LACUNY Institute 2020/2021 Schedule

Note: All Times are Eastern Time (New York)

Wednesday, May 5th

Opening Session

TIME	TITLE
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.	Welcome and Introduction by: Professor Nelson Santana (Chair of LACUNY Institute), Bronx Community College Professor Alexandra Rojas (LACUNY Institute Member), LaGuardia Community College Professor Ian McDermott (President of LACUNY), LaGuardia Community College Chief Librarian Michael Miller, Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe, Bronx Community College
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.	Keynote Address delivered by Dr. Lorgia García Peña
10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.	Break

Session I (Four Concurrent Panels), 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Panel 1 (Individual Presentations)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Mississippi's First Black Legislators: Archival Reparations Through Digital Humanities	A history librarian describes the creation of a website that documents the lives of Mississippi's first Black legislators during and just after Reconstruction - over 150 men in all - and explains how digital humanities projects can be a form of archival reparations.	DeeDee Baldwin (Mississippi State University)
Underground Activism: An Academic Librarians Efforts to Support University Custodians	After building communities with predominantly Black and Latinx custodians by providing basic computer workshops (2010-2015), the presenter reconnected with working and furloughed members of this community to listen to, and advocate for, their sudden needs during the pandemic. Challenges far beyond the role of a "stereotypical" librarian will be discussed.	Ray Andrade (Loyola Marymount University Student Engagement Librarian)
Queer Classification in Knowledge Organization Systems	This paper focuses on queer critical cataloging, working at once to criticize the hegemonic power structures that construct the library catalog, consider the historical "othering" of LGBTQIA+ folk by the Dewey Decimal System and the Library of Congress Subject Headings, and propose possible reparative cataloging models.	Ashley Dirzis (Pratt Institute)

Panel 2 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Taking Outreach and the Makerspace to Students During a Pandemic	We are accustomed to using whatever resources we have to reach and interact with our patrons, but how do you conduct outreach and take your makerspace virtual and/or to them during a pandemic? How do you still engage with them? This presentation will discuss what we learned and what we can take forward.	Jeff Corrigan ( California State University Monterey Bay) Rachell Hester (California State University Monterey Bay)

Panel 3 (Interactive Presentation)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Librarians Don’t Use Google!: Breaking Stereotypes and Myths About Smart Searching	Students often assume that librarians avoid Google in favor of library resources. However, in this session the presenters will discuss how they broke down this preconceived notion of librarianship and showed students how to conduct smart, thorough research using Google as a tool.	Nora Wood (Emory University) Dhy Edwardsberry (Emory University)

Panel 4 (Individual Presentations)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Role Playing to Explore Primary Sources	In fall 2020, students in a one credit research and information literacy class took on roles to explore two key events from the late 19th century. The goal was for students to use primary sources to research the sentiment of segregation at that time.	Iris Finkel (Hunter College, CUNY)
Academic Library Services at the Social Reintegration Penitentiary (CERESO) El Hongo in Baja California México	In CERESO El Hongo, people who have committed crimes or infractions are held here. The UABC, committed to society, provides opportunities for interns, who are prepared with professional studies, for a better social reintegration. In this sense, the library contributes to their academic preparation.	Araceli Benítez Arzate (Universidad Autónoma de Baja California)
Innovative Strategies for Subject Liaisons to Engage with their Departments	Liaison work can be effective and fun, even while we are teaching and working remotely. In-person meetings are an important and pleasurable way of connecting with classroom faculty. While there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings, there are creative ways to continue subject specialists’ work aided by technology. These liaison efforts -with a spin- have led to productive relationships with my departments.	Lisa Finder (Hunter College, CUNY)

11:45 a.m. – Noon Break

Session II (Three Concurrent Panels), Noon – 1:00 p.m.

Panel 5 (Individual Presentations)

SESSION	PRESENTERS	ABSTRACT
Embracing the Non-Traditional: Incorporating Non-Traditional Elements into Library Identity	A shift in library and librarian identities occurs as libraries and library workers evolve and explore new practices. These changes redefine “traditional” and “non-traditional” practice in libraries. This presentation discusses how non-traditional practices can be incorporated into library and librarian identities based on insights provided by identity and gatekeeper theories.	Melissa Fraser-Arnott, San Jose State University
I am Not a Badass: Against the Librarian-as-Superhero Stereotype	It has become apparent that the stereotype of the “superhero-librarian” is flawed, as many academic librarians have been forced to perform dangerous COVID-era feats. When the pandemic ends, will we be able find a way to use our (real) superpowers to defeat the contemporary academy’s evils—austerity and injustice?	Rachel King, Cooper Medical School, Rowan University
Breaking the Cycle of (In)Visibility of Library Support Staff	Everyone works better when all the employees know that they are valued. The department was structured in a hierarchical management style that had negative impacts on the staff. I re-evaluated the management style of the circulation department, changing the environment to allow a successful transfer during the pandemic.	Nanette Johnson, New York City College of Technology, CUNY

Panel 6 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Finding a Way Somehow: Providing Access to Library Materials through Campus Closures	With the campus closures that accompanied the COVID19 pandemic, our users were left without access to the collections they rely on. We will discuss the various ways in which the BMCC Library attempted to provide access while navigating various roadblocks, and what we learned in doing so.	Rebecca Hyams & Kathleen Dreyer (The Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY)

Panel 7 (Alternate Session)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
More Than Just Cataloging in Three Acts	Librarians can be activators of collections, facilitators of creative expression, and catalysts for social change. This session is a celebration of the creativity of librarians, and will feature three performing artist-librarians, showcasing dance, music, and theater inspired by connections between art and the information professions.	Regina Carra (American Folk Art Museum) Sarah Nguyễn & Adrian Applin (University of Washington Information School)

Thursday, May 6th

Session III (Three Concurrent Panels), 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Panel 8 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Uplifting Diverse and Marginalized Voices through Community Archives and Public Programming	Queens Memory is a local community archiving project co-administered by the Queens Public Library and Queens College. During COVID-19, we embarked on a collaborative program series that covered social justice, current events, and creating social change. The programming also helped us recruit participants for our ongoing community oral history efforts.	Annie Tummino & Obden Mondesir (Queens College, CUNY) Jo-Ann Wong (Queens Public Library)

Panel 9 (Interactive Presentation)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Activist Librarian: 21st Century Approaches for Health & Social Justice	This interactive presentation will showcase how librarians/information specialists can integrate their skills & experiences into health/social justice community programs & initiatives. Attendees will listen to stories that provide relevant knowledge, resources, & capacity building skills among grassroots leaders & organizations fighting for equality in Puerto Rico & Washington, DC.	Juan Carlos Vega (Activist Librarian & Community Engagement Consultant)

Panel 10 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Library Student Changemakers in Disability Visibility	Students (Oumaima Benyahya, Victoria Cornejo, Suhama Saniz, & Abey Weitzman) at Bard High School Early College Queens play important leadership roles in shaping library collections and programs. This year, one disabled student has launched a disability-inclusive author series and new special collection, and other students have transformed our marketing to highlight this revolutionary work.	Jess de Courcy Hinds, Abraham Weitzman & Suhama Saniz (Bard High School, Early College Queens)

2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Break

Session IV (Four Concurrent Panels), 2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Panel 11 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Bridging the Wealth Gap: Implementing Post-bac Fellowships a Racial Equity Strategy	To address racial inequities that keep our profession persistently too white, we are working on developing and creating post baccalaureate fellowships for BIPOC that would consist of two parts: 1. paid benefitted jobs in the library accompanied with 2. fully paid tuition of the Master’s degree in library studies.	Katherine Freedman, Isabel Espinal & Jennifer Friedman (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Panel 12 (Individual Presentations)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
What Does a Cataloger Do in an Information Literacy Classroom? Frog, Jump and Robot	In the traditional view, cataloging librarians are seen as ones who are working behind the scene and unlikely to teach information literacy in the classroom. But the implementation of new programs, changes of organizational structures, or promotional standards may require that cataloging librarians undertake public services and/or instructional responsibilities. This presentation demonstrates a personal account of how one cataloging librarian stepped out of the comfort zone, beat the back-room mentality, overcame the barriers between cataloging back rooms and information literacy classrooms, and established the image as a confident and competent teaching librarian.	Junli Diao (York College, CUNY)
New Roles of Academic Librarians in the Era of Open Science	Librarianship is a very old and yet very modern profession. Academic libraries – have always been at the forefront of human progress, with their role shifting from providing access to scholarly literature toward assisting researchers in its creation. Under the Open Science framework, they are enablers, promoters, mediators, and educators.	Stefka Tzanova (York College, CUNY)
Battling Socrates: Studying the Changing Face of Library Education Via Course Catalog Analysis	This presentation addresses how library education has changed by looking at the course catalogs from one institution over a period of years. It found decreased emphasis on "traditional" library skills and increased focus on information technology skills.	Amanda Beltran (CUNY School of Law) & John DeLooper (Lehman College, CUNY)

Panel 13 (Interactive Presentation)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Queer Identity Management in Library Work	This session focuses on the management of LGBTQ+ identities across library roles. Topics discussed include how workers manage LGBTQ+ identities across digital and physical library spaces, how these identities inform professional practice, and how libraries can best support and retain LGBTQ+ employees, including during the ongoing global pandemic.	Danielle Pollock (Simmons University) & Arthur Maurici (Nazareth College of Rochester)

Panel 14 (Alternate Session)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Team-building in the Time of COVID: A Play	This play brings to life the story of a group of professional and para-professional staff at York University Libraries as they build a team and provide new services during a year-long COVID-19 lockdown. Creative use of technologies help them develop a sense of community and a renewed sense of purpose.	June Hill, Tanya Prince, Kalina Grewal, David Neilson, Trevor Daniels, David Clink, Alexandra Stevenson & Genny Jon (York University Libraries)

3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Break

Session V (Three Concurrent Panels), 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Panel 15 (Individual Presentations)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Archivists in Lockdown: When Your Research is Your Self-Care	Doing a close reading of 57 Recipes by HJ Heinz Company was conceived as an intellectual exercise and exploration of the archival instruction potential of cookbooks, and a way to continue archival work while separated from the archives during a period of enforced inactivity. It also turned out to be a way to hold space for artistic activity and an oasis of calm during a chaotic and stressful period. Attendees will learn a little bit of the secret history of the cookbook and also get to be amused by my culinary fumbles on the way to enlightenment.	Jennifer McGillan (Mississippi State University)
Making Data into Art	Data analysis and visualization can be fascinating, but such work doesn't need to stop there. We can take the product of our professional data work and turn it into a personal practice of art. Two projects covered are a visualization of collections and a sonification of help desk activity. There are many ways that we can turn our professional practices of librarianship and archives into personal practices of art. In this talk I'll briefly point to a performance piece (about archival digitization) and a theatrical production (about information literacy) I did with others, then look in more detail at turning a data visualization into paintings and an analysis of help desk activity into sound. I will conclude with three steps that might help anyone who wants to try turning their work into art: transform it, work by hand, and abstract it.	William Denton (York University)
Let's Talk Comics, Let's Talk Research	Dawn will showcase examples of how she blends her artistic practice into her role as librarian to engage students and faculty through visual narratives. She will discuss her process of authoring a historic graphic narrative while also developing creative, culturally responsive pedagogical approaches to teaching information literacy. https://dawnwing.weebly.com/	Dawn Wing (Metropolitan State University)

Panel 16 (Submitted Panel)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Shhh-tereotypes: A Panel of Hard of Hearing Librarians	We are four hard of hearing librarian’s dependent on hearing aids. Our hearing loss complicates our work, often in ways that are not apparent to colleagues and patrons. We will share our experiences, challenges, and self-accommodations, and offer suggestions for supporting and effectively communicating with hard of hearing colleagues.	Jill Cirasella (Graduate Center, CUNY), Lee Ann Fullington (Brooklyn College, CUNY) Monica Berger (New York City College of Technology, CUNY) & Bill Gargan (Brooklyn College, CUNY)

Panel 17 (Interactive Presentation)

SESSION	ABSTRACT	PRESENTERS
Library Instruction During a Pandemic: Tech Tools for Equity	Full-time online library instruction was unprecedented for many academic libraries until the spring of 2020. This interactive presentation is based on a research paper and survey of 206 librarians, and will engage participants in discussion using the tech tools that librarians recommend for student engagement and equity.	Amanda Rybin Koob & Kathia Ibacache (University of Colorado Boulder)

4:30 p.m. – 4:35 p.m. Break

4:35 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closing Session

Remarks by:
Professor Nelson Santana (Chair of LACUNY Institute), Bronx Community College
Professor Jeffrey Delgado (Vice-President of LACUNY), Kingsborough Community College
Professor Ian McDermott (President of LACUNY), LaGuardia Community College