Annual Review '25-26: Libraries can change the world

For KU Libraries’ internationalization efforts, it was a year of unfolding horizons and first steps towards an expansive vision. With a strengthened commitment to creating new opportunities for librarians, scholars, and students to learn from one another, the libraries fostered a growing network of relationships and programs rooted in the belief that libraries have a unique role to play in connecting people across cultures.

At the center of these efforts is the libraries new Institute for Globally Engaged Librarianship (IGEL), launched in fall 2025 to foster communication, collaboration, and global understanding among librarians and information professionals around the globe. A period of exploration and planning evolved into new international programming in the spring, with global conversations and a visiting scholar opportunity taking shape.

A global conversation begins

One of IGEL’s earliest initiatives, Global Conversations in Librarianship, invites participants to engage with perspectives from around the world on the challenges and opportunities facing libraries today. The series launched with two presentations that underscored the urgency and promise of international collaboration. Tetyana Yaroshenko, deputy director for research and international affairs at the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine, addressed the resilience of Ukrainian libraries during wartime. Former dean of KU Libraries lorraine j. haricombe discussed how libraries can harness digital tools to build more open, inclusive, and connected systems of knowledge.

A residency built on reciprocity

When Patience Eméfa Dzandza Ocloo arrived in Lawrence from Ghana, she brought more than expertise in information studies. She brought a global perspective, a spirit of collaboration, and a belief that libraries can help bridge cultures and communities. As the first participant in IGEL’s Librarian-in-Residence program, Ocloo is helping to launch a new chapter in KU Libraries commitment to global engagement.

The residency builds on years of collaboration between KU Libraries and the University of Ghana, including international symposia and Fulbright Specialist programs led by Brian Rosenblum, now director of KU Libraries International Strategies Division. Ocloo’s five-month stay had a focus on AI in libraries, digital humanities, and information literacy — areas that are transforming academic libraries worldwide.

“Librarianship is an international profession,” Ocloo said. “All over the world the challenges we face are the same though manifested in different ways. Therefore, we need to learn from each other. Libraries have always thrived on collaborative opportunities, and the residency is one real way we can experience that.”

The residency was deeply personal. Ocloo was welcomed by KU Libraries staff and the Lawrence community from the moment she arrived, noting how colleagues helped her feel at home during her first visit to the United States. Alongside research and professional collaboration, she built friendships and connections she expects will endure long after she returns to Ghana in August.

Worlds meet at Africa Day

The sound of conversation, the aroma of West African cuisine, and a shared spirit of discovery filled Watson Library during Africa Day, a spring celebration of the cultures, histories, and scholarship that connect KU with the African continent.

The event highlighted partners at the Kansas African Studies Center, the Department of African and African American Studies, and materials from Kenneth Spencer Research Library, bringing together students, faculty, staff, and community members for an afternoon of learning and connection.

“I came to study today and then I smelled the food and I was like, ‘Wait is my mom here?’” said Henriette Yumba, a junior studying accounting and international business who felt an immediate sense of home and welcome from the event.

Africa Day also served as the kickoff to the 2026 Africana Librarians Council Spring Meeting hosted at KU, underscoring the university's role as a hub for global engagement and cross-cultural exchange.

Connecting Codes, connecting continents

In addition to bringing global perspective to campus, KU Librarians traveled abroad as part of a co-hosting team for the Connecting Codes Conference at the Kenya National Library Service in Nairobi in June. The conference brought together scholars, librarians, heritage professionals, technologists, and students to explore the evolving relationships between artificial intelligence, digital humanities, 
and information institutions, with a particular emphasis on African contexts and perspectives.

This story first appeared in KU Libraries 2025-26 Annual Review, a publication that reviews accomplishments of the past year and provides a glimpse of priorities moving forward. See this story and discover more in the full issue via the downloadable pdf.