Queering the Library

Lea Susan Engle
Assistant Professor, Learning and Outreach Librarian, Women's and Gender Studies Liaison, Texas A&M University Libraries

Lea Susan Engle is an Assistant Professor, Learning and Outreach Librarian, and Women's and Gender Studies Librarian at Texas A&M University Libraries. She took her first gender studies class during her first year at Denison University and never looked back. Lea graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.A. in Women's Studies and holds an M.S. in Information Studies and an M.A. in Women's and Gender Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Her professional interests include: first-year experience, creative approaches to library outreach, feminist pedagogy, library service to GLBTQ users, formative assessment, taking risks, and fostering cross-campus collaborations. She works in libraries because they are important and empowering community spaces where all people are welcome to participate in free and equal access to information.

In her spare time Lea enjoys photography; watching college football; spending time outside with her dog, Oliver; and adding to her tally of bands she's seen live (150 and counting).

twitter:@librarylea email: lea@librarylea.com

Katie Paul French
Library Coordinator GLBT Student Support Services Office, Indiana University, Bloomington

Katie Paul French is graduating with her MLS from Indiana University at the end of the month, and has served as library coordinator for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services Office for the past year. She is passionate about designing the organization of information for ease of use and recall, empowering users through the lifelong learning process of information literacy, providing resources & services for under-served communities, and continual collaboration with other information professionals. She also loves to play with big data in an attempt to make it visually appealing, understandable to an untrained user, and practically useful to researchers.

twitter:@sailawaykate email: katejfrench@gmail.com

Lowell Kane
Director Purdue University LGBTQ Center

Lowell Kane is the inaugural Director of the new Purdue University Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Center. He has been an advocate and leader in the LGBTQ community for more than a decade with specializations in educational programming, support services, fostering collaborative partnerships, establishing Safe Zones, facilitation/training, and leadership development. As an alumnus of the transformative Social Justice Training Institute, Kane has dedicated his work to the pursuit of equity by identifying ways to improve campus climate and shape the educational experience to be more inclusive and welcoming of all students, including LGBTQ and Ally people.

A native New Yorker, Lowell Kane attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he received a B.A. Degree in Anthropology. With academic interests including prehistoric technology, symbology, and gender, Kane participated in field research in the American Southwest as well as East Africa. He was also involved as a student leader serving as President of the LGBT Alliance and a key advisor on LGBTQ issues to campus administrators and faculty. Additionally, Kane was instrumental in developing new course offerings that focused on the history and culture of LGBTQ communities.

As a programming assistant in the Women's and Gender Equity Resource Center at Texas A&M University, Lowell Kane advanced LGBTQ campus awareness and resources. His efforts resulted in the establishment of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center in 2007 - the first stand-alone GLBT Resource Center at a public institution in the state of Texas. As the founding Program Coordinator of the Texas A&M GLBT Resource Center, Lowell Kane focused on three key initiatives: education, outreach, and support. In this role, he also served as the South-Central Regional Representative to the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and presented at state and national conferences on a variety of LGBT topics. While at Texas A&M University, Kane received a M.Ed. with a focus in Multicultural Education, particularly developing culturally responsive teaching practices for LGBTQ students. He is also the recipient of awards for Student Organization Advisor of the Year, Diversity Service, Distinction in the field of Student Affairs, and the prestigious Phyllis R. Frye Advocacy Award.

In addition to his professional interests, Lowell Kane enjoys participation in community organizations, traveling, theatre, art, reading, movies, attending auctions, and being outdoors with his amazing dog.