Unraveling Equity: The Effects of Anti-DEI Legislation on Academic Law Library Workers

Register - November 18 - Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series

Join us for an important discussion that shines a light on the often-overlooked role of academic law libraries amid rising anti-DEI legislation. This session will examine issues such as book banning and will focus on how these developments impact not only library collections, but also the staff dedicated to serving diverse communities.

Participants will explore:

• The current landscape of anti-DEI legislation and its specific effects on law libraries.
• Strategies for advocating for inclusivity and diversity, ensuring libraries are not left behind in the conversation.
• The emotional and professional toll on library staff as they navigate these challenges.
• Best practices for creating a supportive environment that upholds access to information and equity.

 Join us to empower our law library workers and reaffirm their importance in an evolving legislative landscape.

This event is co-sponsored by Roger Williams University School of Law, City University of New York School of Law, George Washington University Law School, Berkeley Law, JURIST, and Antiracist Development Institute.

In 2021, RWU Law began sponsoring an ongoing Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series in collaboration with CUNY School of Law and JURIST. Each previous installment has been attended by hundreds of legal education professionals from across the country.

View Previous Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Sessions Here

Meet the Speakers

Sarah Lamdan is the Deputy Director at ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. Before joining ALA, Sarah was an attorney and Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law and a librarian in various academic and private law libraries. Her work has been featured in Library Quarterly, Georgetown Law Technology Review, and NYU's Review of Law & Social Change. Her book Data Cartels was published by Stanford University Press in 2022.

Josh LaPorte (he|him) is the Reference & Access Services Librarian at the St. John’s University School of Law Rittenberg Library. Prior to his service at St. John’s, Josh worked in Access Services at the BU School of Law and UConn Law libraries. Josh focuses on non-MLIS personnel in libraries and the development and evolution of these essential staff roles. He serves as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the American Association of Law Libraries. After over two decades of library work, Josh is completing his MSLIS degree at St. John’s University this December.

Nichelle “Nikki” Perry received her Master of Library Science and Juris Doctor degrees from North Carolina Central University. She currently serves a Legal Research Analyst for McGuireWoods LLP.  In 2024, she retired from North Carolina Central University where she served as an Associate Professor and the Director of the Library. Prior to becoming director, she served as the Assistant Director and the Reference Instructional Librarian at NCCU and the Reference/Electronic Services Librarian at the Kathrine R. Everett Law Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has served on several regional and national library committees and is a member of the North Carolina State Bar.

Amanda Watson is the assistant dean for library and information services at Harvard Law School. She previously served as the director of the law library and as an associate professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center. During her tenure at the University of Houston, Watson received national recognition as the winner of both the 2024 Law Library Journal Article of the Year Award for her article "Demonstrating Law Library Value Through Mission-Centered Assessment" and the 2021 LexisNexis American Association of Law Libraries Call for Papers Award for her submission “‘The Report of My Death Was an Exaggeration’ — The Legal Treatise.” She was also selected by her peers to speak at Yale’s Law Library Symposium in 2021 and 2023. Prior to her time at the University of Houston, Watson served as the associate director of the law library at Tulane University. She also previously held the role of state librarian of Mississippi and clerked for Chief Judge Roger McMillin of the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Watson earned her B.A. from Mississippi University for Women as a first-generation college student, graduating summa cum laude. She received her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was a member of Phi Delta Phi, and her master’s degree in information science from the Florida State University School of Information, where she also graduated with summa cum laude honors.

Meet the Moderator

Nicole P. Dyszlewski is one of the editors of Integrating Doctrine and Diversity: Inclusion and Equity in the Law School Classroom. She currently serves as Assistant Dean of Academic Innovation at Roger Williams University School of Law. She received a B.A. from Hofstra University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an M.L.I.S. from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. She is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar and the Rhode Island State Bar. Her areas of interest are mass incarceration, access to justice, and systems of race and gender inequality in law. Nicole was the 2020 recipient of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Volunteer Service Award and the 2015 recipient of the AALL Emerging Leader Award.