Describe yourself in three words: Curious, intentional, authentic.

What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? I am reading The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Mate with Daniel Mate (print book) and One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (audiobook).

Describe ACRL in three words: Connection, support, expertise.

What do you value about ACRL? I value the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from others navigating academic librarianship within an increasingly volatile higher education landscape. My work on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee has been particularly demanding this year, given the broader political climate and policy pressures bearing down on this work, but that’s where ACRL’s value has shown up most clearly for me. This spring, the committee co-hosted a panel on library core values under threat, where I drew on frameworks such as ACRL’s Standards for Libraries in Higher Education. Even as that work grows harder, ACRL gives me the chance to keep engaging alongside others facing similar challenges, and to effect change, no matter how small, in academic libraries. 

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus? Roughly two years ago, I made an intentional decision to pivot from special collections and archives administration to an administrative role with responsibilities that include faculty affairs, recruitment, organizational development, and assessment. Most people bristle at the thought of engaging the bureaucratic processes of our institutions, but I derive a great deal of purpose in co-creating interventions that produce more equitable outcomes. These systems were designed. They can be redesigned. For example, I implemented calibration processes within the library to mitigate bias and inconsistency in performance evaluations, a model our campus HR is now looking to as a potential template for staff evaluations university-wide. Though I primarily engage internally with library workers, my campus-facing work includes partnering with human resources, the Provost’s Office, and other Associate Deans. Cultivating these relationships takes time and intention, but the reward serves not only the library, its workers, and their communities, but the broader institution as well.

In your own words: A paradox of our time: We have more ways to connect than ever, but are more disconnected than ever. My hope is that we resist by taking the time to seek connection with each other. In a climate where fear breeds a scarcity mindset and isolation, it’s very hard to do, but it’s also necessary.

Editor’s Note: Would you like to be featured as ACRL Member of the Week? Nominate a colleague? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch!

ACRL is excited to co-sponsor the webinar “Negotiating Intellectual Freedom-Compliant Contracts” with ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) at 2:00 pm Central on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Every day, in every type of library, librarians are making decisions about which library management system to use; choosing distributors for ebooks, audiobooks, and databases; and determining who will manage IT systems and software used by patrons. Each decision raises questions about who can access information and what personal data will be collected when they do. In this webinar, our panelists will cover ways to keep patron privacy and other intellectual freedom ethics at the forefront of contracts. Attendees will identify questions to ask, necessary components of a solid contract, and how to evaluate contracts currently in place.

Panelists include Scarlet Galvan, Collection Strategist Librarian at the University of Chicago, and Molly Rainard, founder of the Denver Organization for Library Licensing. The webinar will be moderated by OIF Executive Director Sarah Lamdan.

Other webinars in the series from OIF include “Prepare for the School Year: Protecting the First Amendment Rights of All Students” (Tuesday, September 15, 5:30 pm Central, co-sponsored by AASL) and “New Best Practices for Book Challenges and Intellectual Freedom“ (Monday, October 19, 2:00 pm Central).

ACRL invites education program proposals for the 2027 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition to be held June 24-June 28, 2027, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ALA Annual Conference explores critical issues impacting libraries and their communities, with diverse programming on timely research, innovations, and best practices. September 21, 2026, is the deadline for submissions.

Please review the ACRL program FAQ before starting your submission and select ACRL when submitting your proposal. Education programs are 60 minutes in length, inclusive of Q&A. The program proposal submission site will close on Monday, September 21 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

Key Dates:

• Submission Site Opens: August 24, 2026
• Submission Site Closes: September 21, 2026
• Final Decisions and Notifications: December 2026
• Schedule of Sessions Announced: February 2027

Complete details are available on the conference website and the ACRL program FAQ.

Describe yourself in three words: Adaptable, meticulous, tenacious.

What are you reading (or listening to on your mobile device)? Currently rereading 长按的荔枝 (The Lychee Road) by Ma Boying before I watch the movie adaptation and Mass Capture: Chinese Head Tax and the Making of Non-Citizens by Lily Cho.

Describe ACRL in three words: Collaborative, engaged, network.

What do you value about ACRL? I appreciate how robust ACRL is, and their extensive opportunities for scholarship and professional development that they support.

What do you as an academic librarian contribute to your campus? As a cataloguer, I create bibliographic metadata and contribute to the maintenance of international and national descriptive standards so that library items are findable for researchers. I work primarily with rare materials (including manuscripts), music scores, medical materials, and East Asian language collections.

In your own words: I’m so grateful to be in a field where my colleagues are so knowledgeable, passionate, and generous with sharing their knowledge and time. I love that academic librarianship is never boring, and I’m very lucky to be in a position where my research interests largely align with my day-to-day work.

Editor’s Note: Would you like to be featured as ACRL Member of the Week? Nominate a colleague? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch!

Notifications for ACRL 2027 contributed paper, panel session, and workshop proposals were issued on Thursday, August 20, 2026. Thanks to all who submitted a proposal for the conference! Please check your spam filter if you don’t see your notification in your email inbox and contact Margot Conahan at mconahan@ala.org with questions.

Community chat, lightning talks, poster session, roundtable discussion, and virtual presentation proposals are due Friday, October 16, 2026. 

Complete details about ACRL 2027 are available on the conference website.