Current Affairs

Online Event: University of Kansas Libraries Launches Global Speaker Series on Librarianship

January 14, 2026

From the University of Kansas Libraries:

The University of Kansas Libraries will launch “Global Conversations in Librarianship,” a new speaker series highlighting international perspectives on libraries and information work, with Ukrainian library leader Tetyana Yaroshenko as its inaugural speaker Feb. 26.

Yaroshenko, deputy director for research and international affairs at the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine, will present “Ukrainian Libraries in the Time of Russia’s War Against Ukraine” via Zoom webinar at 10 a.m. A group watch party will be held in Watson Library’s 455 conference room.

[Clip]

Yaroshenko brings more than 30 years of experience in academic librarianship and research administration. She served as director of the University Library at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy from 1995 to 2015 and as vice president of the institution from 2015 to 2022. She has held Fulbright positions at Yale University and Columbia University and served as open scholarship librarian at Princeton University from 2022 to 2024.

Yaroshenko’s research focuses on open access, scholarly communication, digital scholarship and research data management. She holds a doctorate in library and information science and has published approximately 100 articles and books.

Presented by KU Libraries’ Institute for Globally Engaged Librarianship (IGEL), the series of public talks and dialogues highlights international perspectives on libraries and information work. Speakers share current projects, institutional innovations or emerging themes that shape the global library community. Primarily held virtually throughout the year, the series will foster dialogue, connection and collaboration.

[Clip]

Zoom registration is available online, with more information about IGEL and eventual future speakers to be posted at the IGEL programs webpage. The speaker notes that the lecture may include visual documentation of destroyed cultural sites and distressing content related to war crimes against civilian infrastructure.