About Atla Digital Library

What is the Atla Digital Library?

The Atla Digital Library brings together in a singular, searchable platform digitized collections from libraries, religious institutions, and other organizations worldwide who collect and preserve texts, records, maps, photographs, recordings, and other materials. The items found in the Atla Digital Library are of importance to those with an interest in researching, studying, teaching, and otherwise searching for historical and archival content in religion and theology.

The Atla Digital Library is designed to provide Atla members and other organizations with a standards compliant, sustainable, and inter-operable hub that will promote visibility and access to their valuable digital collections. Atla and Atla Digital Library Program participants are committed to the following principles:

  • open access to and free use and re-use of metadata
  • free online access to digital content to the extent possible given existing rights to the content
  • collaboration and collectively developing and maintaining best practices among program participants

For information on how to become a contributing institution see Participate!

Atla Digital Library Copyright Statement

Atla’s Digital Library serves to increase discoverability of and access to the online cultural resources of partner institutions. Items found within the Digital Library are intended to be used for noncommercial educational and research purposes. Partner institutions, as a condition of participating in the Digital Library, have sole responsibility to ensure that the items they contribute to the Digital Library are either free of any copyright or other restrictions that would prohibit their display or that they have secured necessary permissions from copyright holders to digitize and display the contributed items. Partner institutions will provide as complete as practicable information about items contributed, including those items’ copyright status, in the record of each item. Visitors to and users of the Digital Library have the responsibility to independently determine the copyright status or any other applicable legal restrictions of items presented here prior to using items in excess of exceptions under copyright or other law.

Atla and its participating institutions welcome feedback from any copyright owners who are not properly identified on this site so that the necessary corrections may be made. If you have any additional information about the items displayed here or would like to suggest a correction, please contact us . Be sure to include the title of the item, the contributing institution, and the URL.

Requesting Permission and Reproductions

For items not designated as out of copyright or in the public domain or otherwise indicated to be available for reuse (e.g. Creative Commons License), users must contact the copyright holder for permission if the proposed use of the item exceeds any exception under copyright or other applicable law. Permission cannot be granted by Atla or the partner institutions.

Requests for copies of any item presented in the Digital Library must be directed to the participating institution who contributed the item to the Digital Library.

Atla Digital Library Takedown Policy

Atla works with contributing institutions to educate them on copyright and to ensure they include accurate and complete rights statements for the materials they contribute to the Atla Digital Library.

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material in the Atla Digital library has been shared without your permission and believe the contributing institution’s inclusion of this material in the Atla Digital Library violates your rights (e.g. inclusion is not covered by the Fair Use or other exemption to a copyright holder’s rights), please contact us and include the following:

  • Your contact information (including email address and phone),
  • Exact URL where you found the material,
  • Details that describe the material (title, collection name, number of items, etc.),
  • The reason why you believe that your rights have been violated, with any pertinent documentation,
  • A statement that you in good faith believe that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law, and
  • A statement that the information in your notification is accurate and that you are the rights holder or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.

Upon receipt of a takedown request, Atla will share this information with the contributing institution who by agreement with Atla has agreed to the following:

  • To promptly acknowledge the request via email or other means of communication if you do not have an email account,
  • To assess the validity of the request;
  • To request that Atla temporarily remove the material from public view while it assesses the concern.

Upon completion of the assessment of the request, Atla and the contributing institution will take appropriate action and communicate that action to you.

About Exhibitions

Atla Digital Library Exhibitions provide a unique opportunity to further discover, engage, explore, and promote the diverse collections included in the Digital Library. Exhibits bring together and highlight resources from across institutions by incorporating individual works from multiple contributors to the Digital Library into a cohesive and centrally themed exhibit.

Some examples of how Atla Digital Library Exhibits could be utilized:

  • Digital humanities projects.
  • Collaborative projects among librarians, students, researchers, or community members.
  • Support instructional activity.
  • Highlight research or other scholarly projects.
  • Commemorate historical events.
  • Cultural or social awareness campaigns.

If you are interested in curating an exhibit for the Atla Digital Library, please contact us .