The University Libraries' Diversity Advancement Committee invites you to attend this year's lecture series titled Weeding out Neutrality Lecture Series: The Past, Present, and Future of Social Justice in Libraries. We'll explore these accounts, hosting scholars from across the country that will address their respective work to transform our institutions.

In this panel, we look to the present. We explore the relationship between social justice and librarianship in today’s generation of library students, as those students will be carrying their understating of that intersection into the profession’s future; what they learn today will inform their work tomorrow. Library and Information Science professors that hold a concern with and active engagement with social justice librarianship will speak on the current state of social justice in the academy.

This is a virtual talk. Please register, and a Zoom link will be sent to you 3 hours before the event (registration closes 3 hours before the event).

If you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact Marisol Moreno at marisol.moreno@library.tamu.edu to communicate your needs by February 15 to allow us to facilitate a reasonable accommodation.

About the Speakers:

Rachel Williams, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. Dr. Williams’ research examines public librarianship as a profession. Her scholarship gives attention to the ways in which public libraries support patrons and communities in crisis and how library workers develop healthy boundaries and professional resilience. Dr. Williams' work also explores the connections between social work and librarianship and the ways in which social work service models and skills may inform library practice. Dr. Williams teaches courses about technology, public libraries, crisis management, and evaluation. 

Loriene Roy, Ph.D., is Anishinabe, enrolled on the White Earth Reservation (Minnesota), a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe She is a Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas-Austin where she teaches courses on reference, library instruction/information literacy, and public libraries. She is an adjunct at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa where she teaches a course on indigenous librarianship. She was President of the American Indian Library Association (1997-1998) and the American Library Association (2007-2008). She serves on boards for a number of projects including the Library of Congress Literacy Awards and the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. She received the AILA 2015 Distinguished Service Award; 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; UH-Manoa 2014 Sarah Vann Award; 2009 Leadership Award, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums; 2007 Library Journal Mover & Shaker; two Texas Exes Teaching Awards; two James W. Vick Texas Excellence Awards for Academic Advisors; and is an inaugural member of the UT-Austin Distinguished Service Academy. She has given over 600 presentations and has over 200 publications including 11 co-edited books.  

Bharat Mehra, Ph.D., is professor and EBSCO Endowed Chair in Social Justice in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. Growing up in India created an awareness and acceptance of human diversity in its multiple forms of expression, thought, and action. His training as an architect in New Delhi in the vernacular track of practice made him visually literate and sensitive towards human factors in design. Surviving domestic violence and child abuse, he represents a voice of resistance to hegemonic forces of patriarchy, chauvinism, and other outdated notions that undermine human dignity and human worth. As a gay person of color, he challenges heterosexism and homophobia, but also confronts ignorance, prejudice, and discrimination prevalent in varied forms in our politically racialized and xenophobic cultural climate. His many research interests include diversity and inclusion advocacy, intercultural communication and action, social justice in library and information science, community engaged scholarship, and critical and cross-cultural studies.

Additional Information about this Event

Can't attend the live event? All registrants will receive a link to the recorded event for later viewing at their convenience.

TAMU Students: You can earn MaroonBase points for attending this event. Use the MaroonBase App to check-in and check-out to earn points for this event, then use your points to win up to $2,000. For a complete list of prizes, rules, FAQs, and how to redeem your points for prizes, please visit the MaroonBase Student App page.

Next lecture: Join us for our third and final lecture titled Out of the Stacks and Into the Streets. To register, please visit https://tamu.libcal.com/event/8506768.