A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
Universal design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to people, regardless of ageism, disability or other factors. It emerged as a rights-based, anti-discrimination measure, which seeks to create design for all abilities. Evaluating material and structures that can be utilized by all. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. “When disabling mechanisms are to be replaced with mechanisms for inclusion, different kinds of knowledge are relevant for different purposes. As a practical strategy for inclusion, Universal Design involves dilemmas and often difficult priorities.” Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design.
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in beta in November 2004, the Google Scholar index includes peer-reviewed online academic journals and books, conference papers, theses and dissertations, preprints, abstracts, technical reports, and other scholarly literature, including court opinions and patents.
Inclusion, in relation to persons with disabilities, is defined as including individuals with disabilities in everyday activities and ensuring they have access to resources and opportunities in ways that are similar to their non-disabled peers. Disability rights advocates define true inclusion as results-oriented, rather than focused merely on encouragement. To this end, communities, businesses, and other groups and organizations are considered inclusive if people with disabilities do not face barriers to participation and have equal access to opportunities and resources.
The Pratt Institute School of Information is the information school of the Pratt Institute, a private university in New York City. The school administers the oldest Library and Information Science program in North America. It was created in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1890 shortly after Melvil Dewey created such a program at Columbia University in 1887. Based in Manhattan, the school administers a master of information and library science degree program that has been accredited by the American Library Association since the 1924/1925 academic year.
Jenny Levine is an American librarian and digital strategist who has been a longtime evangelist for the adoption of emerging Internet technologies by public libraries, in particular blogging and RSS. Since 2006, she has been a member of the RSS Advisory Board, a group that publishes the RSS specification and helps developers with web syndication. For over a decade, she has used her Shifted Librarian blog to encourage librarians to start blogs so they can "create an authentic voice for what has traditionally been a faceless, inhuman institution." One of the first librarians to publish a web site, which she began doing in 1995, her blog became so popular that she was once the top search result on Google for the term "Jenny."
Courtney Young is an American librarian and scholar, who served as the president of the American Library Association for the 2014–2015 year. On June 30, 2015, her term as ALA President ended, and she passed the title on to Sari Feldman.
Emily Drabinski is an academic librarian, author, and teacher, serving as president of the American Library Association since 2023.
Loida Garcia-Febo is a Puerto Rican American librarian and library consultant. Garcia-Febo served on the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) 2013-2015 and 2015-2017 and she was a member of the executive board of the American Library Association 2015-2020 serving as a board member and president. She was president of the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA) from 2009 to 2010.
Peter David Blanck is an American academic, psychologist, and lawyer who is the university professor and chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.
Betsy Fagin is an American poet. She is the author of Fires Seen From SpaceAll is Not Yet Lost, Names Disguised as well as numerous chapbooks including Poverty Rush, the science seemed so solid, Belief Opportunity, Rosemary Stretch, For every solution there is a problem, and a number of self-published chapbooks.
Oralia Garza de Cortes is a librarian, advocate, bibliographer, and scholar. She has been honored by REFORMA with the Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes excellence in librarianship over a career for one who has made significant and lasting contributions to Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.
Matthew Battles is a writer, artist, and since 2022 the editor of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum magazine, Arnoldia. Until 2022 he was the associate director of metaLAB at Harvard University. Battles is the author or co-author of six books, most of which are on the topics of writing or libraries. He was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2004. He has been called "a gifted stylist" by the Christian Science Monitor which commended his "beautiful writing about writing."
Tracie D. Hall is an American librarian, author, curator, and advocate for the arts who served as the executive director of the American Library Association from 2020 to 2023. Hall is the first African American woman to lead the association since its founding in 1876.
Fobazi Michelle Ettarh is an American academic. She has been librarian at Temple University Libraries, California State University, Dominguez Hills and Rutgers University. Her research focus includes inclusion, equity, and diversity in libraries, and her work led her to coin the term "vocational awe."
Patricia "Patty" Wong is the city librarian of Santa Clara, California. Wong was the president of the American Library Association (ALA) for the 2021-2022 term and is the first Asian American president of the ALA. She has been on the faculty at the San Jose State University iSchool since 2006, teaching subjects such as equitable access to library services, library management, and library services to young people.
D. Jade Simon is an American paleontologist, scientific communicator, and disability rights advocate. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, where she studies the paleobiology of oviraptorosaur dinosaurs.
Nicole Amy Cooke is an African-American librarian and the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair at the University of South Carolina. Her research focus on critical cultural information studies in libraries and her advocacy for social justice have earned recognition in the library profession.
Raymond Pun is an academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education. He is the elected president of the American Library Association for 2025–2026. On June 14, 2024, it was announced that Pun would be unable to assume the American Library Association presidency due to health reasons.
Yetunde Abosede Zaid is a Nigerian librarian. She is the first Professor of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Lagos, and serves as the University Librarian.
