Library Trends Symposium on Compelling Tensions in LIS

Library Trends and the iSchool are pleased to present a special symposium that expands upon themes from 74 (4) "Compelling Tensions in LIS," the latest Library Trends issue guest edited by Katherine M. Wisser. 

The symposium will feature select authors from the issue as well as a keynote from Africa S. Hands, University at Buffalo.

Please register for the symposium.

Schedule of Events

All times in Central.

Keynote Address and Q&A: Africa S. Hands

12:00–12:50 p.m.
Africa S. Hands is an assistant professor in the Department of Information Science at University at Buffalo. Her research examines public library access in marginalized populations, information access in higher education settings, and the experiences of graduate and doctoral students, especially those who identify as first-generation students and professionals. Her work has been published in the Journal for Education of Library and Information Science, Journal of Documentation, and Information and Learning Sciences. She is co-editor of The Self-Determined Doctorate: Perspectives on Leading the Doctoral Journey (Brill, 2025).

Panel Discussion 1: What Drives a Compelling Tension?

1:00–1:50 p.m.
Moderator: Katherine M. Wisser, Simmons University

Panelists:

• Heejoung Shin, University of Illinois Chicago
• sam hidde tripp, Fresno State
• Sarah McDaniel, Fresno State

Based on her Introduction, guest editor Wisser will introduce the driving idea behind this issue of Library Trends, Thomas Kuhn’s argument that structural tensions drive revolutions within a discipline. Shin, tripp, and McDaniel will discuss the compelling tensions, and potential revolutions, they explored in their articles. 

Based on two articles from Library Trends 74 (4):

• Shifting Politics of Openness and Regulation: Queer Theory, Protest Media, and Podcasting Initiatives
• Intellectual Freedom in Carceral Spaces: Exploring Tensions in Abolitionist Librarianship

Panel Discussion 2: Trauma in Archives: The Compelling Tensions Exposed

2:00–2:50 p.m.
Moderator: Bradley Wiles, Northern Illinois University

Panelists:

• Marika Cifor, University of Washington
• Rachel Weiher, Macalester College
• Arlene Schmuland, University of Alaska Anchorage

Archivists Cifor, Weiher, and Schmuland will discuss how we remember, document, and commemorate traumatic events. 

Based on one article from Library Trends 74 (4): 

• Remembering Now to Forget Later: Trauma, Archives, and the Tension of Commemoration

Panel Discussion 3: AI and LIS: Irresolvable Tensions?

3:00–3:50 p.m.
Moderator: Andrea Baer, University of Texas–Austin

Panelists:

• Jennifer A. W. Stubbs, Bradley University
• Annie Sollinger, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Heidi M. Winkler, Texas Tech University

Baer, Stubbs, Sollinger, and Winkler will examine how AI has sparked new tensions in LIS and speculate on what the future might bring.

Based on three articles from Library Trends 74 (4):

• When Is Critical AI Literacy Critical? Critical AI Literacy Discourse and Principles of Critical Pedagogy
• Skeptically Defining the "Post-Reference Epoch"
• Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Reactions: Tensions Between Digital Libraries and Generative AI