Call for Chapter Proposals for Third Volume of ‘The Theological Librarian’s Handbook’ Series

The Atla International Theological Librarianship Education Task Force seeks proposals for the third volume of The Theological Librarian’s Handbook, an open access book series published by Atla Open Press. Volume one, Introduction to Theological Libraries, was published in February 2020, and volume two, Administration in Theological Libraries, will be published this summer at https://books.atla.com/.

Series Description

The Theological Librarian’s Handbook is a multi-volume guide to the practice of theological librarianship intended for library staff who do not possess professional training in the field of library and information science. It offers perspectives and advice from leading experts in the field and best practices from theological libraries all over the world.

Volume 3: Collection Development in Theological Libraries

Collection development is an important activity for all theological libraries, irrespective of their size, budget, or location. Collection development and access policies can help ensure that a library meets its institution’s current and future needs. As well as providing background information about the library, its collections, and clientele, a collection development policy can: clarify selection criteria; document acquisition, retention, and weeding priorities; describe preservation activities; and outline significant relationships and collaborative collection development initiatives.

Appropriate chapters for this volume include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

• Essential elements of a Collection Development Policy
• Relationship between the Collection Development Policy and the institutional history of the library
• Role of curriculum evaluation in the development of the Collection Development Policy
• Selecting resources
  • Types of publishers
  • Serials
  • Print and/or electronic resources
  • Audiovisual works
• Acquisitions processing
• Strategies for Libraries with a limited budget
• Donations and Bequests
• Developing special collections and archives
• Collection assessment
• Authority of the Collection Development Policy
• Approval, review, and evaluation processes
• Collaborative Collection Development

Submission Instructions

Proposals are welcome from single or co-authors. Authors from different global contexts are especially encouraged. Proposals must include a 250-word abstract describing the topic and a working title for the chapter, as well as a current CV or resume for the author(s). Inquiries on this project and proposals for chapters should be submitted electronically by April 15, 2021, to openbooks@myatla.org.

Review of submissions will begin immediately with determination of final selections by June 1, 2021.

Accepted authors must submit completed chapter manuscripts by December 1, 2021. Chapters should be approximately 1,500 – 2,500 words and conform to the Books@Atla Open Press Author Guidelines (see Step Two). The anticipated publication date is Summer 2022. The final product will be available open access under a CC-BY-NC license as PDF and EPUB and also available in print on demand.