The University of Washington Information School will have a strong presence at the upcoming American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, Jan. 25-29 in Seattle.
Former iSchool Dean Harry Bruce will moderate a discussion on “Leadership for the Future of Libraries” at 3 p.m. on Jan. 26. Panelists include Rolf Hapel, the iSchool’s Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, along with his predecessor in the role, Susan Hildreth. The panel also includes iSchool friends and alumni Brian Bannon, Lisa Rosenblum, Marcellus Turner and Cindy Aden.
iSchool faculty members Emma Spiro, Jevin West and Chris Coward, along with colleague Kate Starbird of the UW’s Human Centered Design & Engineering department, will speak on steps libraries can take to fight misinformation and support a more informed society. The session, “Misinformation and its Malcontents: University of Washington Research and Implications for Libraries,” takes place at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 28.
Assistant Professor Negin Dahya will be part of a panel titled “XR (Augmented, Virtual and Mixer Reality) programming in libraries: Integrating immersive media into library collections,” at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 28. Dahya and others will discuss the results of initiatives to introduce such technology at libraries.
Lecturer Annie Searle will speak at a retreat of ALA’s policy office on Jan. 25. Each Midwinter, the Office for Information Technology Policy Advisory Committee has a retreat to discuss a topic of interest. This year, the topic is cybersecurity. The retreat is not open to general attendees.
Doctoral student J. Elizabeth Mills will present a session titled “And the Survey Says…” focusing on preliminary results from a survey on children’s use of technology in libraries. Mills will be joined by recent Ph.D. alumna Kathleen Campana, who is now an assistant professor at Kent State University, and iSchool MLIS alumna Claudia Haines. The session takes place at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 27.
Doctoral student Milly Romeijn-Stout will speak in a session at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26 titled “ConnectedLib: An Online Toolkit to Support Connected Learning in Libraries.” ConnectedLib is a project led by Katie Davis of the iSchool and Mega Subramaniam of the University of Maryland. It helps library staff to incorporate digital technologies into their work with youth to promote connections across learning contexts.
Recent Ph.D. alumna Rachel Ivy Clarke, now an assistant professor at Syracuse University, will lead a panel discussion Sunday, Jan. 27, on design thinking in master’s programs. The session, titled “Designing Future Library Leaders,” will take place at 2:30 p.m. iSchool Senior Lecturer Helene Williams will be among the panelists.
Several other iSchool alumni are moderating or serving on panels during ALA Midwinter. You can find the full schedule here.
In addition, the iSchool Career Services team is hosting a session of speed talks and mingling on Sunday, Jan. 27, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Kane Hall on the UW campus. The event will feature talks from library and information science professionals about which skills are sought-after in their organizations, along with opportunities for professionals and students to mingle.
The iSchool is also hosting an alumni reception on Sunday, Jan. 27, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the 10th-floor Reading Room at the Seattle Public Library Central Branch. View the details and register to attend on our event page.