Save the Date: 5th Biennial GSISC 2026 on June 17 and 18 (Virtual)
Existence is Our Resistance
How do the very acts of being, knowing, and communicating outside of normative frameworks create new forms of information, alternative archives, and innovative approaches? How do diverse gender and sexual identities illuminate biases in existing information practices and inspire more just and equitable futures?
Librarians, archivists, and information workers are on the frontlines of the assault on free speech, academic freedom, dissent, DEI, and the intellectual and creative foundations of social equity. As we convene in 2026 for the fifth Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium (GSISC), we seek to explore and celebrate the myriad ways in which lived realities, information practices, and intellectual contributions of queer, trans, non-binary, and other gender and sexually diverse individuals inherently defy, disrupt, and transform the information landscape in this challenging time.
The GSISC planning committee invites you to join us June 17 and 18 for a virtual gathering to foster community and connection as we confront forces that seek to erase our existence, honor the legacies of movements before us, and work collectively to imagine liberatory futures into being: we are everywhere. We welcome proposals that address a range of topics on how we nurture resistance in our profession, with consideration for its locus among the intersections of gender, queerness, race, and sexuality.
Questions and considerations might include, but are not limited to:
Existence as Resistance
Queer Realities
Self-care/Collective-care
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Coming out whole on the other side: surviving the present wave of authoritarianism
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Protecting our peace: stepping up and stepping back as strategic defenses
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Loving the work when the work doesn't love you back
Resistance as Existence
Misinformation, Disinformation, Censorship, and Freedom of Expression
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Identifying silences, gaps, and lies in dominant information landscapes
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Activating/archiving alternative information resources
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Working outside of/against the establishment: providing information in defiance of institutional compliance
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Teaching and mentorship in LIS graduate education in this liminal time
Know Your Rights
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The right to resist: addressing rights information as an information literacy issue
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Protest and the right to privacy on college campuses
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Labor organizing and collective action, within and without unions
Deadline for proposals – February 27, 2026
Notification of acceptance – March 31, 2026
Registration opens* – April 13, 2026
Colloquium dates – June 17 and 18, 2026, Noon - 4pm (EST) each day
*Please note there will be a modest registration fee for this event.
Further logistics will be unfolding: https://libguides.princeton.edu/GSISC2026
Please direct questions to GSISC2026@gmail.com. Please note we are a fully volunteer run conference. While we staff our inbox, we may take a few days to get back to you.
Program Committee
Sara Howard (co-chair), Princeton University, Matthew Rohweder (co-chair), Laurier University, Liam Adler, Barnard College, Avi Bauer, Boston College, Lara Fountaine, North Carolina State University, Justin Howard, Independent Archival Scholar, Tanesa King, Binghamton University, Chloe Raub, Independent Archival Scholar, August Roberts, University of Washington, Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Grinnell College, Caitlin Shanley, Temple University, Kristan Shawgo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Thera Webb, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium (GSISC) logo by Bernadette Floresca.
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Gina Schlesselman-Tarango
She/Her/Hers
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