Princeton University Library  (PUL) co-sponsored the fourth installment of the Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium (GSISC) in June 2024, which featured talks and workshops from a variety of librarians, archivists, researchers, and educators from around North America. Other sponsors include the Program for Gender & Sexuality Studies, the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center, Spelman College Women’s Research & Resource Center, and The Newcomb Institute at Tulane University. 

“The goal for GSISC is to respond to the challenges posed by critical perspectives on gender and sexuality in our field,” said Sara Howard, Librarian for Gender and Sexuality Studies and Student Engagement and GSISC committee chair. “We want to make an inclusive space for difficult, fruitful conversations that foreground gender, sexuality, and the body while considering libraries and cultural heritage institutions as sites of both liberation and oppression.”

The colloquium is an outgrowth of the Litwin Books and Library Juice Press Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies and was founded by the series editor, Emily Drabinski. 

This year’s colloquium was headlined by Keynote speaker Briona Simone Jones, Assistant Professor in English specializing in African American literature, Feminist and Queer Theory and Black Queer studies at the University of Connecticut. The day also included sessions, among others, on putting trans-inclusive theory into practice, reproductive health, and misinformation, as well as case studies on how specific libraries address prejudice and bias against purposefully marginalized populations.

“To single out one group, the critical cataloging discussions in Session 1, Track D really resonated with my own thinking and research,” said Elliot Galvis, a 2021 graduate of Princeton University and current master’s student at the University of Chicago, who also presented.

“The presentations were exceptional not only for the thoughtfulness and the energizing work of the speakers but also for the ways in which they highlighted how navigating the tensions between information organization and categorization with queer theory is essential in library and education spaces along with personal and political formations,” he added.

In addition to Howard and Galvis, supporting PUL staff included Valencia Johnson, Archivist for Student Life, and Princeton University Student August Roberts. The rest of the planning committee was comprised of library and archival professionals from academic libraries and archives who intentionally span a variation of transnational, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender perspectives. 

Johnson noted, “One of many important gems dropped that day was the need to have a community around you that not only supports you, but feeds your spirit as well.”

“One of the most important takeaways for me after reviewing our feedback survey is that it was a place where colleagues connected and are now working on new projects or developing projects together,” said Howard.

“Will Noel was on my mind throughout the day as he, along with David Magier, had been the LSC champions for the colloquium, and just the importance of thoughtfulness when engaged in challenging conversations and critical debate.”

Howard, Johnson, Roberts, and other colleagues are working on GSISC 2026.

Published on August 5, 2024

Media Contact: Stephanie Oster, Publicity Manager