Richard (Bo) Manly Adams, Jr.
- MLIS, The University of Alabama, 2017
- PhD, Emory University, 2012
- ThM, Columbia Theological Seminary, 2006
- MTS, Emory University, 2005
- BA, Dartmouth College, 2001
Dr. Richard Manly Adams, Jr., known as “Bo” to most of his colleagues, directs the collections, staff, and vision of Pitts Theology Library, one of the premier theological libraries in North America. He also teaches courses at Candler, focused primarily on research methods, the history of reading practices, and the changing tools of ministry in the digital age. Trained as a New Testament scholar, a software developer, and a librarian, Adams’s research and teaching interests are in understanding reading communities, reading technologies, and reading practices, both ancient and modern. He is on the editorial board of Theological Librarianship at the American Theological Library Association, and is a member of the American Library Association and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Selected Publications
Chapters and Articles
"Overcoming Disintermediation: A Call for Librarians to Learn to Use Web Service APIs," Library Hi Tech, vol. 36, no. 1, January 2018
"Review of David A. deSilva, Galatians: A Handbook on the Greek Text," in Review of Biblical Literature, 2017
"Review of Alma C. Ortega, Academic Libraries and Toxic Leadership," in Theological Librarianship, vol.12, no.1, October 2017
"'When the Time Comes to Make Use of Them, They Don't Know How to Handle Them': Lucian's Ignorant Book Collector and the Theological Librarian," in Reading for Faith and Learning: Essays on Scripture, Community, and Libraries in Honor of M. Patrick Graham, Abilene Christian University Press, 2017
Co-author,Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Religious Studies Scholars, Ithaka S+R, February 08, 2017
"Which Should We Buy? Reconsidering Best Practices in the Purchase of Print versus Electronic Books in Theological Libraries," in Summary of Proceedings: Seventieth Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association, American Theological Library Association, June 15, 2016
"I Use Wikipedia and You Should Too: An Argument for Wikipedia as a Tool of Pedagogy and Research in Theological Librarianship," in Summary of Proceedings: Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association, American Theological Library Association, June 15, 2015
"John 6:22-29, Exegetical Perspective," "John 6:30-40, Exegetical Perspective," and "John 6:41-51, Exegetical Perspective,"in Feasting on the Gospels: John, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, March 19, 2015
"Preserving and Sharing the Meditations of Howard Thurman: Digitization and Transcription of Audio Archives at the Pitts Theology Library," in Summary of Proceedings: Sixty-Eighth Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association. American Theological Library Association, June 15, 2014
"John 14:15-21, Exegetical Perspective," "Luke 24:44-53, Exegetical Perspective," and "John 17:1-11, Exegetical Perspective." in Feasting on the Word: A Lectionary Commentary Series, Year A, Volume 2, Westminster John Knox Press, October 12, 2010
Selected Awards
University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies Student Paper Award, 2016: "Erasmus of Rotterdam and The Development of 'The Book'"
Kate Ragsdale Memorial Scholarship, The University of Alabama, 2014-2016
Emory University Center for Faculty Development and Excellent, Mini Grant, January 2014
Arts and Sciences Fellowship, Emory University, 2006-2011
Boone M. Bowen Award for Biblical Hebrew, Candler School of Theology, 2005
Wikipedia Education, "Improving Wikipedia’s coverage of women theologians" (July 29, 2021)
InTrust magazine, “What is the future of theological libraries?” (January 2020)
Service of Word, Cannon Chapel, October 10, 2019
Introduction and Recent Acquisitions - Reformation Day 2018, October 28, 2018
Selected Courses
demiGods: Technology in/of/and the Bible (Hybrid)
Hacking Ministry: The Work of the Church in a Digital Age
MTS Research and Methods: Scripture, History, and Tradition
New Testament Greek
Paul’s Pastoral Epistles (Online)
Research Methods: Learning to Read: A Consideration of the Development of Habits, Communities and Technologies of Reading
The Arts of Ministry in a Digital Age