Schedule [15 Nov 2025]
Location & Time -- Potomac V; 1:00pm-5:00pm EST https://www.conftool.org/asist2025/index.php?page=browseSessions&form_session=764#paperID144
[1:00-1:15 PM] Opening — Lydia Oladapo, Manika Lamba, Brady Lund
Presentation Session 1
1:15 - 1:30 PM
Turning the "systemic lens" towards the future of AI (Alex Mayehw, University of Western Ontario)
Social justice has a history of noticing forests where others only see trees. The "systemic lens" refers to a perspective that analyzes issues and situations by looking beyond individual actions to examine the broader, interconnected systems and structures that perpetuate inequality and oppression, with the goal of identifying and addressing systemic root causes. LIS aims to contribute to that discourse. Climate change, systemic racism, patriarchy, global pandemics are all quite different, but hold in common a problematic pattern that rests at a higher level of abstraction. They are emergent phenomena, resulting from a variety of individual choices, laws, and institutional designs. Technological change can also enable challenges that are difficult to detect at the level of the individual. Many institutions were surprised by the emergence of ChatGPT. However, the basic technology had been publicly available for several years prior to the launch of the app in November 2022. By examining the development of AI through a systemic lens we may be able to glean some insight into the future challenges we might face. In light of its traditional embrace of the systemic lens and its concern with information technologies, LIS should become the home discipline of AI forecasting efforts.
1:30 - 1:45 PM
Beyond Databases: Rethinking AI literacy and information systems in the age of Gen AI (Alex Zhang, Duke University)
The rapid adoption of generative AI in information environments has introduced profound challenges in how users conceptualize, evaluate, and interact with information systems. Traditional information literacy education, particularly within libraries and academic institutions has been structured around database logic systems that are transparent, scoped, auditable, and measured by retrieval accuracy such as precision and recall metrics. In contrast, LLMs are generally opaque, probabilistic, non-deterministic, and are evaluated through task-oriented methods that go beyond precision and recall rubrics. This project explores the divide between databases and LLMs, arguing that their differences are not merely technical but pedagogical and philosophical. The goal of the project is to examine the differences that shape user expectations, search behaviors, trust in AI generated output and cognitive skills development. Drawing from my experience in legal research pedagogy and training in information science, I hope to propose a Human-in-the Loop (HITL) framework for AI literacy education that specifically addresses the implication of generative AI for authority, information retrieval and evaluation, and a potential epistemological shift in how knowledge may be defined and validated.
1:45 - 2:00 PM
A Social Media Perspective on Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in China (Jingtian Jia, University of Porto; and Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, University of Texas at San Antonio)
Inclusive education may have negative impacts on students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This paper presents a qualitative social media analysis aimed at understanding the experiences of students with ID in China’s inclusive education system, as well as the perspectives of key stakeholders toward inclusion and students with ID. We collected and analyzed user comments (N=244) from social media posts discussing students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive education. We find that students with ID often experience poor peer relationships and limited participation in classroom activities. Teachers reported that, due to the exam-oriented education system, they lacked the time and special education knowledge to support students with ID. Parents of students with ID generally supported inclusive education but also expressed concerns about rejection from teachers and peers. Parents of non-ID students felt that the presence of students with ID negatively affected their own children’s learning and well-being. Based on these findings, we discuss the need to provide better support for teachers, design curricula that meet the needs of students with ID, and improve public understanding of the value of inclusive education.
2:00-2:10 PM
Short Break
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Presentation Session 2
2:10 - 2:25 PM
Aiding and Abetting: Should Librarians Help Families of Gender Diverse Youth Access Healthcare? (Damon Carucci, University of Michigan)
Over the past four years, the United States has seen a marked increase in legislation targeting gender-affirming healthcare. As of March 2025, 25 states have enacted bans that prevent transgender youth from receiving fully-reversible, life-saving healthcare like hormone blockers. Additionally, eight states have implemented "aiding and abetting" clauses, making it a criminal offense for healthcare professionals, public school staff, and other state employees to provide, facilitate access to, or even encourage gender-affirming healthcare for minors.
This presentation aims to equip librarians with an understanding of these developments, while underscoring the significant impact they can have in supporting gender-diverse youth and their families. I will begin by providing a 5-7 minute overview of gender-affirming healthcare, highlighting the effects of aiding and abetting clauses. Then I will transition into facilitating a discussion inviting attendees to collaboratively consider whether librarians should play a role in "aiding and abetting", and if so, how? This is intended to be the beginning of a conversation about whether librarians have a responsibility to serve as confidential sources of support in this increasingly complex legal landscape.
2:25 - 2:40 PM
Hide and Seek: Helping Patrons Uncover (Intentionally) Hidden Archival Materials (Evan M. Allgood, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Given the current political climate, archivists are feeling pressure to engage with the materials of marginalized people in new ways—especially state- and federally-funded archivists. Choices will be made, whether to bury these materials by removing terms likely to be flagged by governmental organizations, to transfer the materials to other organizations with fewer stringent requirements, or to enact changes we haven’t envisioned yet. As the archival landscape becomes increasingly destabilized, information professionals must toe the line between supporting patrons in finding what they need and keeping materials safe in the long-term. Based on research completed in conjunction with Invisible Histories for my Master of Library Science thesis, this talk will describe current archival descriptive practices regarding Deep Southern LGBTQ+ history—a subset of materials that already takes extra work to uncover—and extrapolate upon best practices for searching for this often hidden, intersectional material to support patrons in searching for other marginalized histories. It will highlight the importance of community-engaged research, supporting inexperienced researchers, and teaching patrons to using complex and flexible search methods when the standard paths don’t uncover what you’re looking for.
2:40 - 2:55 PM
Combatting Censorship in Libraries: The Role of Case Law and Precedent in Defending Intellectual Freedom (Jacob Muller, Indiana University-Bloomington)
In response to the emergence of a significant volume of legislation aimed at limiting access to information and censoring library materials at the state and federal level, it is absolutely vital for librarians and patrons alike to advocate for intellectual freedom. This project observes three Supreme Court cases concerning censorship in libraries, and their implications in combatting growing calls for restrictions in order to develop a clearer understanding of existing precedent. Board of Education v. Pico reaffirms student’s “right to receive information,” thus establishing the foundation on which school libraries have been able to resist book banning attempts for the past forty years. United States v. American Library Association, conversely, reaffirms Congress’ authority to provide stipulations to funding that it allocates, allowing Congress to require the restriction of access to materials deemed obscene per CIPA regulations. Miller v. CA upholds existing obscenity precedent, while also rejecting past tests used to define what constitutes as “obscene” in the courts. In observing these court cases, the precedents they set, and related doctrines, I outline a legal basis by which libraries may seek to more effectively defend intellectual freedom and their patrons in a court of law.
2:55 - 3:15 PM
Long Break (Refreshments)
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Presentation Session 3
3:15 - 3:30 PM
Living democracy: Exploring immigrants' information behavior amid cutbacks, censorship, and crisis (Ana Ndumu and Hayley Park, University of Maryland)
The presenter will offer lessons learned after pivoting a research project in response to hardline immigration policy. In addition to sharing varied evidence on library and information professionals' requests for deeper training on immigrant acculturation, the presenter will offer reflections on the way forward. Arguably, the LIS field will continue facing the effects of punitive measures for years. How, then, should researchers carry out ethical, mindful, and community-affirming research in the face of demagoguery?
3:30 - 3:45 PM
Governing Higher Education Accessibility Knowledge Commons (Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou, University of Texas at San Antonio; Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Lags in enforcement of Title II and market incentives to design for the majority and maintain default settings lead to significant challenges around accessibility (e.g., inaccessibility of PDF files, proprietary digital textbook platforms that are incompatible with screen readers) for college students with disabilities. In this mixed-methods case study, we combine auto-ethnography and a structured diary study among the authors to understand accessibility of higher education through the lens of Governing Knowledge Commons (GKC). GKC is a descriptive conceptual framework to support the analysis of community governance of shared knowledge resources. The GKC framework allows us to unpack how shared knowledge and institutional structures are collectively managed to increase or decrease accessibility of higher education. Key action arenas identified in this study include decisions on procurement of accessible technologies (e.g., learning management systems), ineffective accommodations for students, underfunded disability services, overreliance on retrofitting rather than implementing accessibility at the onset, and overpromising of universal design. By identifying common failures in ensuring accessibility, we propose policy and design recommendations to rectify these issues, including: (1) accessibility training for faculty and staff members, (2) ensuring software accessibility in the procurement and operation processes, and (3) applying universal design principles consistently and contextually.
3:45 - 4:00 PM
Change on Many Fronts: Solidarity Across Crises (Shannon Crooks and Sarah Appedu, Syracuse University)
On the surface, it appears that librarians are handling several crises on multiple fronts – from the increased reliance on public libraries to fill vital gaps in social services, resulting in librarians administering social work services for which they are ill-prepared, to the influx of AI-powered tools that promise to alleviate the burdens placed on librarians while replicating the systematic inequities that harm our communities. In this workshop, we explore how the social crises impacting public library workers and the promises of AI as a technological solution to such crises are rooted in the same systems of oppression that librarians have long been resisting. We draw on Crooks’ prior professional experience as a social worker and public librarian and her current research on the intersections of social work and libraries and Appedu’s past and current research on the ways technological change and librarianship shape one another to articulate how these seemingly different areas of librarianship overlap and can work in solidarity. We believe such approaches to addressing social and technological change can inform more holistic and unified discourses around how to adapt to such changes while centering the needs of our communities in the face of systemic oppression at every step.
4:00 - 4:10 PM
Short Break
Presentation Session 4
4:10 - 4:25 PM
Experiment and Design: Building a Digital Archives Exhibit with Emerging Technologies under Limited Resources (Will Clary, Kaylie Longley, Shyanne Freeman, Krystyna K. Matusiak, Ruohua Han)
Digital exhibits are curated, structured collections of digital objects and associated information related to a topic. For community archives that often operate under limited resources, exploring the thoughtful use of emerging technologies in building digital exhibits may help improve efficiency without sacrificing quality or care. This presentation discusses our work in building the digital exhibit Where Community and Learning Met: Rural Education in Park County for the Park County Local History Archive. The Omeka-powered exhibit uses archival resources such as oral histories and photographs to share the experiences of students and teachers in rural Colorado one-room schoolhouses around the early 1900s. An overarching project goal was to explore exhibit-building strategies that can ensure care and rigor while working with a limited budget and timeline. One strategy was experimenting with emerging technologies across several processes. The presentation shares how we used ChatGPT to identify exhibit subthemes and structure content, Claude.AI to extract content from digitized local newspapers and match them to themes, StoryMap JS to visualize data, and Google Trends to craft titles and webpage slugs. It concludes with a reflection on the strengths and potential pitfalls of using new digital tools to facilitate digital exhibit building for community archives.
4:25 - 4:40 PM
Moving Beyond the Cognitive Stall: The Normalizing of Inclusive Frameworks Within a Library Instruction Model That Supports College Students with Traumatic Brain Injuries (Natisha Harper, Old Dominion University)
The focus of this proposal is on inclusive learning strategies that can be embedded into traditional library instructions that act as interventions that assist students in overcoming cognitive challenges. This research explores how instruction librarians can be instrumental in supporting the academic success of college students diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries. It identifies evidence-based strategies that enhance key aspects of self-regulated learning (SRL), retention and memory, and social engagement that support students when cognitive progress is delayed or impeded post-injury.
4:40-5 PM
Information Access and Agency: How Immigration Policy and Cultural Systems Shape the Health-Seeking Behaviors of the Displaced Afghan Women in Quetta, Pakistan (Kinza Alizai, University of North Texas)
This study explores the health behaviors and information practices of displaced Afghan women in Pakistan, a diverse country where cultural and religious hierarchies marginalize minorities like Baloch, Tajiks, Hazaras, Persians, Kochis, Hindus, Dalits, Christians, Shias, Parsis, and Deo-Badees. These groups face discrimination and limited access to health and social services. Displaced Afghan women are especially underrepresented and vulnerable, with largely undocumented health information behaviors.
The research employs qualitative methods, including autoethnography and content analysis, and applies Elfred Chatman’s Small Worlds Theory to demonstrate how Afghan women navigate segmented information spheres—shaped by ethnicity, displacement, and gender—to access healthcare in Quetta, Pakistan. Chatman’s (1991) theory offers a framework for understanding how these women operate within limited social worlds to find, share, and interpret health information. Thematic analysis helps identify patterns and provides insights into the sociocultural and informational factors that influence their health-seeking behaviors.
Findings explore how displaced Afghan women rely on informal networks for health amid systemic exclusion. Linking information behavior, gender, and health, this study contributes to research on marginalized groups and aims to inform gender-sensitive immigration and health policies in Pakistan.
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