After more than twenty years of outstanding service to Atla, Gregg Taylor, Publisher Relations Manager, has announced his resignation from Atla effective December 15, 2022, to pursue a new professional endeavor.
We are indebted to Gregg for his relationship-building skills and global content licensing efforts, leading to hundreds of full-text titles licensed under his management. Always willing to help and go the extra mile around the world, we are grateful for his positive attitude and professionalism. He will truly be missed. Margot Lyon, Gregg’s current director, interviewed him in his last week at Atla.
ML: What are you proud of?
GT: I got to be on the front row for this dynamic period of global growth in Atla’s research tools. Our team set an aspirational goal of building a network of publisher relationships across the globe. Demonstrating to publishers large and small that Atla could be a meaningful partner in achieving their goals was so rewarding. I loved forging relationships with the key commercial publishers in our field while never straying from Atla’s commitment to small institutions and associations that publish such excellent content in our field. I’m deeply proud of the significant growth of content published outside the United States and in so many languages, but truthfully, I’m even prouder of the network of strong relationships that underlie that growth.
I loved forging relationships with the key commercial publishers in our field while never straying from Atla’s commitment to small institutions and associations that publish such excellent content in our field.
ML: What trips were memorable?
GT: Being the only nonpractitioner at Frith Forge, the first international conference focused on inclusive Ásatrú and Heathenry, was an experience I will never forget. Dr. Karl Seigfried, an incredible scholar, blogger, and advocate, extended the invitation. Held in a former Soviet youth camp on the outskirts of East Berlin, with a steady diet of cold cuts and mead, I will always be grateful for the opportunity to observe as these dedicated practitioners shared their experience and wisdom as they discussed issues of hospitality and inclusion that resonate deeply with the Atla community.
Attending the Frankfurt Book Fair for the first time in 2015 was a jaw-dropping experience. Nothing had prepared me fully for the massive attendance (around 300,000 at that time) or the sheer size of the Festhalle. Margot Lyon and I learned the hard way that back-to-back meetings with a mile of walking in between made for an exhausting schedule! But these meetings set the stage for building essential relationships with global commercial publishers. Being present and representing Atla gave us the opportunity to let these publishers know Atla’s value to them as a trusted partner—we laid the foundation for so much important growth in the future.
In 2017, my colleague Dr. Iskandar Bcheiry and I traveled to Rome under the mandate of increasing scholarly content in the Roman Catholic tradition. That was the era during which Atla was merging CPLI into our own products, and we had the opportunity to grow our Catholic content significantly. Traveling with Iskandar was an incredible blessing, as he had studied in Rome, knew many important contacts in the city, and was able to translate for me. As one example, we took the bus out to the Salesianum, where we waited for the editor between his classes and negotiated a deal as he walked from one classroom to the other. The inestimable value of colleagues like Iskandar to Atla’s reputation and value was so present to me on that trip.
ML: What were some funny moments?
GT: The one that always comes to mind was walking into the lunchroom, where two colleagues were talking through the logistics of having an upcoming nuptial ceremony in the Klingon language. The way they were so deeply embedded simultaneously in the liturgical details of the service and the grammar and vocabulary of the Klingon language was, quite simply, a perfect encapsulation of the joy that working for Atla has brought me.
The high level of engagement and connection that Atla membership has with the research tools is a true reservoir from which to draw.
ML: What are some memories of Atla Annual?
GT: My first Annual Conference was in Kansas City in 2004. I had the great good fortune of getting to present alongside my longtime colleague Nina Shultz in a paper in which we pulled back the curtain on the indexing process. The warm reception and thoughtful questions we received from the members made a lasting impression. I was glad to participate in the annual product updates at Atla Annual over the years, which were not only a welcome moment to reflect on the good work well done the year prior, but also gave me the opportunity to hear from the membership about what they valued and what they would like to see in the products. The high level of engagement and connection that Atla membership has with the research tools is a true reservoir from which to draw. Most of my favorite interactions with members came in the context of working with the journals published by their institutions. These negotiations often helped shine a light on the librarian as a key stakeholder in their institution, and certainly, the advocacy of the members helped the administration recognize the value of working with Atla to further the mission of their journal.
Please join us in wishing Gregg all the best as he pursues new opportunities and thanking him for all his efforts on behalf of Atla over the past twenty years.
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