EBSCO Publishing has reached an agreement with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) that will greatly enhance EBSCO's database offerings in the area of Religious Studies. EBSCO will now provide online access to The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index and Old Testament Abstracts via the EBSCOhost^® interface. These additions to EBSCOhost, along with the currently available ATLA Religion Database, and ATLA Religion Database with ATLAS Serials, give subscribing libraries a wealth of information on the world's religions.

The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI) online is the product of a partnership between ATLA and the Catholic Library Association which covers all aspects of the Catholic faith and lifestyle. The database includes indexed citations to articles published in Roman Catholic periodicals, papal documents, church promulgations, and books about the Catholic faith that are authored by Catholics and/or produced by Catholic publishers. Indexing for CPLI corresponds to the print version, The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, published by the Catholic Library Association. CPLI also contains more than 300,000 records covering Roman Catholic publications including, but not limited to, periodicals, books, newspapers, and papal documents. Coverage in the database dates back to 1981.

Old Testament Abstracts (OTA) is a product of a partnership between ATLA and the Catholic Biblical Association. The database features indexing and abstracts for journal articles, monographs, and multi-author works related to Old Testament Studies. Sources are predominantly journal articles but also include books, essays, and software. All abstracts are in English, regardless of the language of the original work. Topics covered include antiquities, archaeology, biblical theology, philology and much more.

EBSCO plans to make these databases available for trial and sale in the coming months.

EBSCO Publishing, EBSCO Subscription Services and EBSCO Book Services form the EBSCO Information Services group. EBSCO is a worldwide leader in providing information access and management solutions through print and electronic journal subscription services, research database development and production, online access to more than 100 databases and thousands of e-journals, and e-commerce book procurement. EBSCO has specialized products and services for academic, medical, government, public and school libraries as well as for corporations and other organizations. EBSCO maintains a comprehensive database of more than 282,000 serial titles and upholds active relationships with more than 60,000 publishers worldwide. EBSCO has been serving the library and business communities for almost 60 years. For more information, visit www.ebsco.com.

Release Date: July 14, 2003