About the DTL Commons

The DTL Commons licenses eBooks from independently-published authors to institutions. The DTL Commons is owned and operated by the Digital Theological Library (DTL), a California-based non-profit corporation funded by a group of seminaries around the world.

The DTL Commons was created so that the DTL can continue to fulfill its mission of making theological education more accessible to more people around the world. The DTL Press is the latest major project founded by the DTL, and we are excited to announce that it is the first project of its kind within the DTL non-profit corporation.

The Digital Theological Library is a co-owned, born-digital library of religious and theological studies. The mission of the DTL is to provide its co-owning institutions with the highest quality digital resources in religious and theological studies at the lowest possible costs.

Use of the DTL’s leased and purchased information resources is restricted to the DTL’s co-owning institutions. Co-ownership is restricted to nonprofit graduate schools in religious and theological institutions without regard for religious affiliation. The DTL is an independently incorporated 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The DTL is governed by an executive committee elected by the co-owning institutions.

Mission

The mission of the DTL is to support the library resource needs for scholars and students of religion. The DTL is member-funded, nonprofit corporation whose mission is entirely non-commercial. All assets of the DTL are permanently and irrevocably dedicated to charity.

Supporting members—both institutional and individual—receive access to one of the DTL’s libraries as a member benefit.

History

The DTL began as a conversation over lunch. Dr. Thomas E. Phillips, then dean of the library at Claremont School of Theology, and Mr. Gamward Quan, then CFO at Claremont School Theology, were talking about the difficulties associated with building a quality research library at a small theological seminary.

Those challenges are well-known: the content (both print and digital) is expensive; expert staffing is difficult to train and retain; and carrying costs for collections can be exorbitant.

Mr. Quan suggested that we needed to think very differently about libraries. He suggested that we create an independent nonprofit corporation with the mission of creating one co-owned library for a large group of small seminaries. This corporation could then centralize operations for a cohort of seminaries, thereby vastly expanding access while reducing costs. That conversation took place in October of 2015.

The DTL was formed in January of 2016 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Our first library, The Original DTL, went live on July 1, 2016, largely thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Drew Baker, then metadata librarian at Claremont School of Theology.

As of 2023, the DTL operates five separate libraries and a press:

The Original DTL (closed to new members)

The Global DTL (now accepting new institutional members in developing nations)

The DTL 2 (now accepting new institutional members)

The Open Access DTL (free for all persons everywhere)

The Seminary Bookshelf (individual membership access)

The DTL Press (Open Access publications in six languages)

Support the DTL’s Mission

Help us continue our mission of providing seminaries with an affordable and comprehensive research library in religious studies.

Your donation enables the DTL to expand access to valuable resources and support religious professionals in their studies and personal growth. Every contribution makes a difference! Click the button below to donate via PayPal and join us in making theological resources accessible to all. Thank you for your support!

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