Keynote Speakers
Wednesday, June 17

Executive Director, SPARC
COPYRIGHT REBECCA DROBIS
Heather Joseph
Executive Director, SPARC
Title: Open Knowledge Sharing in a Chaotic Time
About the Speaker
As SPARC’s Executive Director since 2005, Heather has focused the organization’s efforts on sharing knowledge. Under her stewardship, SPARC has become the leading advocacy organization promoting innovative open and equitable global systems of research and education. She leads SPARC’s strategic work, which has resulted in a fundamental shift in public policy towards open knowledge sharing, including the establishment of the landmark White House Memorandum requiring open access to all U.S. federally funded research outputs in 2023.
She has provided guidance and advice to both public and private funders through her service on national boards and committees ranging from the U.S. Department of Commerce Data Advisory Council to the National Institute of Standards Research Data Framework Committee and has worked to incentivize knowledge sharing by spearheading the establishment of the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Roundtable on Aligning Incentives to Support Open Science.
She is a widely respected expert on national and international open research policies, practices, and implementation strategies; Heather has worked on initiatives and consultations promoting the open sharing of research outputs from the United Nations to the World Bank. Through SPARC’s global network of affiliates in Europe, Asia and Africa, she is an active collaborator on projects that support community-developed and controlled solutions for knowledge sharing.
Prior to joining SPARC, Heather spent 15 years as a publisher in both commercial and not-for-profit journal publishing organizations. She is deeply engaged in the global knowledge-sharing community and serves on the Board of Directors of organizations ranging from the Public Resource to OurResearch. She is a frequent speaker and writer on scholarly communications and higher education issues and open access to research in particular.
Thursday, June 18, Plenary Panel: Connecting Faculty Research in DEIA and Digital Publishing
[video]
Melanie Walsh
University of Washington
Title: How Data Shapes—and Reveals—Who and What Gets Published
Abstract: This talk will draw on Walsh’s work at the intersection of data, publishing, and library collections. In recent years, researchers have used data to quantify major racial biases in the mainstream publishing industry, showing that U.S. publishing has been historically dominated by white authors. In a similar vein, libraries have begun to adopt data-driven audits to evaluate the diversity of their collections. While these audits can be broadly valuable, they often carry implicit assumptions and sometimes contribute to reductive understandings of diversity. They also raise questions about how diverse library collections can be without interventions in publishing. Drawing on her research into book sales data, Walsh will reflect on how data itself shapes and incentivizes who and what gets published, including not only in mainstream trade publishing but also in academic publishing, pointing to potential areas where library publishing groups might focus advocacy and attention.
About the Speaker
Melanie Walsh is an Assistant Professor in the Information School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Washington. She is an Executive Council member for the new Center for Advances in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (CALMA). She is a former Postdoctoral Associate in Information Science at Cornell University and received her PhD in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis.
Her research interests include data science, digital humanities, literature, libraries, and social media. She investigates how data and computational methods shape contemporary culture, and how they can be used to understand culture in turn.
She is co-editor of the Post45 Data Collective, a peer-reviewed venue for literary and cultural data from 1945 to the present. With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, she has developed open-source tools for working with bibliographic data, such as BookReconciler, a tool for book data reconciliation and enrichment. She also leads the What’s Seattle Reading? project, which explores contemporary reading trends with unique open data provided by the Seattle Public Library.
Additionally, she is working on a book, When Postwar American Fiction Went Viral: Protest, Profit, and Popular Readers in the 21st Century, which argues that social media is reshaping the past and future of American literature. Lastly, she authored a free, open-source textbook, Introduction to Cultural Analytics & Python, which introduces the programming language Python to people interested in the humanities and social sciences.
Her work has been funded by the Mozilla Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Schmidt Sciences.
Sandy Littletree and Carole Palmer
University of Washington
Title: Rethinking Data Stewardship through Indigenous Priorities [slides]
Abstract: As open data and open science shape how research is shared and valued, we need intensive attention to the consequences of our professional data stewardship practices. For Indigenous communities, data access and control are inextricably tied to histories of extraction, omission, and harm that are at risk of being perpetuated into the future. By centering Indigenous priorities—both those of Indigenous scholars and communities—in libraries and repositories, we can build, and, when necessary, rebuild, more ethical data systems for the long term. Grounding all data stewardship in respect, reciprocity, and relational accountability will produce a more trustworthy data ecosystem that can serve generations to come. This talk explores the challenges and possibilities for meaningful change toward upholding Indigenous priorities as the default in research data stewardship.
About the Speakers
Sandy Littletree
Carole Palmer
Carole Palmer is a Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. She works in the areas of data curation and digital research collections, with a focus on supporting interdisciplinary inquiry and principled stewardship of research data in libraries and repositories. Her research has been funded by NSF, IMLS, the Mellon Foundation and other sponsors for work that span the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, with projects ranging from discovery potentials in neuroscience, site-based data curation in geobiology, and boundary work in the humanities, to large-scale federation of digital cultural heritage collections. She is currently PI on Data Services for Indigenous Scholarship & Sovereignty and a leader of the LIS Forward initiative. As an educator, Palmer was a pioneer in data curation curriculum and professional workforce development. She served as Director of the Center for Informatics Research in Science & Scholarship at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois from 2007-2014 and as Associate Dean for Research at the Information School at the University of Washington from 2015-2024.
Tracie Hall
HBCU Library Alliance
Title: ‘Saviors’ and Silences: The Potentialities of Library Publishing in Resisting Racialized Censorship [slides]
Abstract: Tracie D. Hall’s presentation interrogates how contemporary censorship movements—often framed by groups positioning themselves as protectors of children, patriotism, or “traditional values”—have produced new silences within academia by targeting scholarship on race, gender, history, and identity. The presentation also offers ideas on how academic libraries can resist these efforts not only through defense of challenged materials, but through proactive teaching and learning programming for faculty and library publishing initiatives that cultivate and disseminate original scholarship reflective of their faculty, students, and communities. Emphasizing open access, community authorship, and the foundational mission of higher learning, Hall looks at how library publishing can expand the scholarly canon, preserve marginalized knowledge systems, and strengthen intellectual freedom in an increasingly restrictive political climate.
About the Speaker
Tracie D. Hall was named Executive Director of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance in January 2026. Prior to assuming this role, she was appointed Distinguished Practitioner in Residence and Professor of Practice at the University of Washington Information School in Seattle, where she continues to teach. Hall’s career reflects distinguished leadership across libraries, arts administration, and cultural policy. Her previous roles include Executive Director of the American Library Association; Deputy Commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; Director of the Joyce Foundation’s Culture Program; and Assistant Dean of Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
Her contributions to libraries, the arts, and social advocacy have earned national and international recognition. In 2022, Hall received the National Book Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her enduring influence and excellence in the literary field. In 2023, TIME Magazine named her to the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people. That same year, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute honored her with its Medal for Freedom of Speech and Free Expression, and the Metropolitan Chicago YWCA awarded her the Sojourner Truth Leadership Award. Illinois Humanities also recognized her with the Beacon Award for her contributions to arts and letters. In 2025, Hall received an Emmy Award nomination as co-producer of the documentary The Audit: Black Women in Leadership Post-George Floyd. That year, she was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of London, Royal Holloway College, in recognition of her lifelong advocacy for information access and the freedom to read. Hall currently serves on the boards of regional and national organizations dedicated to expanding access to the arts and education.
Please check back later for further information about keynotes.
Program
Wednesday, June 17
7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Registration | North Ballroom
7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. | Breakfast | North Ballroom
8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. | Opening Remarks
[video] | North Ballroom
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. | Keynote
[video] [slides] | North Ballroom
Heather Joseph, SPARC
9:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. | Break
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Concurrent Sessions
WATCH PARTY #1 (pre-recorded presentations) | North Ballroom
The ZTC Buzz: Sharing our Zero Textbook Cost Campus Tour
[video]
Michelle Brailey, University of Alberta Library
Publishing OER that Further Student Belonging: Insights and Questions
[video]
Sarah Hare, she/ her, Open Educational Resources Librarian, UC Santa Cruz; Alexandra Marcaccio, she/they, AtlanticOER Lead, Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries (CAAL-CBPA)
From classroom to publication: Supporting course books through library publishing
[video]
Ioana Liuta, Digital Publishing Librarian, Simon Fraser University; Jennifer Zerkee, Copyright Specialist, Simon Fraser University
Scholarly Publishing Partnerships Through Book Proposal Development
[video]
Agnes Gambill, Head of Scholarly Communications, Appalachian State University
Greetings and an Update from IFLA’s Library Publishing Section
[video]
Ann Okerson, IFLA Library Publishing Section; and IFLA North America Regional Committee
FULL SESSION | HUB 250
Oh No, a Table! Library Publishing Experiences in PDF Accessibility and Remediation Work at Large Universities
Angela Watters, she/her, Digital Publishing Specialist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Angel Peterson, she/her, Production Specialist & Accessibility Coordinator, Penn State University; Iliana Cosme-Brooks, she/her, Open Publishing Coordinator, Virginia Tech Publishing & Press; Kate Sheridan, she/her, Publishing Librarian, University of Minnesota
HANDS ON | HUB 214
Putting Open Values to Work: Collaborations between Library Publishers and Open Infrastructures to Sustain Open Workflows in OA Book and OER Publishing
Harrison Inefuku (he/his), Iowa State University Digital Press; Steel Wagstaff, Pressbooks; Andy Byers, Janeway; Toby Steiner (he/his), Thoth Open Metadata;
11:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. | Break
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
INDIVIDUAL | North Ballroom
Do As I Say, Not As I Do: How Scholarly Publishers’ Disclose Their Use of Artificial Intelligence
Teresa Schultz, she/her/hers, Scholarly Communications & Social Sciences Librarian, University of Nevada, Reno
Establishing an Advisory Board: Process, Practice, and Lessons Learned
Corinne Guimont (she/her), Director, Virginia Tech Publishing & Press, Virginia Tech; Patrick Tomlin (he/him), Associate Dean, Academic and Creative Engagement, Virginia Tech
Building a Publishing Program with AI Assistance: A Case Study from Access Services in Libraries, Inc.
Karen Glover, Associate Dean for Research and Scholarly Access, Georgia Institute of Technology Library
FULL SESSION | HUB 250
We Make the Rules: Rewriting Norms in Library-Based Journal Publishing
Amanda Larson, AERI Program Coordinator, She, Her, Hers, The Ohio State University; Kristina Clement, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and Instruction, Collegiate Librarians, Kennesaw State University, she, her, hers; Chelsee Dickson, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and Instruction, Scholarly Publishing & Research, Kennesaw State University, she, her, hers; Sabrina Davis, Access & User Services Librarian, Texas Tech University, she, her, hers
FULL SESSION | HUB 214
Libraries and Publishers in Support of Black and Indigenous Voices
Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Library Alliance; Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, Director, University of Guam Press; Allison Levy, Director, Brown University Digital Publications (chair)
12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. | Lunch | North Ballroom
1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
HANDS ON | North Ballroom
Unearthing Diamond OA: Mapping U.S. Diamond Open Access Publishing
Sharla Lair, Lyrasis; Catherine Mitchell, she/her, Director of Publishing, Archives, and Digitization, California Digital Library; Emily Goff, she/her, President, Goff Group LLC; Kate McCready, she/her, Program Director for Open Publishing, Big Ten Academic Alliance
HANDS ON | HUB 250
Constructive Conversations with Authors
Angela Watters (she/her), Digital Publishing Specialist, Illinois Open Publishing Network, University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Corinne Guimont (she/her), Director of Virginia Tech Publishing and Press
BOAF | HUB 214
Getting Up to Speed with Journal Hosting in the Library
Nancy Foasberg, she/her, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Villanova University
2:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Break
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
HANDS ON | North Ballroom
Altered State Publishing: Workshop on Designing Workflows for Alternative Publishing
Mackenzie Salisbury, (she/her) Curriculum Innovation Librarian, Northwestern University; Basia Kapolka, (she/they), Digital Humanities Librarian, Northwestern University
FULL SESSION | HUB 250
Sustaining Scholarly Texts: A Collaborative Approach to TEI Publishing
Anna Siebach-Larsen, She/Her, Director, Rossell Hope Robbins Library and Koller-Collins Center for English Studies, University of Rochester; Chad Nelson, Technical Team Manager, California Digital Library, University of California; Zach Davis, Partner, Cast Iron Coding; Dana Johnson, Frontend Team Lead, Cast Iron Coding
BOAF | HUB 214
The Contract as Compliance: Negotiating Privacy and Accessibility in Library Publishing [slides]
Ellen Dubinsky (she/her), Scholarly Communication Librarian, University of Arizona; Michele Gibney (she/her), Visiting Program Officer – Privacy & Surveillance, SPARC / Head of Publishing and Scholarship Support, University of the Pacific
3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | Break
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Reception
Thursday, June 18
7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast | North Ballroom
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. | Plenary Panel
[video] | North Ballroom
Melanie Walsh, University of Washington; Sandy Littletree and Carole Palmer, University of Washington [slides]; Tracie Hall, HBCU Library Alliance [slides]
9:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. | Break
9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. | Concurrent Sessions
WATCH PARTY #2 (pre-recorded presentations) | North Ballroom
From Vulnerabilities to Verification: Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication in OJS
Brianna Calomino (she/her) Digital Projects Librarian, Scholarly Publishing, University of Calgary; Gabriela Mircea (she/her), Digital Projects Librarian, University of Calgary
Understanding the Labor Behind Library-Published Scholarly Journals in the United States
[video] [slides]
Karen Bjork (she/her) Head of Digital Libraries and Publishing, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU); Annie Johnson (she/her) Associate University Librarian for Research, Teaching, and Technology, University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press; Johanna Meetz (she/her), Publishing & Repository Services Librarian, The Ohio State University
Making the Invisible Visible: Using Open Data to Surface Diamond Journals in Canada
[video]
Jeanette Hatherill, she/her, Senior Coordinator, Coalition Publica; Simon van Bellen, Érudit
Leveraging consortial infrastructure to sustain open publishing: The STORK case study at the University of Ottawa
[video]
Leigh-Ann Butler (elle | she/her), University of Ottawa; Bart Kawula, Web and Discovery Services Librarian, Scholars Portal
‘Infrastructuring’ inclusive open access: the case of DOAJ journal indexing criteria
[video]
Ivonne Lujano, Community Manager, She/her, Directory of Open Access Journals
BOAF | HUB 250
From Practice to Profession: Advancing Open Education’s Place in Scholarly Publishing and Academic Recognition
Amanda Larson, AERI Program Coordinator, She, Her, Hers, The Ohio State University; Chelsee Dickson, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and Instruction, Scholarly Publishing & Research, Kennesaw State University, she, her, hers
FULL SESSION | HUB 214
From Growing Pains to Sustainability: Proven Strategies for Maturing Library & OER Publishing Programs
Lauren Ray, they/them, Open Education Librarian at University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington; Kate McNally Carter, Coordinator of Open Education Services, University of Houston Libraries; Pamela Herrington-Moriarty, Alamo Colleges District; Steel Wagstaff, Customer Experience Lead, Pressbooks
10:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Break
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
FULL SESSION | North Ballroom
Introducing Digital Press Plus: A Press/Vendor Collaboration for Supplementary Teaching Materials
Harrison W. Inefuku, Digital Press Lead, Iowa State University; Andy Byers, Director of Publishing Technology, Birkbeck University of London; Abbey K. Elder, she/they, Open Education Services Librarian, Iowa State University
HANDS ON | HUB 250
Mapping the Research Nexus: A Hands-on Guide to Retrieving Relationship Metadata
Shayn Smulyan (he/him), Technical Support Specialist, Crossref; Jason Portenoy (he/him), Data Scientist, Crossref
INDIVIDUAL | HUB 214
From Research to Publication: Building an Integrated Pipeline for Undergraduate Scholarly Communication Through Journal Publishing and Pedagogy
Reya Saliba, Instruction & Outreach Librarian, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar; Kira Dreher, Associate Dean, Community Excellence / Associate Teaching Professor, English, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar; Jeffrey Squires, Associate Teaching Professor, English, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Collaborating to Build an Undergraduate Publishing Certificate: Library-English Partnerships Centering Student Experience and Workforce Readiness
Kathy Essmiller, Ph.D. Associate Professor. OSU Libraries, Coordinator | OpenOKState, Oklahoma State University; Aimee Parkison, Professor, OSU English Department; Veronica Cabellero, Student, OSU
Teaching Publishing Literacy to New Authors: Benefits of OER as a Course-Agnostic, Point-of-Need Tool
Martha Stuit, she/her, Scholarly Communication Librarian, University of California, Santa Cruz; Sarah Hare, she/her, Open Educational Resources Librarian, University of California, Santa Cruz
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Lunch
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
INDIVIDUAL | North Ballroom
Media-Neutral Publishing Enabled by the OS-APS Single-Source Workflow
Dominik Baumgartner, Managing Director of FAU University Press, University Library at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Building Scalable Library Publishing Through Shared Infrastructure: Updates on Meru and the Next Generation Library Publishing Project
Sarah Lippincott, she/her, Product Owner, Next Generation Library Publishing; Zach Davis, he/him, Founder and CEO, Cast Iron Coding
Platform Postmortem: Learning from Ten Years of Publishing Digital Scholarship with an Out-of-the-Box Tool
Daniel G. Tracy, Head, Scholarly Communication and Publishing, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
INDIVIDUAL | HUB 250
We Are the Stories we Tell Ourselves: Articulating Impact and Value When Downloads Mean Nothing
Dylan Mohr (he/him), Open Scholarship Librarian, Syracuse University
Analyzing Disparities and Trends in Article Processing Charges Publishing: A Case Study of the University of Houston
Xiao Zeng (she/her) Open Publishing Librarian, University of Houston
INDIVIDUAL | HUB 214
From Archives to Wikipedia in the Classroom: A CUNY Library Partnership Case Study
Jojo Karlin (she/her), Scholarly Communications Manager, City University of New York (CUNY); Krystyna Michael, Assistant Professor, CUNY Hostos Community College and the CUNY Graduate Center
Accessibility Success through CPACC Certification: A Penn State Case Study
Angel Peterson, she/her, Production Specialist and Accessibility Coordinator, Penn State University Libraries; Jules Luck, they/them, Accessibility and Production Specialist, Penn State University Libraries
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Therapy Dogs, partnered with COLLEGE DOGS OF WASHINGTON | Mural Room (No food or drink allowed. Dog treats will be provided at the end of the session.)
2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Break
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
HANDS ON | North Ballroom
Finding Your Place in Open Source Software: A Hands-on Workshop for First-Time Contributors
Steel Wagstaff, he/him, Customer Experience Lead, Pressbooks; Zach Davis, President, Cast Iron Coding (Manifold)
HANDS ON | HUB 250
Measure What Matters: A Workshop on Developing Rubrics for Journal Evaluation and Growth
Justin Gonder, Senior Product Manager, Publishing, California Digital Library; Charlotte Roh (she/her) Publications Manager, California Digital Library; Amanda Karby, Publications Manager, California Digital Library
INDIVIDUAL | HUB 214
Testing Community-Owned Infrastructure: Lessons from the Open Education Network’s Ketty Pilot
Karen Lauritsen, Senior Director, Publishing, Open Education Network, Open Education Network, University of Minnesota; Bailey Lake, she/her, Open Strategies Librarian, Eastern Kentucky University Libraries
Staffing Survey Task Force Results & Report
Miranda Phair, Publishing & Open Scholarship Librarian, Towson University; Melissa Chim, Excelsior University; Michelle Brailey, University of Alberta; Lauren Collister, Invest in Open Infrastructure; Heather Hankins, Kennesaw State University; Alyssa Huffman, Wayne State University; Bailey Lake, Eastern Kentucky University; Barbara Loomis, Cleveland State University; Donna O’Malley, University of Vermont; Anita Walz, Virginia Tech
OPEN FL Publishing Program: An OER Win
Rebel Cummings-Sauls, Director, Digital Services + OER, Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC); Elisabeth Ball, Program Manager, Digital Services + OER, FLVC
3:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. | Break
3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions
FULL SESSION | North Ballroom
From Librarians to Authors: Revising Pub101 to Expand Open Publishing Support
Karen Lauritsen, she, her, hers, Senior Director – Publishing, Open Education Network; Amanda Larson, AERI Program Coordinator, The Ohio State University, she, her, hers
BOAF | HUB 250
What Works at Scale? A Conversation on Consortial Library Publishing
Jessica Kirschner, she/her, Digital Publishing Coordinator, VIVA, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium; Amanda Hurford, she/her, Scholarly Communications Director, PALNI
HANDS ON | HUB 214
Bring Levity by Leveraging Zines and Hands-on Publishing
Allison Brown (she/her), Digital Publishing Services Manager, SUNY Geneseo; Francis Harte, SUNY Geneseo
4:50 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks | North Ballroom
Committees
Program Committee
- Ryan Otto, Kansas State University (co-chair)
- Jessica Thorlakson, University of Alberta (co-chair)
- Elizabeth Bedford, University of Washington (host liaison)
- Ginelle Baskin, Middle Tennessee State University
- Stefanie Buck, Oregon State University
- Christine Cata, University of Miami
- Jennifer Coronado, Butler University (PALNI)
- Brandon Locke, CALMA, University of Washington (host liaison)
Library Publishing Forum Scholarships Committee
- Jason Boczar, University of South Florida (chair)
- Laureen Boutang, University of Minnesota
- Becky Diamond, Rutgers University
- Matt Fredericks, Wayne State University
- Jonah McAllister-Erickson, West Virginia University
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee
- Josephine Chaet, University of Delaware
- Iliana Cosme-Brooks, Virginia Tech
- Amanda Karby, California Digital Library
- Shannon Kipphut-Smith, Rice University
- Jules Luck, Penn State University
- Rhonda Marker, Rutgers University
- Joshua Neds-Fox, Wayne State University
- Kate Sheridan University of Minnesota
2026 Library Publishing Forum Remote Engagement Task Force
- Perry Collins, University of Florida (chair)
- Ashley Cate, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Jill Ciracella, CUNY
- Jessica Kirschner, VIVA
- Jordan Pedersen, University of Guelph
Bridwell Library and Press
Iowa State University Digital Press
Pressbooks
AUPresses

