Libraries
The Original DTL
The Original DTL is a comprehensive research library in religious studies for schools specializing in religious studies. It is no longer open to new members.
The Open Access DTL
The OADTL is free for all persons everywhere and requires no membership or registration. It does not collect any personal information about patrons. The library contains over 250,000 ebooks, about half from the last 25 years. The OADTL has hundreds of thousands of regular users in nearly 200 countries.
The Global DTL
The GLDTL is a high quality research library in religious studies for schools in developing nations. Thanks to the “vendors of goodwill” who help support this library, it is priced affordably for schools in developing nations.
The DTL 2
The DTL 2 is a comprehensive research library in religious studies for schools specializing in religious studies. It is open to new members.
The Seminary Bookshelf
The Seminary Bookshelf helps supply religious professionals with the academic content required to engage in their vocational practice. It is open to new members.
Initiatives
Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)
The DTL is developing a robust Controlled Digital Lending program for the members of the Original DTL and the DTL2. Controlled Digital Lending extends the principles of a traditional print library to the digital world.
In a traditional “dead tree” library, the library lends out the same book repeatedly. The library can lend a book to a subsequent patron as soon as the previous borrower has returned it. The only limiting factor on the repeated lending of a book is the number of print books owned.
Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) operates on the same principle (repeatedly loaning 1 book to 1 borrower), but CDL libraries loan out a pdf of the book rather than the print book (the print books are kept in permanent storage). (For more information on how CDL complies with copyright law, please read the position statement and white paper at controlleddigitallending.org.)
The DTL has tens of thousands of print books in permanent storage to support its CDL program.
InterLibrary Loan
For schools in the Original DTL, the DTL offers (digital) interlibrary loan services. If the book is available for digital licensing, the DTL will secure a license. If the book is not available for licensing, the DTL will acquire a print copy of the book for its CDL program. These services are forthcoming for the DTL2.
Reference and Information Literacy
The DTL and DTL2 offer remote digital reference services (via Zoom) for the patrons at our member libraries as an additional service for an hourly fee.
Internships
The DTL is proud to partner with OCLC for internships in digital collection management. These internships are open to students in library school. Contact us for details.