Keynote Speakers
Jerome Offord, Jr.
DEI Is NOT Dead: Reigniting the Flame for Equity and Inclusion in a Changing World
As organizations navigate cultural shifts, political pressures, and economic uncertainty, one critical truth remains: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not passing trends; they are essential pillars for sustainable leadership, innovation, and community impact. Amid debates and skepticism surrounding the future of DEI initiatives, this plenary session brings together thought leaders, change agents, and innovators to reaffirm and reimagine the role of DEI in today’s evolving landscape. The session will challenge the narrative that DEI has lost relevance, offering bold insights and data-driven strategies proving its continued importance across sectors. Through compelling storytelling, real-world examples, and interactive dialogue, this session will inspire attendees to move beyond performative practices and reignite authentic, purpose-driven engagement. This is not just a conversation; it’s a call to action. DEI is not dead. It’s being reborn. Be part of the movement.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand the evolving landscape of DEI in a complex social and political climate.
- Explore innovative and sustainable DEI strategies for long-term success.
- Gain tools to respond to DEI fatigue and pushback with clarity, courage, and credibility.
About the Speaker
Jerome Offord, Jr. is the Associate University Librarian (AUL) and Chief Diversity Officer for Harvard Library. Expanding upon the library’s strong record of diversity initiatives, the AUL and Chief Diversity Officer collaborates extensively to develop strategies for organizational change through the library’s workforce, services, collections, and spaces. Before joining Harvard, Jerome served as the Vice President for Business and Administration at DeEtta Jones and Associates. Jerome has held senior cabinet positions at Lincoln University of Missouri, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), over a span of eight years. Initially hired as Dean of Library Services and Archives, he was soon asked to serve as Interim Provost and Interim Chief Information Officer. He was subsequently appointed Chief of Staff to the President, and then Dean of Administration and Student Affairs. Jerome’s other professional experiences include serving as Diversity Officer and Corporate Inclusion Manager at OCLC Online Computer Library Center; Director of Diversity Initiatives at the Association of Research Libraries; Director of Finance and Development at Us Helping Us, People Into Living; and in student affairs roles at Colorado State University, George Washington University, and American University. Jerome’s educational credentials include a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science, with an emphasis in Managerial Leadership, from Simmons University in Boston; master’s degrees in Library and Information Science from the Catholic University of America and in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University; an Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis; and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Lincoln University.
Tim Ribaric and Cecile Farnum
Harvesting Library Labour in an AI World: The Grim Reaping of Library Work(ers) and What We Can Do About It
“You must give to get, You must sow the seed, before you can reap the harvest.” ~ Scott Reed
The growth of GenAI, LLMs, and chatbots threaten many established ways of performing academic work, and is already resulting in labour concerns for library workers. This keynote considers the impact of AI on scholarly publishing work in academic libraries.
All aspects of the scholarly publishing life cycle (Submit, Review, Decide, Edit and Preserve) have the potential for a deep impact from AI, and are therefore relevant for the library community to consider. Scholarly publishing work is also deeply intertwined with the open access movement, where processes and outputs are often done ‘out in the open’, and are therefore ripe for harvesting by A.I. for reuse. What are the potential consequences of this brand of cognitive offloading in the scholarly publishing process? And what are the labour implications for library workers, authors and publishers, when A.I. tools begin to do this work?
In this keynote, librarians Tim Ribaric and Cecile Farnum will consider the role libraries may play in both augmenting and striving against AI, using a critical lens that is skeptical of the difference between what the promise of AI is, compared to the reality of what it will bring.
About the Speakers
Tim Ribaric is the Scholarly Publishing and Platforms Librarian at Brock University. He is a Librarian IV, and a PhD Candidate. He has published on technology instruction in libraries, Marxism, and is currently teaching 3 Library Juice Academy classes. He has served in various roles on his union executive and was the chair of the Canadian Association of University Teachers Librarians’ and Archivists’ committee.
Cecile Farnum (MA, MISt) is a liaison librarian at Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries. In this role, she supports specific academic programs, providing instruction, reference and research support to students and faculty.
Cecile actively participates in labour spaces, having participated in several rounds of collective bargaining through her faculty association, as well as work on other faculty association committees. Cecile also recently served on the CAUT Librarians’ and Archivists’ Committee, and the steering committee to organize OCUFA’s 2024 Bargaining Stronger Together Collective Bargaining Conference.
Project MUSE
Janeway + Fulcrum
Quire
Program
Monday, May 5
12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m. | Keynote address by Jerome Offord, Jr., Associate University Librarian (AUL) and Chief Diversity Officer for Harvard Library
1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
ACTIVE SESSION
Library publishing: We can’t do everything, so should we just quit? 
[video]
Rachel Molina (she/her), Digital Publishing and Repository Librarian, Indiana University Indianapolis; Olivia MacIsaac (she/her), Research Information Management Librarian, Indiana University Indianapolis; Jere Odell (he/him), Director of the Center for Digital Scholarship, Indiana University Indianapolis
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
Ensuring diversity in open access databases: the DOAJ Ambassador Programme Review [video]
Ivonne Lujano, DOAJ Community Manager & Ambassador, Directory of Open Access Journals
Creating Inclusive OERs: Weaving Accessibility into Publishing Workflows [video]
Karen Meijer (she/her), Scholarly Communication Librarian, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Amanda Grey (she/her), Open Education Strategist, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Implementing DEIA Training for Editors in a Library Publishing Program [video]
Charlotte Roh (she/her), Publications Manager, California Digital Library, University of California; Catherine Mitchell, Director of Publishing, Archives, and Digitization, California Digital Library, University of California; Amanda Karby (she/her), Publications Manager, California Digital Library, University of California
2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
ACTIVE SESSION
Leveraging Student Expertise: Collaborating with Graduate Assistants to Publish Open Educational Resources [video]
Bailey Lake (she/her), Open Strategies Librarian, Eastern Kentucky University; Kelly Smith (she/her), Director of Collections & Discovery, Eastern Kentucky University
PANEL SESSION
Beyond Diamond: Exploring Dialectical Materialist Open Access
Dave Ghamandi (he/him), Open Publishing Librarian and Managing Editor, Aperio, University of Virginia; Brianne Selman (she/her), Scholarly Communications and Copyright Librarian, University of Winnipeg; Sam Popowich (he/him), Digital Infrastructure Librarian, University of Winnipeg
3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Break
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
ACTIVE SESSION
Managing relationships through boundaries: A library publishing discussion
Erin Jerome, Library Publishing & Institutional Repository Librarian, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Anne Cong-Huyen, Research & Engagement Librarian for Humanities & Social Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara; Esther Jackson, Scholarly Communication Technologies Librarian, Columbia University; Kathryn Pope, Digital Repository Manager, Columbia University
Note: capped at 40 attendees
PANEL SESSION
Exploring ways to increase global participation in a diamond open access journal: the case of the Special Issue at JLSC
Janet Catterall (she/they), Senior Project Officer, Open Access Australasia; Shenmeng Xu (she/her) Librarian for Scholarly Communications Digital Lab, Vanderbilt University; Andrea Quinn, Law Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Research Services, Emory University School of Law; Frances Andreu (she/her), Scholarly Communications Librarian, Rochester Institute of Technology; Janaynne Carvalho do Amaral (she/her), Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Samir Hachani, Professor, School of Library Sciences-University of Algiers; Eleanor Colla, University of Melbourne
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. | Social Event: Joy Hour
Tuesday, May 6
12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m.
BOAF SESSION
Looking at Accessibility and Archiving of Open Access Books – A Copim Open Book Futures Workshop [video]
Gareth Cole, Loughborough University Library; Joanne Fitzpatrick, Lancaster University Library; Dr Rupert Gatti,O pen Book Publishers, Thoth Open Metadata, Cambridge University
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
(This session includes two 15-minute presentations and three 2- to 3-minute lightning talks.)
Overdue Knowledge: Teaching & Learning via Student-led Journals in the Library [video]
Rebecca Wojturska (she/her), Open Access Publishing Officer, University of Edinburgh
Building Bridges between Publishing and Teaching
Gabriela Mircea (she/her), Digital Project Librarian, University of Calgary
Undergraduate Journal Workflows Project [video]
Christopher A. Barnes (he/him), Assistant Professor and Digital Publishing Librarian, Adelphi University
Open Access to Publicly Funded Research in China: Policies, Platforms, and Accessibility [video]
Feng Yang (he), Professor, Sichuan University
An Ultra-Brief Look at Aperio’s Platform Migration [video]
Dave S. Ghamandi (he/him), Open Publishing Librarian and Managing Editor, Aperio, University of Virginia
1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
BOAF SESSION
Structuring Library Publishing Programs One Step At A Time
Jordan Pedersen (she/her), Research & Scholarship Librarian, University of Guelph
ACTIVE SESSION
Open Access, Open Metadata, Open Archiving: How to Liberate Metadata Flows across the OA Landscape [video]
Toby Steiner (he/his), COO, Thoth Open Metadata; Vincent van Gerven Oei, punctum books & Thoth Open Metadata; Hannah Hillen, Thoth Open Metadata
2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
PANEL SESSION
A Student-Centered Approach: How to Build Inclusive and Effective Digital Publishing Teams [video]
Lindsey R. Peterson (she/her), Digital Humanities Assistant Professor of Practice, University of South Dakota; Mariah Cosens (she/her), CWRGM Researcher and History MA student, University of South Dakota; Alessandra Diaz (she/her), CWRGM Researcher and History BA student, Columbia University; Amiracle Funches (she/her), BA, History, CWRGM Researcher and Historic Objects Collections Contract Cataloger, Mississippi Department of Archives & History; Amanda Patrick (she/her), MLIS, CWRGM Researcher, University of Southern Mississippi
BOAF SESSION
Enhancing Accessibility in Library Publishing: Challenges, Best Practices, and Sustainability [slides]
Valrie Minson (she/her), Associate Dean of Research and Executive Director of LibraryPress@UF, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries; Tracy E. MacKay-Ratliff (she/her), Director of LibraryPress@UF, University of Florida Smathers Libraries; Kat Nguyen (she/her), Publications Editorial Coordinator, University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries; Ella Terran (she/her), Design and Publishing Assistant for LibraryPress@UF, University of Florida Smathers Libraries
3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Break
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
BOAF SESSION
Exploring the Landscape of Peer Review Models
Iliana Cosme-Brooks (she/her), Open Publishing Coordinator, Virginia Tech; Corinne Guimont (she/her), Associate Director, Publishing and Digital Scholarship, Virginia Tech; Patrick Tomlin (he/him), Associate Dean, Academic and Creative Engagement, Virginia Tech; Cheryl Ball, Executive Director, Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ); Eugenia Zuroski (she/they), Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University, President of CELJ; Sarah Salter (she), Professor of Pedagogy, English Dept Emory University, Vice-President CELJ
PANEL SESSION
Accessibility metadata: challenges and ways forward [video] [slides]
Katherine Klosek, Director of Information Policy and Federal Relations, Association of Research Libraries (ARL); Julie Cardinal, retired Associate University librarian Cataloging and Metadata, Université de Montréal; Katherine McColgan, Manager, Administration and Programs, Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL); Chris Oliver, Librarian Emeritus, University of Ottawa; Victoria Owen, Information Policy Scholar-Practitioner, University of Toronto; Pascal Calarco, Systems Librarian and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University of Windsor
Wednesday, May 7
12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m.
PANEL SESSION
Removing barriers: how libraries and university presses collaborate to effect change [video] [slides]
Jennie Collinson (she/her), Director of Sales & Marketing, Liverpool University Press; Allison Levy (she/her), Director, Brown University Digital Publications; Mary Rose Muccie (she/her), Executive Director/Scholarly Communications Officer, Temple University Press; Jessica Fiorillo, Harvard Education Press (Moderator)
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
A Global View on the Evolution of Open Book Publishing [video]
Zoe Wake Hyde (she/her), OMP Coordinator, Public Knowledge Project
Beyond Journal Publishing: Adapting OJS for internal grant applications [video]
Priscilla Carmini (she/her), Digital Repositories Librarian, University of Waterloo; Israel Cefrin (he/him), Information Technology Specialist / Developer, University of Waterloo
Taming the Beast: Leveraging A Large Scale Platform Migration for Strategic Program Goals [video]
Lisa Schiff (she/her), Associate Director, Publishing, Archives, and Digitization, California Digital Library, University of California; Justin Gonder, Senior Product Manager, Publishing, California Digital Library, University of California
1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
ACTIVE SESSION
Challenges & Opportunities – GenAI & Open Educational Resources [video]
Erin Fields (she/her), Open Education and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University of British Columbia; Will Engle (he, him) Open Education Stategist, University of British Columbia
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
“Reasonable costs” for publishing: what do we know now, and what can library publishers help us find out? [video] [slides]
Lauren B. Collister (they, she), Research Engagement Manager, Invest in Open Infrastructure
The Harvard Open Journals Program: A New Library Initiative to Support No-Fee Open Access Journals [video]
Colleen Cressman (she/her), Librarian for Open Publishing, Harvard Library; Yuan Li (she/her), University Scholarly Communication Officer and Director of Open Scholarship and Research Data Services, Harvard Library
On Building Transgeographic Teaching Networks: The Digital Library of the Caribbean Open Educational Resources in Caribbean Studies Development Program [video]
Tania Ríos Marrero (she/her), Project Coordinator for the Digital Library of the Caribbean, University of Florida
2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
ACTIVE SESSION
Defining Quality in OER Textbooks: Drafting a Guide
Stefanie Buck (she/her), Director, Open Educational Resources, Oregon State University; Karen Lauritsen (she/her), Senior Director, Publishing, Open Education Network
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
Library Publishing Perspectives from Brazilian academic libraries [video]
Lucas dos Santos Souza da Silva (he/him), Post-Graduate Student/Researcher, Brazilian Institute of Information on Science and Technology (Ibict); Fabio Gouveia (he/him), Professor, Brazilian Institute of Information on Science and Technology (Ibict); Nanci Oddone (she/her), Professor, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO)
Stronger Together at the Big Ten: Library Publishing Collective Action [video]
Kate McCready (she/her), Program Director for Open Publishing, Big Ten Academic Alliance; Ally Laird, Open Publishing Team Lead, Penn State University; Matt Vaughn, Open Publishing Librarian, Indiana University
3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Break
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Member Meeting
Thursday, May 8
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Social Event: Coffee Hour
12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m. | Keynote address by Tim Ribaric, Scholarly Publishing and Platforms Librarian at Brock University, and Cecile Farnum, Liaison Librarian at Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries [video] [slides] [worksheet]
1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. | Break
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
An International Data Space for OA Book Usage Data Exchange Across Public and Private Stakeholders – Project Update [video]
Ursula Rabar, Community Manager, OA Book Usage Data Trust / OPERAS
Collaborate with Creative Commons: open licensing training for all [video]
Jennryn Wetzler (she/her), Director of Learning and Training, Creative Commons
ACTIVE SESSION
The Future of the Library Publishing Directory: Looking Backward and Forward [video]
Allison Brown (she/her), Digital Publishing Services Manager, SUNY Geneseo; Angel Clemons (she/her), Electronic Resources Librarian, University of Louisville; Briana Knox (they/them), User Services Librarian, University of North Texas; Gina Genova (she/her), University of Louisville, Clinical Librarian; Matt Vaughn (he/him), Indiana University, Open Publishing Librarian
2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
BOAF SESSION
So you’re new to library publishing… Me too! [slides]
Rachel Molina (she/her), Digital Publishing and Repository Librarian, Indiana University Indianapolis
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
Enhancing Discoverability of OER: Promoting Collaborative Repository Workflows [video] [slides]
Xiao Zeng (she/her), Open Publishing Librarian, University Libraries, University of Houston; Kate McNally Carter (she/her), Open Education Librarian, University of Houston; Ariana Santiago (she/her), Head of Open Education Services, University of Houston
Leveraging Technology and Bite-Sized Projects to Drive OER Adoption [video]
Yassin Nacer (he/him), Open Education Librarian, Utah State University; Kirsten Cox (she/her), Digital Scholarship Librarian, Utah State University
OA Math Textbook Publication with LaTeX [video]
Cale Erwin (he/him), Scholarly Communications Associate, Butler University
3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Break
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
BOAF SESSION
Inclusive Working: Teams in Library Publication
Dr. Linda Miles (she/her), Open Educational Resources Librarian, Michigan State University Libraries; Dr. Rajiv Ranjan (he/him), Associate Professor, Michigan State University, Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures
Note: capped at 50 attendees
INDIVIDUAL SESSION
Expanding Library Publishing Services Beyond Campus: Engaging the Greater Community Through Library Publishing [video]
Kyle Morgan (he/him), Scholarly Communications and Digital Scholarship Librarian, Cal Poly Humboldt
Entangling Stories to Organize Digital Scholarship: Creating Generative, Community-Engaged Workflows [video]
Mariam Ismail (she/they), Digital Projects Coordinator, Virginia Tech University Libraries; Jason Higgins (he/him), Digital Scholarship Coordinator, Virginia Tech University Libraries
From Locality to Decoloniality? The Role of Perpusnas Press in Knowledge Sovereignty in Indonesia [video]
Zaki Fathurohman, Information System Analyst, National Library of Indonesia
Committees
Program Committee
- Corinne Guimont, Virginia Tech (chair)
- Elizabeth Bedford, University of Washington
- Jennifer Coronado, Butler University (PALNI)
- Loftan Hooker, Virginia Commonwealth University
- Ryan Otto, Kansas State University
- Jessica Thorlakson, University of Alberta
- Erin Jerome (Board liaison)
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee
- Amanda Karby, California Digital Library
- Shannon Kipphut-Smith, Rice University
- Jules Luck, Penn State University
- Courtney Shareef, University of Louisville
- Kate Sheridan, University of Minnesota
- Angel Peterson (Board DEI Officer)
Forum Scholarships Committee
- Jordan Pedersen, University of Guelph (chair)
- Jason Boczar, University of South Florida
- Laureen Boutang, University of Minnesota
- Katie Cuyler, University of Alberta
- Joshua Neds-Fox, Wayne State University
- Sarah Frankel (Board liaison)