Digital Portfolio

Myka Kennedy Stephens, MDiv, MSLIS

Dedicated and passionate librarian with expertise in library leadership, strategic planning and management, and open-source software adoption. Adaptable to change and rapid developments in information technology. Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and deadline driven. Visionary leader and collaborator who cultivates a collegial atmosphere. Professional, articulate, and personable.

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Leader & Administrator

7+ years experience in progressive library leadership as Seminary Librarian and Associate Professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary
One of 30 women participating in the Women in Leadership Mentoring Program organized by the Association of Theological Schools
Editor-in-Chief of Books@Atla Open Press
Co-editor of Shifting Stacks: A Look at the Future of Theological Libraries in Celebration of Atla’s 75th Anniversary
Author of “The Future of the Small Theological Library,” and co-author of “Small and Thriving: A Follow-Up to ‘The Future of the Small Theological Library’”

Strategist & Innovator

Creator of Integrated Library Planning—a dynamic and strategic approach to library planning, management, and assessment, and the subject of a book under contract with ACRL Publications (anticipated Fall 2022)
Author of “Integrated Planning for Theological Libraries,” Summary of Proceedings: Seventy-First Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association (2017): 133-140
Presenter on adopting open-source solutions for libraries, such as this one from the 2017 Leading Edge Libraries Conference
Implemented Koha’s ILL module and contributor to the Free Form backend project
Early adopter of Elasticsearch in Koha
Early adopter of EDS and OpenAthens plugins for Koha, integrating Discovery searching and SSO authentication into the Koha OPAC

Advocate & Ally

Led Lancaster Seminary’s Community Task Force resulting in the adoption of six recommendations to address historic and ongoing racism at the Seminary
Deeply committed to addressing systemic racism in Lancaster Theological Seminary Library’s collections
Co-author of statement supporting Black Lives Matter for religion and theology librarians
Trained in intercultural competence
Trained in restorative justice (RJ) for college student misconduct and residential life
Editor of SRRT Newsletter from 2008 to 2011 and advocate for dialog and debate on current issues in librarianship and the importance of socially-responsible librarianship

Collaborator & Connector

Author of Lancaster Seminary’s Intellectual Property Rights Policy
Collaborator with faculty colleagues to map and embed the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education in the master’s and doctoral curricula and assessment rubrics
Presenter of “A Patron, a Librarian, and a Developer Walk into a Bar: The Conversations and Relationships that Fuel Koha Development”
Presenter of “Leveraging Open Source Library Guides: Integrating Koha and SubjectsPlus”
Organizer of the international Koha+EDS User Group
Author of “Partnering with the Parish: Information Behaviors of Faith Communities,” Summary of Proceedings: Sixty-Eighth Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association (2014): 87-95

Educator & Partner

Instructor for IS262 – Responsive Strategic Planning for Congregations
Teach a problem solving-based approach to information literacy for graduate students in theological education
Teach the basics of copyright for publication to doctoral students
Teach how to use Lancaster Theological Seminary Library’s website and Lancaster Seminary’s Moodle
Introduce digital literacy skills to incoming master’s students
Assisted faculty colleagues in making the shift to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
Presenter of “Librarians in Learning Management Systems”

Cultivator & Steward

Co-author of “Defining Balances in Collection Development Policies”
Reconfigured the public spaces of Lancaster Theological Seminary Library to facilitate collaboration, study, and reflection
Presenter of “The Art of Hosting for Libraries”
Webinar presenter of “Making Your Library a Place for Meaningful Conversation”
Author of “Hosting Conversations in the Library: A User-Centered Approach to Change,” Summary of Proceedings: Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association (2015): 226-231