Dr. Ana Ndumu – University of Maryland
This episode was recorded during the 2022 Association of Library and Information ScienceEducator’s (ALISE) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.
Dr. Ana Ndumu is an Assistant Professor in the University of Maryland’s College of InformationStudies. Her research often focuses on United States’ Black colleges and universities also referredto as HBCUs and their contributions to library and information science education.Dr. Shaundra Walker is the Associate Director for Instruction and Research Services at GeorgiaCollege. Her research interests include the recruitment and retention of diverse librarians andorganizational development within the library.
Dr. Shaudra Walker – Georgia College & State University
In listening to this special ALISE episode of TOI, you will hear the passion these two engagedresearchers have for Black Librarianship.The interview opens with Dr Ndumu and Dr Walkerdiscussing their friendship and collegial relationship along with their individual reflections on theirexperiences in their graduate school librarianship programs. It is these experiences that keepsthem motivated and dedicated to develop programs to engage Black students as they matriculatethrough their LIS programs.The interview then pivots to their most recent collaboration where they partnered with BlackCaucus American Library Association (BCALA), which they presented at the annual ALISE conference. This dynamic duo lead an effort to create a national, virtual, program-independentstudent organization for those who identify as Black and/or African American and pursuing theirMasters degree in Library and Information Science, which they coined asthe iBlack caucus.recorded on October 25, 2022
Dr. Beth Patin – Syracuse University
This episode was recorded between the 2022 Association of Library and Information Science Educator’s(ALISE) Annual Conference and the Association of Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T)conference both held in succession in Pittsburgh, PA.Dr. Beth Patin, who is an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University in the School of Information; she isalso the Executive Director of Rocket City Civil Rights, a group seeking social reform in HuntsvilleAlabama through archiving advocacy.This interview covers multiple aspects of this dynamic scholar’s life and research. We open with adiscussion of her family’s civil rights movement legacy in Huntsville Alabama, which is also known andreferenced in the interview as Rocket City for the city’s historical connection to the US Space program.We learn how Dr Patin applies her scholarship, research, and professional expertise to her role asExecutive Director of Rocket City Civil Rights.This rich interview includes poignant engagement about the realities of being a critical race theoryactivist and scholar as well as her contributions to both conferences, which includes being on multiplepanel presentations along with winning the ALISE best conference paper award.This interview was conducted in the hotel lobby accounting for the background noise and audio quality.recorded on October 28, 2022