IN DEPTH ‘‘
Rob Green is Editor of Information Professional.
ABTAPL stands with its members, recognising the challenges, supporting advocacy, and celebrating new partnerships that enable theological and religious libraries to survive and thrive.
Marking 70 years of the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries
The Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Christine Love-Rodgers, College Lead, Library Academic Support (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science), University of Edinburgh, and Hannie Riley, Library Director at the Lanier Theological Library and Learning Centre, Yarnton Manor, explore the history of the Association and its ongoing importance.
THE Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries – ABTAPL (pro- nounced ‘Abtapple’ to those in the know) is a member organisation formed to sup- port anyone working, or with an interest in, theological, religious or philosophical libraries.
Officially founded in 1956, it has roots in an earlier organisation, SCOTAPLL (the Standing Confer- ence of Theological and Philosophical Libraries in London)1
. This ecumenical group of librarians worked to discover and build significant collections in religion and philosophy. From the very begin- ning members included librarians from the Jewish Historical Society and the Buddhist Society, building the foundations of ABTAPL’s multi-faith and non-denominational ethos. Today members include large academic libraries, small seminary libraries, cathedral libraries and historic libraries that have religious collections.
Information Professional (IP) – Thinking about ABTAPL’s mission and purpose, can you talk to us about how you support the needs of specialist theological and philosophical collections?
Christine Love-Rodgers (CLR) and Hannie Riley (HR) – ABTAPL is very aware of the constrained financial landscape in which its members operate,
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and it works with sector publishers and suppliers to secure discounts on electronic resources and journal subscriptions for members. We also operate two funding schemes to relieve the financial pressures at both individual and institution levels. We offer a small grant fund to support individual members as well as a large grant fund to support theological libraries in need around the world. In recent years, our large grant fund has been used to support the shipment of theological books to Ukraine, Uganda and Pakistan.
One of the group’s great resources is the experi- ence and expertise of its members, and a glance at the ABTAPL mailing list shows this in action, with members supporting members to meet each other’s library needs. Additionally, many ABTAPL events also include library visits, another way in which librarians working in specialist theological and philosophical collections can learn from each other. ABTAPL publishes a print journal, the ABTAPL Bulletin, three times a year for members, which includes news, conference and event reports, book reviews, professional development articles and case studies, and introductory articles about individual theological libraries.
IP – The roots of the organisation are around discoverability of collections, helping to bring awareness of some of the less well
February-March 2026
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