On Monday, June 26, Dylan Ruediger is speaking at the ALA Annual Meeting on the “Interdisciplinarity and Humanities Librarianship: Are librarians (and Libraries) Keeping Pace, and What’s Next?” panel.

About the panel

Candice Dahl, learning support and liaison librarian at University of Saskatchewan, will moderate the discussion which is taking place at 9:00 AM CT at McCormick Place, W184a. Dylan will be joined on the panel by Glenda M. Insua, reference and liaison librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Trishula Patel, assistant professor at the University of Denver

Libraries have long been called on to support interdisciplinarity in academia. But despite both past and recent calls for swift and significant reimagining of support and services for interdisciplinary humanities scholars, there is evidence that libraries and humanities librarians are adapting at different rates, and with varying degrees of enthusiasm. As academia, research, and libraries themselves continue to change, the conversation about effectively supporting interdisciplinary research and humanities scholars continues. This panel will be a next step in this timely conversation, incorporating research findings, lived experiences, and panelists’ reflections.

We know that interdisciplinarity in humanities teaching and research is generally regarded as both desirable and necessary in higher education. But how extensively, and how well, are libraries and librarians adapting? And, as disciplinary boundaries continue to blur, what is the future of the “English Literature Librarian” or “History Librarian? In this session, panelists will highlight research that sheds light on how libraries can support interdisciplinary humanities scholars, and how it can help shape librarian roles in the future. The panel will also consider the way forward by examining how libraries have already adapted, and where (and why) movement has been slow.

In order to present multiple perspectives panelists will represent different roles (researcher, librarian, faculty member), different types of organizations (academic libraries and a non-for-profit research organization), and multiple areas of academic study. Attendees will be engaged through our quick-moving panel format, in-person panelists, video content, and opportunities to ask questions.

Learning Objectives:

  • Upon completion, participants will compare multiple perspectives on interdisciplinarity within the humanities in order to engage in constructive conversations about evolving librarian/library support for scholars.
  • Upon completion, participants will understand the evolving research practices of humanities scholars in order to examine the adequacy of the support their libraries provide for interdisciplinary research.
  • Upon completion, participants will identify recommendations for supporting humanities scholars in order to reimagine services and roles in their libraries, especially with diverse researchers in mind.