NOTE: If you are interested in presenting or speaking at an NLISN event on a topic you feel would be relevant to the network and audience, we are keen to hear from you. Please get in touch with us if this is something you are interested in.
Fitting In and Standing Out: Experiences of Autistic Librarians in Ireland
Online, 23rd April 2026 2:00-3:00 UK time
Grace Dolan discusses her research findings about the lived experiences of autistic librarians in Ireland.
Grace’s research, undertaken for her dissertation while completing her MLIS at University College Dublin, explores how autistic librarians in Ireland balance their personal autistic identity with their professional identity as librarians, highlighting the impact of the normative expectations of professionalism that exist in librarianship.
The talk focuses on the two main findings of the research: the contrasting ideas that autistic people belong in librarianship, but that they are simultaneously limited by normative expectations of professionalism, which can put them under additional pressure and impact their ability to thrive.
In this context, the talk discusses the importance of communal networks for neurodivergent librarians (such as NLISN) and their potential to combat marginalisation faced by autistic librarians in Ireland, and further afield.
Neurodivergence and Entry into the Library and Information Science Profession
Online, 18th March 2026 10:30-2:30 UK time
NLISN hosted an online event on the topic of entering the LIS profession as a neurodivergent person.
This event was aimed at students, recent graduates, early-career colleagues, potential LIS students and those thinking of making a career change to the LIS profession. It was also open to LIS professionals with longer professional experience, who recruit or supervise new staff, and/or with perspectives from related fields and professions, who want to learn from the perspectives of newer professionals or current LIS students.
The event consisted of a mix of lightning talks and 30 mins presentations. Slides and presentations from the online event (from those who were happy to have their talks included) can be viewed below:
Neurodivergence and Entry into the Profession Event Programme March 2026Download
10:30-10:45 – Welcome
10:45 -11:30 – Darren Flynn & Alison Hicks (Expectations vs. Reality: Higher Study in LIS)
11:30 -12:15 – Charlie Parkinson (My Experience of Entering the Library Profession )
12:15 – 12:45 – Joanne Fitzpatrick (Librarianship as a Second Career: How I Failed Completely at my First)
12:45 – 13:15 – 3 x Lightning Talks – Elsa Emanuel (Neurodivergent Networking); Andrew Walsh (Bonuses and drawbacks of neurodivergent freelancing); Claire Laybats (Your Next Chapter: Library and Archive Apprenticeships)
The experiences of neurodivergent professionals working in academic libraries: recommendations for practice
Online, 25th February 2026 11:00 -12:00 UK time
Clare Camp, Collections Liaison Librarian at King’s College London, discusses her research into the experiences of neurodivergent professionals working in academic libraries.
Clare’s research – undertaken through her dissertation project for her Library and Information Services Management MA at the University of Sheffield – explores the experiences and challenges of neurodivergent professionals working in an academic library. It was also published in The Journal of Academic Librarianship in September 2025.
This talk focuses on the key findings of the research in relation to participants’ experiences in recruitment, the physical work environment, the sociocultural environment, daily work and tasks, and professional skills. The need for adjustments and strategies – at an individual and organisational level – is explored, and the emotional toll of being neurodivergent in a neurotypical environment. Practical ideas are suggested that may lead to improvements to the experiences of neurodivergent professionals, based on the research findings.
The NLISN-NeuroGLAM Cooperative Coffee Catchup
Online, Fri 7th November 2025, 8 AM – 9 AM BC time / 4 PM – 5 PM UK time
The Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network (NLISN) and Neuro-GLAM-erous Canada (NeuroGLAM) ran a joint coffee catchup on Friday, November 7th 2025.
Conversation topics included:
- Experiences seeking accommodations at work.
- Experience job searching
- Things that are good about libraries and neurodivergence
- Can our institutions comment on supports they provide to patrons and staff
- Favourite neurodivergent resources/scholarship/writing/articles
- Media that you like for its portrayals of neurodivergence
- SPINs (special interests)
- SPINs and work Institutional policy around EDI, DEI, IDEA, etc. at their institution.
- How does neurodiversity appear in such policies?
- Intersectionality and neurodivergence
Neurodivergent Reading Practices in Swedish Educational Contexts
Online, Tuesday 11th November 2025 – 9AM – 10 AM
NLISN hosted an online event where two doctoral candidates Katarina Hagberg and Karin Lund discussed their research on Neurodivergent Reading Practices in Swedish Educational Contexts.
While digital technologies for reading such as audiobooks are popular among neurodivergent readers, there is a debate in Sweden about children and young people’s reading with frequent calls for a return to print. Neurodivergent perspectives often go unheard in this debate, and little research focuses on the lived experiences of neurodivergent readers. The two upcoming dissertations presented at this seminar seek to fill this gap by exploring reading practices among neurodivergent students in secondary school and higher education.
Reading to learn: Exploring reading practices among adolescents with dyslexia
Katarina Hagberg, The Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås
“My doctoral project explores how adolescents with dyslexia describe their school-related reading, focusing on the tools and strategies they use. By centering the adolescents’ own perspectives and experiences and adopting a norm-critical and rights-based lens, the project aims to increase knowledge, deepen understanding and highlight the needs, conditions, and reading practices of this large and diverse group.”
Reading by listening in academia: Students with ADHD’s experiences of audio-based technologies in higher education
Karin Lundin, Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University
“My research project seeks to create knowledge about how students with ADHD in Swedish higher education make use of audiobooks and text-to-speech in their studies, conceptualized as academic reading by listening. Another aim is to explore what notions of (academic) reading that the students meet, and how these discourses influence students’ perceptions of their own reading practices.”
Adjustments in the LIS workplace for Neurodivergent Library Staff
In-person event, Monday 6th Oct 2025, 10am – 3:30pm
Location: Leeds Beckett University, Headingly Campus
This one day event was aimed at neurodivergent library and information workers and giving them the chance to expand their knowledge of adjustments in the workplace, as well as share their own experiences.
The event contained a mix of lightning talks, presentations, and a panel, discussing experiences of receiving a diagnosis and requesting adjustments, adjustments as a line manager or library leader, supporting neurodivergent colleagues with their adjustments, advocating for workplace needs and adjustments, barriers and challenges, types of accommodations available, and experiences of adjustments that worked for the individual speakers. Speakers came from a range of LIS backgrounds including academic libraries, school libraries, public libraries, and health libraries, as well as being involved in neurodiversity/accessibility groups and network within their organisations or externally.
“You Deserve to Take Care of Yourself”: the workplace experiences of neurodivergent librarians
Online, Tuesday 2nd September 2025, 3:30PM – 4:30PM
NLISN hosted an online event where Dr Christine M. Moeller presented findings from an IMLS-funded research project on the workplace experiences of neurodivergent librarians, which focused on the embodied knowledge that neurodivergent librarians enact while navigating barriers and opportunities in their profession.
Although libraries are beginning to address neurodiversity, such efforts are primarily focused on patrons and fail to consider the librarians themselves. To navigate workplace barriers, neurodivergent librarians use their lived experiences to develop strategies that help them minimize inaccessibility in their workplaces.
These strategies represent forms of embodied knowledge. Embodied knowledge includes tactics like strategic disclosure and masking, but also knowledge of tools and other strategies, such as social critique, that can be deployed in various ways to navigate workplace barriers and challenges. During this session, participants will learn about these strategies and tactics for navigating ableist workplaces.
Equality, diversity and inclusion in the research library: looking at recruitment practices
Online, Thursday 10th July 2025, 2PM – 3PM
NLISN hosted an online event where Christina Kamposiori, Programme Officer at Research Libraries UK, led a presentation on recruitment practices from the perspective of EDI in the research library.
The talk is based on the results of research conducted by RLUK, which aimed to show how RLUK institutions work towards developing more inclusive practices in workforce recruitment and retention. The results of this research enabled a better understanding of the steps that UK research libraries take to establish new processes or review existing practices with the aim of becoming more inclusive.
ANDPA & NLISN Community Catch-Up
Online, Tuesday 8th April 2025, 9AM
To mark Neurodiversity Awareness Month, ANDPA and NLISN hosted a shared community catch up on Tuesday 8th April 9am GMT. ANDPA is The Alliance for Neurodiversity and Disability in GLAMR Professions Australia.
The event was similar to our coffee catch ups, and actually on the same day as our next scheduled one, but hosted at a time that worked for both of us – just about!
Academic Libraries and Neurodiversity
Online, Friday 25th April 2025, 10AM – 11AM
This online session was led by Emma Finney from Sheffield Hallam University and discussed how academic libraries are supporting neurodivergent students.
Recruitment Experiences of Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff
Online, Wednesday 26th March 2025, 9:30AM
NLISN held an online event on the topic of recruitment experiences of neurodivergent library and information staff.
Click here for all presentation slides
The event contained a mix of lightning talks, presentations, and Q&As, topics ranging from individual experience case studies, application processes, interviews and interview testing, and inclusive approaches to recruitment. Speakers come from a range of LIS backgrounds including academic libraries, school libraries, health libraries, corporate libraries, recent LIS graduates, as well as third space roles aligned to the LIS sector.
Being information literature as an autistic person the LIS workplace
Online, Monday 20th January 2025, 11AM – 12PM
NLISN’s Amelia Haire led a presentation on her dissertation for her UCL master’s in Library and Information Studies: What does it mean to be information literate for an autistic person in the academic library workplace?
Slides for the session are available here:
As Information Literacy, as a field, is only 50 years old, it would make sense that there are many areas that still have yet to be explored. After getting her Autism diagnosis in 2023, and beginning her MA at the same time, Amelia noticed a gap in the research between 1) the experience of autistic library staff rather than patrons 2) the autistic experience of becoming information literate in the workplace.
Bringing these gaps together launched a project that included a survey sent out to NLISN members, interviews, and a literature review that culminated in a unique opportunity for autistic librarians to have their voices heard.
Leading the Library’s Neurotypicals: Neurodivergent viewpoints
In-person, Tuesday 29th October 2024, 10AM – 4PM
Location: Birmingham City University
A chance for ND library and information workers to discuss their experiences, and to gain knowledge of, managing or leading Neurotypicals.
This one day event was aimed at neurodivergent library and information workers who would appreciate the chance to share their experiences, and expand their knowledge of, managing or leading neurotypicals.
We invited talks from potential attendees as well as having structured discussions. Part of the day was sharing knowledge and experience, but just as important is the building of networks between ND leaders and potential leaders, which is why we chose an in-person event.
Notes:
* It’s called “Leading the Library’s Neurotypicals” just because the alliteration was nice! We mean any library, information or archive service!
* NLISN’s activities are not normally aimed at allies or interested third parties.
Images:
- Posters expressing our thoughts on Neurodivergent Leadership
- Frog post its showing suggestions for what we would like to see happen
Neurospicy Libraries in-person meet-up
In-person, Tuesday 14th Novemeber 2023, 10:30am – 3:30pm
Location: Lancaster University
The Academic Libraries North project, Neurospicy Libraries hosted an in-person meet up, for neurodivergent library staff across the UK and in ANY library, information, knowledge management and related data role, AND those aspiring to be recruited into this sector.
All NDs were welcome, with or without a formal diagnosis, including ASD/autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and acquired brain conditions and any others.
Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network 