Friday, March 6, 2026

The Edward J. Pryzbyla Student Center

The Catholic University of America

 

About the Symposium

A Symposium on Scholarship and Practice in Library and Information Science (LIS) offers a knowledge-sharing forum and meeting place for practitioners, students, and faculty in LIS. Presentations are selected to showcase innovative practices, projects, and research activities in a variety of library, archival, cultural heritage, and information organizations. 

Keynote Address

Our keynote speaker this year is Laura Brower Hagood, executive director of the DC History Center.

Laura has 25 years of experience as a nonprofit leader and cultural entrepreneur, including a well-established track record in development, audience engagement, and community building. She joined the organization in April 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. This is her second assignment at the organization since she first served as public relations and marketing director during September 11, 2001.
Most recently Laura held the vice president of development role at the National Building Museum. She was previously the Museum’s director of corporate and foundation relations, before receiving a prestigious Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship in 2014, which she spent in Berlin. In addition to fundraising roles at Cultural Vistas and FINCA, Laura has enjoyed public relations positions at Cultural Tourism DC and Biltmore Estate. She earned a dual masters from American University in arts management and art history, where she teaches fundraising as an adjunct faculty member, and has a bachelors degree in English from Bryn Mawr College. She is a proud resident of Shaw.

Catholic University Special Collections Tour

Join us on a staff-guided tour of the Catholic University Special Collections, home to the University Archives, Rare Books, Museum, and American Catholic History collections. The Special Collections includes materials ranging from medieval manuscripts and miniature books to labor activism and local Brookland history. The tour includes a visit to our reading room and working stacks, with highlights from the collections.

Important Dates

• Submission of the Abstract: December 15, 2025  January 5, 2026
• Notification of acceptance: January 15, 2026
• Submission of presentation slides and posters for archiving on JSTOR (optional): February 27, 2026

Sponsorship and Partnership

       

 

Accommodations

Please include any accommodation requests when you register, or contact the Symposium committee at CUA-slis-symposium@CUA.edu or 202-319-5085. In all situations, a good faith effort (up until the time of the event) will be made to provide accommodations. 

Symposium Committee

Maria Mazzenga (chair), Keren Dali, Shane MacDonald, Heather Wiggins
Committee shared email address:  cua-slis-symposium@cua.edu