(Nearly) 75 Years of Atla Annual Conferences – Part 1

Registration is open for Atla Annual 2021 Online! With less than two months to go until the conference and in celebration of Atla’s 75th Anniversary, we thought it would be fun to look back over past Atla Annuals and hear from some of our members about what the conference has meant to them. 

Sadly, we don’t have many records of our earliest Atla Annual Conferences, but we do have this photo of Atla Annual attendees in 1956, only one decade after Atla was founded. Although a lot has changed since those days – I, for one, would like their outfits to come back! – the friendship and community of our conferences have stayed the same. 

Atla Annual 2003 – Kris Veldheer

Spotted at the Atla Annual 2003 conference, here is Kris Veldheer, Library Director at Catholic Theological Union, and her 10-month-old son, Griffin, attending his very first Atla Annual! We asked Kris a few questions about her experiences with the conference.

How many Atla Annuals have you been to? When did you start attending?

My first was in 1996 and I have only missed two since then, so by my math, through 2020, that makes twenty-two Annual Conferences. 2021 will make twenty-three!

What is your favorite part of Atla Annual?

Seeing friends I only see at Atla Annual.

What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Atla Annual?

Even though it’s another virtual meeting, I think the program will be great. Many great papers and speakers lined up.

What is Griffin up to now? 

Griffin is attending Lake Michigan College, working toward his AAS degree in Business and working in merchandising for Sam’s Club.  Here is one of his senior pictures from high school. 

Atla Annual 2008 – Carrie Hackney & Susan Ebertz

From Atla Annual 2008, we have Atla friends Carrie Hackney, Divinity Librarian at Harvard University School of Divinity, and Susan Ebertz, Library Director at Wartburg Theological Seminary. Here are Susan’s thoughts on Atla Annual: 

How many Atla Annuals have you been to? What year did you start attending?   

Twenty-one Atla Annuals. I won the prize for the most Atla canvas bags at the Atla Annual in Indianapolis. 

The first one I went to was in 1999 at Loyola in Chicago. I was so lonely and was rebuffed a couple of times when I tried to meet new people. As an introvert, that about killed my desire to meet people.  My husband picked me up after the conference and I cried all three and a half hours home. I swore that I would never go to another Atla Annual. In 2001, I ventured to another conference and took my husband with me so I would have someone to talk with. I also decided that I would try to reach out to anyone who looked like they needed a friendly face. 

You and Carrie have this beautiful tradition of taking a photo together every year at Atla Annual. How did this tradition start?

I first met Carrie in 2002 when I was part of the ATS reaccreditation committee that visited Howard. Then at the next Atla Annual, I ran into Carrie. We sat on the bus to Mt. Angel Abbey. The air-conditioning on the bus was broken and the trip was miserable except for the company. Carrie and I talked the whole way up and back. I can’t remember when the first picture was taken. Someone took a picture of us and then we decided the next year that we needed another picture. It then became a thing that we did each year. We haven’t done it for a while now.  

What are some of your favorite Atla Annual memories overall?  

I remember the people. For example, I remember meeting Evan Boyd at a Lutheran denominational meeting. I mentioned that I had a lot of books that needed to be cataloged but since I was the only librarian, it wasn’t going to get done any time soon. Evan later emailed me and asked if he could volunteer to catalog during his vacation. It’s people like Evan that make Atla the organization it is. The Atla staff are fantastic, too!   

How have you seen the conference change over the years?  

It has definitely become more professional. No more dorm rooms. Atla members are still the same service-oriented people. 

What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Atla Annual?

I’m looking forward to working with Vance Thomas and Kris Veldheer on our session for small libraries. I love the Small Libraries interest group and am hoping we can have a few minutes at the beginning or end to chat. I’m also looking forward to seeing who will be at the session I’m doing on Atla racial/ethnic history. I’m hoping I can meet some new people at the session.

Atla Annual 2011 – Yuh-Fen & Chris Benda

From Atla Annual 2011, we have husband and wife Chris and Yuh-Fen Benda! We asked Chris, Librarian for Theology and Religion, and Yuh-Fen, Librarian for Asian Studies, at Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University, a few questions: 

How many Atla Annuals have you been to? What year did you start attending?   

Around ten, I think. We started to attend in 2008 when the conference was held in Ottawa (a memorable location!). 

What are some of your favorite Atla Annual memories overall?  

Meeting new people, seeing friends, and going out to interesting restaurants in the cities where the conferences were taking place. 

Atla Annual 2019 – Liz Leahy

At the 2019 conference, here is Liz Leahy, Professor of Theological Bibliography & Research at Azusa Pacific Seminary! We asked Liz a few questions: 

How many Atla Annuals have you been to? What year did you start attending? 

I think over the years I have made it to all but four of the annual meetings – so perhaps I have been in attendance at about twenty-two of the meetings? 

What are some of your favorite Atla Annual memories overall? 

My first Atla meeting was in June 1994 – my moving truck arrived the day before, at my home in Virginia, my friend Cheryl Adams picked me up and drove me up to our Pittsburgh meeting, and I was warmly and curiously welcomed (curiously because I was new to the profession and the position I had accepted had been open for some time). Pittsburgh had record heat, we were staying in the dorms at Carnegie Mellon (without air conditioning and intermittent water shortages – impacting showers availability), and OJ Simpson had his famous Bronco chase down the freeway… I also made some lifelong friendships at the conference, for which I am so grateful. I left the conference and flew to California to start my new position. 

How have you seen the conference change over the years? 

An obvious one is the move from holding the conferences at seminaries/divinity schools and staying in dorms to staying at hotels and meeting in conference centers. Also, the move from the local conference hosts running nearly the entire meeting (including housing) to being an active partner with Atla (but Atla carrying most of the organizational work). I have valued the opportunity to visit member campuses when we are at a conference and hope we can continue this.  

What is your favorite part of Atla Annual?

I enjoy learning new things at the conferences, meeting with the vendors, and especially learning from and seeing friends across Atla. 

Do you have favorite memories of Atla conferences? Tell us about them on Facebook and Twitter! Check back soon for the second part of our post on Atla Annual.