“Who are we as theology librarians, and what does involvement in Atla mean to us? Does serving as a theology librarian signify an exercise in religious vocation and is our association a faith-based organization with professional dimensions? Or are we librarians in a professional association concerned with content in theology and religious studies?” There are different responses to this query, and these differences can lead to tension as theology and religious studies librarians with diverse perspectives work together to build a shared future in Atla. The panelists—representing different faith traditions, institutional settings, educational and professional backgrounds, and perspectives on their work as librarians—reflect on their roles as theology and religious studies librarians with regard to three guiding prompts: (1) What is your sense of vocation and identity as a librarian? (2) How does Atla function for you, in terms of spiritual formation and/or professional development? and (3) What are your expectations from Atla?

BackgroundMany HIV databases and applications focus on a limited domain of HIV knowledge. Since even a “simple” organism like HIV represents a very complex system with many interacting elements, the fractured structure of existing databases and applications likely limits our ability to investigate and understand HIV. To facilitate research, therefore, we have built HIVToolbox, which integrates much of the knowledge about HIV proteins and presents the data in an interactive web application. HIVToolbox allows quick and convenient hypotheses generation, experiment interpretation, and potential new drug structure creation.MethodsHIVToolbox was built as a standard three-tier J2EE web application, consisting of 1) an underlying relational MySQL database, 2) a set of standard Java data access objects that pull data from the database, and 3) a set of dynamic web pages the user interacts with. HIV-1 data from external sources such as the Protein Data Bank, NCBI, Los Alamos, etc. was collected, curated, and stored in the HIVToolbox database. Additional data, such as homology and position statistics matrices, was generated from existing data. Since version 1, drug binding site and drug resistant mutation data has also been added.ResultsHIVToolbox was used to create several new hypotheses about HIV-1 integrase, including predicting the location of a CK2 phosphorylation site, which was later confirmed by experiment. A new version of HIVToolbox support display of the 3D locations of drug resistant mutations on surface plots of HIV proteins and the drug binding sites for structures of complexes of HIV proteins with drugs.ConclusionHIVToolbox is an open-access web application that allows virologists and structural biologists to access detailed information about HIV-1 proteins, such as sequence, structure, functional sites and relationships, homology, drug binding sites, and drug resistant mutations, and to immediately see the relationships between any or all of them. Weblink: [http://hivtoolbox.bio-toolkit.com]

This study examined the effectiveness of a suicide prevention program that provides free and accessible counseling services to suicidal youth. Children and adolescents who underwent a suicide risk assessment at a Colorado school (n = 99) were referred for counseling through the Second Wind Fund (SWF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide. Each of these clients presented with at least 1 barrier to treatment such as no or inadequate insurance or lack of transportation. Through SWF, clients received up to 12 counseling sessions at no charge. Clients ranged from 8 to 18 years of age. Of the 99 clients, 93 completed the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire-Junior (SIQ-Jr) at the beginning and end of treatment. Results indicated that SIQ-Jr scores were significantly lower at the end of treatment. Follow-up surveys were sent to referral sources at the end of the subsequent school year to examine longer-term effectiveness of SWF services. The majority of clients did not require any additional intervention and none went on to die by suicide. Study results indicate that the removal of financial and social barriers can increase access to and participation in treatment and reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Implications for practice, including suicide risk assessment and outside referrals are discussed.

This study examines the experiences of theological library deans and directors in the United States and Canada as they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey and interview data gathered in spring and fall 2020 provide insight about how library leaders managed change and uncertainty, including the sudden shift to virtual learning environments, meeting changing patron needs, and identifying opportunities amidst unprecedented challenges. The researchers contextualize this research within the recent history of theological education and alongside the limited information available about the impacts of the pandemic on libraries. Further research is needed to understand the long term implications of the pandemic on theological librarianship.