Beyond Barriers Conference
April 2 | 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
RSVP for Zoom link

The Wayne State University School of Information Sciences' Inclusive Excellence Committee will host the third annual Beyond Barriers: Conversations on Equity in Information Conference on Thursday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. The virtual event is free and open to all. RSVP for the Zoom link.

This year's theme, "Centering Social Justice in L/IS," focuses on equity, inclusion and justice as foundational elements of library and information practice. The conference highlights student projects that engage critically with those responsibilities.

The conference features a strong lineup of speakers with ties to Wayne State and the Detroit area. Travis Wagner, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will deliver the opening keynote. Wagner's research centers on critical information studies, queer archives and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Mara Powell, university archivist at University of Detroit Mercy and a WSU alumna, will close the event. Powell oversees the UDM Black Abolitionist Archive and is also an independent filmmaker.

The panel will be moderated by Librarian Damecia Donahue. Panelists include Dr. Meredith Evans, director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and a SIS alumna; Marcia Black, Co-Executive Director of the Black Bottom Archives and the Reuther Library instruction and outreach archivist whose work engages with Black queer archival theory; and Selena Aguilera, a community engagement librarian at Taylor Community Library, SIS alumna, and former Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Student Assistant.