of grants to apply for the OER Grant,” shares Sarah Thomas. 

The next round of funding of OER Grants will open sometime in early 2024. Potential applicants are encouraged to review the full program documentation and reach out to Atla with any questions.