Erica Treesh Retires as ATLA’s Manager of Bibliographic Control

Submitted by Maria Stanton, Director of Production

It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that Erica Treesh, ATLA’s Manager of Bibliographic Control, retired at the end of December. We, of course, wish her well in this next phase of her life, but we will miss her editorial leadership and encyclopedic knowledge of ATLA’s history. Erica has been with ATLA for over 25 years; she was the first full time paid indexer for the database.  

Ultimately, Erica dedicated her career to ATLA, and we are all the better for it. She supported the organization and the database through several transitions (for example, print to CD-ROM, CD-ROM to online). Most recently, in her leadership role as the manager of the team that completes the topical analysis of the journals in our database, Erica supported the team through the transition from a legacy editorial platform to the new platform that has enabled us to expand the editorial scope of the database considerably since 2015. Also, Erica drew upon her combined deep knowledge of the study of religions with her knowledge of taxonomies to ensure we effectively harmonized the ATLA Religion Database® (ATLA RDB®) and ATLA Catholic Periodical and Literature Index® (ATLA CPLI®) controlled vocabularies into one coherent whole.

With deep gratitude, we thank Erica for her contribution to the support of the academic study of religion and theology. We will equally miss her professionalism and support as a colleague.

A couple of quotes from staff who have worked with Erica longer than I have.

“Erica is one of the most competent and compassionate people I have ever worked for.  She has an unsurpassed knowledge of the work, and she has challenged us both to meet the highest standards while supporting us as employees and people.”

• Joel Schorn, Indexer Analyst

“Erica Treesh has been the model of professionalism during her long tenure at the American Theological Library Association.  She has enriched the organization with her constant striving for and attainment of the highest standards in all the many spheres of her work.  She has inspired her staff with clear guidance, sound advice, unfailing patience, understanding, and kindness.”

• Nina Shultz, Indexer Analyst

Please join us in congratulating Erica on her well-deserved retirement.