Preserving Disability: Book Launch Events

Cover image of Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession, edited by Gracen Brilmyer & Lydia Tang. Cover features black text and blue, yellow and red squiggly abstract shapes on a tan background.
Cover image of Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession, edited by Gracen Brilmyer & Lydia Tang. Cover features black text and blue, yellow and red squiggly abstract shapes on a tan background.

We are excited for the publication of Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession (Litwin Books)! Preserving Disability weaves together first-person narratives and case studies contributed from disabled archivists and disabled archives users, bringing critical perspectives and approaches to the archival profession. Contributed chapters span topics such as accessibility of archives and first-person experiences researching disability collections for disabled archives users; disclosure and accommodations and self-advocacy of disabled archivists; and processing and stewarding disability-related collections. Collectively, these works address the nuances of both disability and archives—critically drawing attention to the histories, present experiences, and future possibilities of the archival profession.

To celebrate the book, there is a series of book launch events, each featuring different contributors and covering different topics. Please check below for all events.

Calendar of Events

Please check back for upcoming events!

Feb 10: Library Juice Press Virtual Book Launch I

Promotional image: Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession book cover with orange banners. Editors and authors discuss the book. Monday February 10, 2025, 11am EST. This is part 1 of 2. Catch both to hear from even more authors
Promotional image: Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession. Editors and authors discuss the book. Monday February 10, 2025, 11am EST. This is part 1 of 2. Catch both to hear from even more authors

Date & Time: February 10 at 11am-12:30pm EST

Event Description: Hear from some of the contributors of Preserving Disability in the first instalment of our group book launch! This event will feature the book’s co-editors, Dr. Lydia Tang & Dr. Gracen Brilmyer and some of our authors, who will discuss their contributions on the intersection of disabled archivists & archival work:

  • Michael Marlatt, author of “But Don’t Those Cause You Seizures!?”: Epilepsy Activism through Film Archiving
  • Jennifer McGillan, author of The Intersection of Personal and Professional Bodies: Disability, Mutual Aid, Covid-19, and the Archives
  • Hilary Stace, author of The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse and State-based care in Aotearoa New Zealand and the opportunity it provides to hear, research and archive stories of disability history
  • Alexandra Pucciarelli, author of Seeing Sickness: Archival and Embodied Encounters with the Medical Panopticon
  • Zakiya Collier, author of Rehousing Archivists: Attending to a Livable Future for A Black, Queer Disabled Memory Worker

Location: Online (Zoom)

Accessibility Details: Virtual event, live captions (Zoom), recording available after event.

Registration Details: Free event. Event registration link.

Feb 20: Library Juice Press Virtual Book Launch II

Promotional image: Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession book cover with orange banners. Editors and authors discuss the book. Monday February 20, 2025, 3pm EST. This is part 2 of 2. Catch both to hear from even more authors
Promotional image: Preserving Disability: Disability and the Archival Profession book cover with orange banners. Editors and authors discuss the book. Monday February 20, 2025, 3pm EST. This is part 2 of 2. Catch both to hear from even more authors

Date & Time: February 20 at 3pm-4:30pm EST

Event Description: Hear from some of the contributors of Preserving Disability in the second instalment of our group book launch with Library Juice Press! This event will feature the book’s co-editors, Dr. Lydia Tang & Dr. Gracen Brilmyer and some of our authors, who will discuss their contributions at the intersection of disability, job-seeking, and archivists’ identity:

  • Chris Tanguay, author of Are You the Gatekeeper?: Job Advertisements as Barriers to Employment for Disabled Archivists
  • Iris Afantchao, author of Exploratory Archives as Community Care: A Self-Reflection
  • Zachary Tumlin, author of “Ability to Lift” Your “Little Black Clouds”
  • Veronica Denison & Gracen Brilmyer, authors of “Once I show up… they’re not going to hire me”: Job searches, interviewing, and disclosure for disabled archivists

Location: Online (Zoom)

Accessibility Details: Virtual event, live captions (Zoom), recording available after event.

Registration Details: Free event. Event registration link.

March 28: Historiography and the Archives

Date & Time: March 28 at 4:40pm EST

Event Description: R.A.R. Edwards (Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology) discusses historiography using the Deaf Catholic Archives as a model to demonstrate the opportunities and advantages, as well as the challenges and obstacles, that researchers encounter when using archival collections.

Location: Seelos Theatre, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA with live streaming

Accessibility Details: ASL Interpretation; Live Captioning (by a person); Accessible Bathrooms; Dimmable lighting; Virtual (live stream) access

Registration Details: Free event. Registration and more information.