Description of the Papers

The Yale Divinity School Library was designated as the official repository of the ATLA's archives in 2000. This record group consists primarily of records that had been deposited over several years at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, the former repository for ATLA archives. The basic series structure and organization of the records reflects the order in which materials were received from Philadelphia, though many additional records have been integrated into the sequence. The ATLA was for many years a very decentralized organization and full records were not always transferred to the archives by its scattered officers and committee chairs.

The ATLA archives in this record group are complemented by two other collections at the Yale Divinity Library: the Raymond P. Morris Papers, (RG 80) and records of the ATLA Library Development Program (RG 81). Morris, Librarian of the Yale Divinity School Library from 1932-1972, was a founder of the ATLA and long-time president of the Board of Microtext. The ATLA Library Development Program provided funds to strengthen the book collections of ninety North American theological libraries between 1961 and 1966. The program was directed by Raymond Morris, and funded by the Sealantic Fund.

Series I, Organization of the ATLA, includes records related to the formation of the Association, legal documents, and membership records. Series II, Administrative Records, includes records of various officers of the ATLA, including the Executive Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, President of the Board of Directors, and Vice-President of the Board. The quantity of records available from these various officers varies. The records related to various ATLA committees found in Series III also vary considerably in quantity and substance. Among the most complete are the records of the Cataloging and Classification Committee, which became the Committee on Bibliographic Systems. There is considerable overlap between the committee records found in Series III and other series in the collection, including the Program files of Series XIV.

Series IV provides documentation of the Board of Index from 1957 to 1988, with earlier records related to periodical indexing proposals. The Board of Microtext is documented in Series V, with minutes, reports, correspondence, and other material dating from the 1950s thourgh the 1980s. The Board of Directors records on Series VI include minutes from 1972 through 1997, as well as other correspondence and reports. These records are supplemented by the files of the various Presidents of the Board of Directors found in Series II, Administrative Records. The Board of Preservation records of Series VII continue on chronologically from the Board of Microtext records of Series V. The Preservation Board was created in 1984 by merger of the Interim Board for the Preservation of Theological Monographs and Board of Microtext, and was responsible for running preservation microfilming programs for serials and monographs.

Series VIII documents the ATLA's relationships with various other organizations, including the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. The annual conferences of the ATLA have long been a crucial part of its program. The proceedings of the conferences found in Series IX provide very detailed information about the activities and memberhip of the Association. The Publications of Series X include the ATLA News Bulletin, Bibliography Series, Monograph Series, and copies of the Religion Index. Series XI includes documentation of fellowship and scholarship programs coordinated by the ATLA as well as grant proposals for funding of ATLA activities. The Financial Records of Series XII are overview records - treasurer statements, tax reports, and the like. Series XIII, Oral Histories, is a new series, not represented in the series structure carried over from the Presbyterian Historical Society. It includes transcripts of interviews with several important leaders of the ATLA. Audio versions of some interviews are also available in Series XV, Audio-Visual Material. The records related to Programs in Series XIV also constitute a new series. The programs documented include library consulting, materials exchange, and monographs preservation. Series XV, Audio-Visual Materials, includes photographs, slides, and audio cassettes, many of them related to the annual conferences of the ATLA.