ALSIS Spring Talk 2026
A title and description of the talk:
"Beyond Borders, Beyond Books: LIS Research, Immigration Policy, and Library Action for International Students"
This session examines what Library and Information Science research reveals about how academic libraries serve immigrant and international students, and where the field must deepen its engagement. The talk situates library practice within the realities of changing immigration policies, legal concerns, and career opportunities and restrictions that shape many students' academic and personal lives. Drawing on a synthesis of current scholarship, the presentation calls for more concrete, policy-aware approaches to student support in academic settings and identifies directions for more evidence-based research.
Date: April 16th, 2026
Time: Noon EST
Registration link: https://dartmouth.zoom.us/meeting/register/JF8RN6gWRjaeKvndK7TRuw
Bios of Presenters:
Ana Ndumu
Assistant professor, College of Information, University of Maryland.
Ndumu's work focuses on the cross between social identity and information behavior, particularly how accessible and adequate information strengthens marginalized communities. Her studies are thus at the nexus of libraries, demography, and social inclusion. Her recent works examine the information worlds of African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latinx immigrants living in the U.S.
Her publications include The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) and Borders and Belonging: Critical Examinations of Library Approaches Toward Immigrants (Library Juice Press, 2020). She has published in the Journal of Documentation, Journal for Education in Library & Information Science, and Journal of Library and Information Science, among others. Email: andumu@umd.edu.
Hayley Park
Hayley Park is a PhD student whose research focuses on the intersection of immigrant information experiences, participatory methodologies, and the critical examination of technology in the rapidly changing information landscape. A former public library worker, Park received her MLIS from the University of Washington in Seattle and was selected as a 2022–23 American Library Association Spectrum Scholar and 2023–24 American Library Association Emerging Leader. Email: hp00@umd.edu