Friday, November 21, 2025

Download Full Conference Program

Theme:
Unlocking Libraries: Expanding Access and Opportunity for All

Location:
OCCC Keith Leftwich Memorial Library
4th Floor Conference Rooms
7777 S May Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73159

Registration includes continental breakfast, your conference registration, lunch, and afternoon snacks. Lunch will be a potato bar with a variety of toppings, water and iced tea to drink, and chocolate cake or carrot cake for dessert.

Keynote Speaker

Suzette Chang is the Founder/CEO of Thick Descriptions, an organization invested in science empowerment and cultural intelligence for all. The mission of Thick Descriptions is to disrupt traditional educational methods with anthropology, building stronger communities. From 2024 to 2025, Thick Descriptions impacted over 16,000 people with anthropology, and their numbers continue to increase.

As a practicing anthropologist, Suzette weaves archeology, biology, cultural understandings, and language to explain everyday experiences. With over twenty years’ experience as a leader and educator, Suzette is committed to engaging and providing critical thinking knowledge and skills to human beings. Her approach combines inspiration, strategic planning, development and execution of vision/mission for individuals and organizations. She supports this with a strong background in teaching and programming, emphasizing decision making, and rescripting and rethinking traditional approaches. She attained two graduate degrees, a Master’s in Library Sciences and Anthropology, from the University of Oklahoma in 2016. Suzette is a keynote speaker, strategic storyteller, and the proud Mom of two new adults.

Keynote Topic:

Accessing and Leveraging AI within Academic Spaces from the Lens of Cultural Anthropology

Are you afraid/uncomfortable/indifferent about AI? You are not alone. As of September 2025, over 50% of Americans are more concerned than excited regarding the growing usage of AI within our daily lives. We need to talk about it and thoughtfully embrace AI because it is here to stay. Suzette will assist attendees to peel back the layers of their AI pauses. She will take a deeper dive into the anthropology of AI, the languages and cultural understandings linked to this form of technology, address opportunities and responsibilities, and foster resiliency within our network of academic librarians. Attendees will be exposed to generative AI and ways to create and maintain frameworks regarding this ever-growing and shifting technology. Be prepared to laugh and learn!

Conference Schedule

Start Time	End Time	Event	Room
8:15	9:00	Registration & Breakfast Refreshments	407
9:00	9:15	Welcome & OK-ACRL Business Meeting	407
9:15	10:15	Keynote: Suzette V. Chang Accessing and Leveraging AI within Academic Spaces from the Lens of Cultural Anthropology	407
10:15	10:30	Break
10:30	11:15	Authorship, Copyright, and AI: Legal and Scholarly Perspectives Clarke Iakovakis	401
10:30	11:15	“Alone Until the Bell Calls Us”: How Playful Design Unlocks Campus Connections for First-Generation Students Chris Rosser and Jamie Autry	402
10:30	11:15	Checked Out, Plugged In: Lending the Tools for Academic Success Johnny Hill and Katie Chestnut	403
10:30	11:15	Access Denied: Addressing Digital Accessibility in Academic Libraries Dani Kirsch and Cristina Colquhoun	407
11:15	11:30	Break
11:30	12:15	Ambiguity, Overload, and Affective Reactions: Connecting the Work Environment to Academic Librarians’ Turnover Intentions Dr. Christine R. M. Edwards	401
11:30	12:15	Come On In! Making an Academic Library Makerspace More Welcoming Karl G. Siewert	402
11:30	12:15	Getting the Word Out: Forming New Library Partnerships Across Tulsa Community College Andy Taylor and Ashley Bean	403
12:15	1:30	Lunch	407
1:30	2:15	Lightning Rounds: Integrating AI Literacy into Academic Library Instruction: A Framework-Based Approach – David Rankin Library Technology: A History of the Future – Liorah Golomb and Laurie Scrivener A Spoonful of Sugar: Sneaking Important Topics Into Workshops – Courtney Oliphant Zine Creation and Collection at OU-Tulsa – Bethie Seay	407
2:15	2:30	Break
2:30	3:15	De-Identified Yet Insightful: Assessing Usage with Limited Demographic Data Megan Macken, Ana Parrett, Rebekah Silverstein, and Jenny Bodenhamer	401
2:30	3:15	Inviting Belonging: Creating Welcoming Library Spaces through Relax and Read & Scenes from Back Home Simon Ringsmuth and Jennifer Nabicht	402
2:30	3:15	“You Have to Talk to the Librarian?” Using Required Librarian Consultations to Identify Skills Gaps in Community College Students Dana Tuley-Williams and LiErin Probasco	403
2:30	3:15	Digital Accessibility Panel: Compliance with ADA Title II Regulations Cristina Colquhoun, Brent Greyson, Casey Lowry, and Ann Raia	407
3:15	3:30	Closing Remarks and Door Prizes	407

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