Atla, the producer of the premier databases for the study of religion and theology and a library association of collectors and connectors in religion and theology, recently held their annual conference in Long Beach, California. Theological librarians, Atla members and board directors, exhibitors, sponsors and others joined both in-person and virtually to connect with fellow members of the religion and theology library space. Members of the EBSCO team ventured out to Long Beach to connect with Atla members and customers at this annual event.
The conference began with a welcome address from Dr. John Kutsko, Executive Director of Atla, and was followed by a presentation from Dr. Amir Hussain, a professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in which he spoke about his work in religion and theology education. A reception in the exhibition hall followed with attendees exploring the booths from exhibitors and sponsors. We heard from customers about their experiences with EBSCO products and platforms, such as EBSCOhost and EBSCO Discovery Service.
Director of Product Management for Academic Databases & EBSCO Discovery Content at EBSCO, Anthony DiZazzo, also delivered a presentation highlighting capabilities within the new EBSCOhost User Interface, which is currently being rolled out and will be fully available to customers by August 2025. Anthony oversees a team of product managers and works with them to develop expertise in products and services that support the research and learning needs of academic institutions around the world.
His presentation particularly explored the new functionalities within the Scripture Search authority in Atla Religion Databases. Some of the new features he highlighted included the new search bar that allows users to quickly access content they are looking for. End users can also combine multiple scriptures to create a comprehensive and enhanced search across books, chapters, and verses. Additionally, researchers can combine Scripture Search with the Subject Search from the Atla Subject Thesaurus which allows users to see exactly where certain subjects appear within a scripture.
Another noteworthy presentation was delivered by Dr. John Kutsko in which he gave an update on the Atla association – including the current state of Atla Religion Database resources and the association’s vision for the future. Kutsko also touched upon the idea that “religion is everywhere” and Atla can be used as a resource for students across college and university campuses – not just in the religion and theology department, but across other departments as well. Learn more about John, his journey and the organization's crucial role in shaping the future of religious studies, humanities and social sciences in our interview with the Executive Director.
The event included many presentations on topics such as AI and its relation to theological education, development of multilingual libraries, and information literacy, and provided ample opportunity to explore the exhibition hall. It closed with a plenary address from Dr. Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Executive Director of Research at OCLC, where she explored how library staff and leaders are redefining the library experience to meet evolving community needs and expectations.
Throughout the event, conversations at the EBSCO booth were plentiful and centered around topics such as EBSCO’s partnership with Atla, recent updates to the EBSCOhost User Interface, and how EBSCO supports those researching and studying within the fields of religion and theology. Some customers who visited the booth shared that they had already migrated to the new UI and were excited to explore the new functionalities including personalized dashboards, modern results lists, greater citing and sharing options, and enhanced viewer experiences.
Atla and EBSCO partner together to make essential databases for religious and theological studies accessible through libraries around the world. Atla’s database suite provides bibliographic information or full-text collections of journal articles covering diverse topics such as biblical studies, world religions, church history and religion in social issues to libraries around the world.
