Consulting for the Association of Christian Librarians (2006-2008)

In mid-2006 I changed positions in the library at Liberty University, and as a result had more time to engage in service to the library profession. I had been involved in the Association of Christian Librarians since 1996, so it was natural for me to find outlets for service there. At that time many of the institutions represented in the Association’s membership were interested in building electronic book collections, but online providers didn’t offer a lot of content that reflected evangelical Christian views. In this context Linda Poston, then President of the Association, invited me to serve as Digital Content Manager.

For nearly 2 years I served in what was essentially a volunteer consulting role. During that time I carried out several tasks:

• I reviewed relevant literature and synthesized my findings into a 14-page report for the Association’s board.

• I analyzed data from the Books In Print^® database so as to identify the most significant publishers of religious books.

• I moderated a plenary conference session with panelists representing 4 Christian publishing houses located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

• I established contact with numerous publishing houses to voice the Association’s interest in electronic books.

• I collaborated with John Jaeger, another member of the Association, to author a brief progress report for publication in The Christian Librarian.

• I conducted a survey of Christian college and seminary libraries, generating a base of evidence regarding the libraries’ electronic book purchasing power, needs, and preferences.

The accompanying image shows the cover of the research report that I produced in the early months of this project.