See ESS Conference Programs for current conferences.
Summer 2017
WESS Forum: Refugee Scholars and Academic Libraries in the Twentieth Century and Today.
Panel speakers: Sem Sutter, (University of Chicago Library), presenting on the Ludwig Rosenberger Collection of Judaica; Michaella Ullmann (University of Southern California Libraries), presenting on the Lion Feuchtwanger Memorial Library; and Ann Millin (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), presenting on the Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb Collection documenting Edgcomb’s project to interview refugees from Nazi Europe in the 1930s-40s who were hired by historically black colleges and universities in the United States.
The panel explored the history of library collections by and for the “refugee scholars” leaving fascist Europe in the 1930s for the United States. These refugees relied upon and subsequently came to play significant roles in shaping American academic libraries and research institutions. The discussions investigated questions such as how these collections came to be, what it means to be a refugee and a scholar, how American higher education was shaped by this wave of scholars, and how academic libraries and collections have traditionally supported these new audiences and how they can continue to do so today.
Summer 2016
LES/SEES/WESS Forum: Archiving the Present: Primary Sources & Unique and Distinctive Collections in European and American Studies
Speakers: Ashley R. Maynor, Assistant Professor & Digital Humanities Librarian, University of Tennessee Libraries; Thomas Keenan, Slavic East European and Eurasian Studies Librarian, Princeton University Library and Zina Somova, East View Information Services; Lidia Uziel, Head, Western Languages Division and Librarian for Western Europe, Harvard University Library. Moderator: Kristina DeVoe, English and Communications Librarian, Temple University Library.
Summer 2015
International and Area Studies Workshop for Librarians
Sponsored by SALALM, CRL and WESS as a pre conference before the American Library Association conference in San Francisco, this workshop focused on Latin American and Iberian, French and Italian, and Germanic Collections.
Beyond Tintin Collecting European Comics in the U.S.
Speakers: José Alaniz, Associate Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, University of Washington; Scott Bukatman, Professor of Film and Media Studies, Department of Art & Art History, Stanford University; Mark Siegel, Editorial Director, First Second Books. Moderator: Jenny Robb, Curator and Associate Professor, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, The Ohio State University.
Summer 2014
“Embedded” Cultural Communities in Europe and the Americas Challenges for Librarians
Speakers: Oksana Marafioti, BMI-Kluge Fellow, Black Mountain Institute; Pedro J. Oiarzabal, Universidad de Deusto, Instituto de Derechos Humanos Pedro Arrupe; Loriene Roy, Professor, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin. Moderator: Maira Bundza, Associate Professor of University Libraries, Western Michigan University.
Summer 2013
Literary Texts and the Library in the Digital Age New Collaborations for European and American Studies
Speakers: Paula Kaufman, Dean of Libraries and University Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Laura Mandell, Professor of English, Director of the Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media, and Culture, Texas A&M University; Glen Worthey, Head, Humanities Digital Information Service, Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources. Moderators: Patricia Thurston, Catalog Librarian/Team Leader, Yale University Library.
Summer 2012
Documenting Sexual Dissidence and Diversity in France, Italy and Spain
Speakers: James Michael Fortney, Assistant Coordinator of the Italian Program, University of Illinois at Chicago; Gerard Koskovich, Independent Scholar; Mili Hernández, Publisher of Spain’s LGBT publisher EGALES and owner of Madrid’s LGBT bookstore Berkana; Adán Griego, Curator for Latin American, Mexican American & Iberian Collections, Stanford University Libraries. Moderators: Adán Griego and Claude Potts.
Summer 2011
Current Trends in European Film
Speakers: Milos Stehlik, Director of Facets Multimedia and Worldview’s Film Contributor (Chicago Public Radio); Carleton Jackson, Film and Television Studies Subject Librarian,University of Maryland. Moderator: Michelle Emanuel, University of Mississippi and Co-Director, Oxford Film Festival.
Summer 2010
Contemporary European Fiction in Translation
Speakers: Chad Post, Director of Open Letter Press, University of Rochester; Alane Salierno Mason, Vice President and Senior Editor, W. W. Norton & Company and President, Words Without Borders: An Online Magazine for International Literature; Dr. Edwin Gentzler, Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Translation Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Moderator: Richard Hacken, Brigham Young University.
Summer 2009
New Directions, New Collections
Speakers: Christopher Bush, Professor of French, Northwestern University; Sabine Engel, Director of the Center for German & European Studies, University of Minnesota; Christine Ingebritsen, Professor of Political Science & Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington. Moderator: Stephen Corrsin, New York Public Library.
Summer 2008
Access and Preservation
Speakers: Birte Christensen-Dalsgaard, Director of Development at the State and University Library, Statsbiblioteket,Universitetsparken, Aarhus, Denmark; Janifer Gatenby, Research Integration and Standards, OCLC, Leiden, The Netherlands; Fleur Stigter, Marketing Manager for The European Library and ‘Users for Usability’ Coordinator for Europeana/EDLnet.
Summer 2007
Constructing European Identity
Speakers: Hon. John Bruton, Ambassador of the European Union to the USA; Kathleen McNamara, Georgetown University; Arend Kuster, Director, Publishers Communications Group — Europe.
Summer 2006
Immigration, Ethnicities and Historical Research in New Orleans
Speakers: John Magill, Historic New Orleans Collection; Wilbur Meneray, Tulane University Library Special Collections; Emily Clark, Tulane University History Department.
Summer 2005
Digitizing Medieval Manuscripts: East & West
Speakers: David Reynolds, Johns Hopkins University; Colum P. Hourihane, Princeton University; David J. Birnbaum, University of Pittsburgh.
Summer 2004
Scholarly Communication in Europe: Trends in Libraries, Publishing, and Copyright
While scholarly communication presents different challenges in Europe than in North America, due to variations in copyright laws and information cultures, we all share a global marketplace. A panel of three experts will discuss digital copyright, national and international cooperation, and access versus permanent ownership in Western Europe.
Speakers: Dr. Manfred Antoni, general director of Wiley Europe; Dr. Bas Savenije, board member of SPARC Europe, University Librarian, University of Utrecht, and President of the Dutch Association of Librarians and Information Managers; Ms. Margot Wieser, deputy head of collection development at the University
of Frankfurt Library and manager of the HeBIS-Konsortium
Spring 2004
Migrations in Society, Culture, and the Library: WESS European Conference, Paris 2004
Keynote Speakers: Roger Chartier, École des Hautes Études, Paris, and the University of Pennsylvania; Jean-Claude Guedon, Université de Montréal, Canada; Friedrich Heckmann, University of Bamberg and Director of the European Forum for Migration Studies; Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink, University of Saarbrücken; David Seaman, Director of the Digital Library Federation in Washington, DC.
- Proceedings
- Wings to Paris: WESS European Conference 2004 by Yvonne Boyer
- Reflections from Conference Attendees
- For the final report see the article by Denis Lacroix in C&RLN Vol. 65, No. 7: Parisian migrations: A Report of the Western European Studies Section’s Paris Conference
Summer 2003
Across the Pond: New Research-Library Networks in Europe and across the Atlantic
Speakers: Sharon Brown, University Librarian, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario: A Canadian Sampler; Jeffrey Garrett, Assistant University Librarian for Collection Development, Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois: Report on the German Resources Project; Richard Hacken, European Studies Bibliographer, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah: Types of Digital Library Cooperation in German Studies; Michael Neubert, Coordinator of Russian Collections, and Reference Specialist, European Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC: Russian Research Library Networks; Moderator: Jeff Garrett
Summer 2002
Mapping the Future of Historical Scholarship about Europe
Co-sponsored by ALA’s Map and Geography Round Table (MAGERT).
Presented with the generous support of Jean Touzot, libraire-éditeur.
Speakers: Karl Longstreth, Humphrey Southall. Moderator: Richard Hacken.
Summer 2001
Exploding the Spanish Canon: Including the Voices of Spain’s Excluded Communities
Since the death of Francisco Franco, Spain has joined the European Community and become more open to political, regional, ethnic, and gender diversity. Many Spanish regions, with their own centuries-old cultural and linguistic traditions—among them Catalonia and the Basque country—have emerged from decades of repression and attained a degree of autonomy. Other groups, too, have begun to find their voices. Women writers, including those belonging to ethnic minorities, now receive great and growing critical and popular attention. Gay and Lesbian writers have asserted themselves. The library community, both academic and public, needs to assess how well these hitherto marginalized groups are represented in their collecting efforts.
Program Chair and Moderator: Thomas M. Izbicki, Johns Hopkins University
Speakers: Ramon Abad, Librarian, Cervantes Institute, New York; Silvia Bermudez, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of California at Santa Barbara; David William Foster, Professor and Chair, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Arizona State University
Respondent: Adan Griego, Stanford University Library
Sponsors: Primary Source Media (Gale Group), Jean Touzot Libraire, Iberbook, Puvill Libros, Instituto Cervantes (New York)
Summer 2000
Italian Studies and Italian Cultural Presence in North America: A Tribute to the Life and Contributions of Mario Casalini
The WESS program for 2000 deals with Italian cultural topics and is dedicated to the memory of the Italian vendor Mario Casalini (1926-1998), who was of seminal importance over the past 40 years in the building of Italian-oriented academic library collections in North America. The program will focus on various aspects of Italian cultural history, publishing, and bibliography and their representations and interests on the North American academic and library scenes. Books published by Italian presses with which Mr. Casalini was associated will be on display.
Speakers: Dante Della Terza, keynote speaker, Irving Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, Harvard University, and Professor Emeritus of Italian Literature at the Università Federico II, Napoli; John Tedeschi, Distinguished Academic Librarian Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ingrid Rowland, Associate Professor, Department of Art History and the College, University of Chicago; Paul Gehl, Custodian, John M.Wing Foundation on the History of Printing, the Newberry Library, Chicago.
Sponsor: With the generous support of Jean Touzot, libraire-éditeur.
Summer 1999
Western European Studies Librarianship: Looking Forward After 20 Years
With the generous support of Jean TOUZOT Libraire-Éditeur and Belser Wissenschaftlicher Dienst.
Speakers: Barbara Walden, James J. O’Donnell, Roger Brisson (moderator)
Summer 1998
Digitizing a Continent: National-Level Planning for Western European Libraries
Co-sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Speakers: Jack Kessler, Kurt de Belder, Elmar Mittler, Deanna Marcum (respondent).
Summer 1997
Pre-conference on European Links: Sources of Information in Western European Studies for Academic Libraries
Keynote address: The Current State of European Studies in North America and of Scholarly Publishing in Western Europe.
Summer 1996
The Changing Face of European Studies
Cosponsored by the ACRL Slavic and East European Studies Section.
Speakers: Leena Siegelbaum, Marcelino Ugalde, David Magier, Martha Brogan (moderator).
Summer 1995
European Connections: Electronic Resources for Western Europe
Speakers: James Marchand, James Campbell, Mark Olsen.
Summer 1994
Emerging European Writing: Visions and Voices of the New Europe
Speakers: Giuliana Menozzi, Aida Bamia, Richard Preto-Rodas, Siegfried Mews.
Summer 1993
Europe East and West: New Resources for North American Libraries
Cosponsored by the ACRL Slavic and East European Section.
Speakers: Edward Kasinec, Sem Sutter, Michael Miller.
Summer 1992
Cinema Paradiso: Movies, Libraries, and European Culture
Cosponsored by the ACRL Arts Section, and the ALCTS Audiovisual Committee.
Speakers: Steve Hanson, Anne Schlosser, Nancy Goldman.
Summer 1991
European Unification 1992: Impact on Information and Libraries
Co-sponsored by the College Library Section and the Law and Political Science Section.
Speakers: John McIntyre, James Campbell, Michael Hopkins.
Summer 1990
Translation: The Craft, Politics, and Access
Co-sponsored by the Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association (CHICATA) and The Chicago Union of Literary Translators (CULT).
See: WESS Newsletter, Fall 1990, Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 11
Speakers: Kenneth J. Northcott, Carol Maier, Karl Green, Charles Fineman (respondent).
Summer 1989
Austria, Switzerland and the two Germanies: Collection Building and Bibliographic Control
Speakers: Agnes Peterson, Richard Hacken, Louis Pitschmann, Gail Hueting.
Publication: Papers appear with those from 1988 and 1989 annual programs in Western European Studies: Current Research Trends and Library Resources, WESS Occasional Paper, No. 3, 1990
Summer 1988
Strangers in New Worlds: Migration Studies in Europe and America
Sponsored by ANSS/ACRL.
Speakers: Dino Cinel, Mark J. Miller, Joel Wurl, Carol Armbruster, Helen MacLam, Susanne Roberts.
Publication: Papers appear with those from 1988 and 1989 annual programs in Western European Studies: Current Research Trends and Library Resources, WESS Occasional Paper, No. 3, 1990
April 1988
WESS International Conference 1988 – Florence, Italy
Summer 1987
New Directions in Old World Research: Western European Studies from Classical Antiquity to the Renaissance: Implications for Libraries
Co-sponsored by the History Section of RASD and by RBMS.
Speakers: Thomas N. Habinek, Mary Wack, Sally Scully, Chris D. Ferguson, Barbara Halporn, Kathleen Reed.
Publication: Papers appear with those from 1988 and 1989 annual programs in Western European Studies: Current Research Trends and Library Resources, WESS Occasional Paper, No. 3, 1990.
Midwinter 1987
In-house Library Guides
Summer 1986
Research Trends and Library Resources in Western Europe: Assumptions and Realities
Speakers: William Bader, Ioannis Sinanoglou, John Finzi, Gerald Anderson, Ellen Brow.
European Information services and WESS Librarians: Unrecognized Partners (Discussion group)
Summer 1985
Western Europe Women’s Studies
Co-sponsored by the Women’s Studies Discussion Group
Speakers: Virginia Clark, Beth Stafford, Rita Pankhurst.
Publication: Papers appear in Women’s Studies in Western Europe: A Resource Guide, edited by Stephen Lehmann and Eva Sartori as WESS Occasional Publication, No. 2, 1986.
Summer 1984
Europe online: New sources from the Old World
Speakers: Charles Chadwyck-Healey, Judith Rowe, Paul Peters, Pascal Sanz.
Midwinter 1984
Aftermath of the University of Minnesota Symposium on Western European Studies and North American Research Libraries
Summer 1983
France and Francophone Canada: Publishing Trends, Selection Tools, and Library Collections Today
Cosponsored by Resources Section of RTSD
Speakers: Jean-Pierre Bardos, Charles Fineman, Richard K. Gardner, Joan Higbee, Assunta Pisani.
Midwinter 1983
Eighteenth-Century Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC)
Speaker: Judith Singleton.
Summer 1982
Resources of German-speaking Europe: Publishing Patterns and Bibliographic Strategies for the ’80s
Speakers: Knut Dorn, Peter R. Frank.
Summer 1981
The Library of Congress and the Future of Western European Collections
Speakers: David Kraus.
Summer 1980
The Government Documents of Western Europe
Cosponsored by International Documents Task Force of GODORT.
Speakers: Eve Johansson, Gloria Westfall, David Rozkuszka.
Panelists: Anthony Angiletta, James Campbell, Joan Higbee, David Rozkuszka.
Western European Language Specialists Discussion Group Topics, 1975-1979
- Promoting the Use of Humanities Collections through Advanced Level Bibliographic Instruction (Discussion group)
- Speakers: Mary George; Sheila Hart; Eldred Smith.
- International Flow of Books
- Cosponsored by Resources Section of RTSD, RTSD AAP Joint Committee, IRRT, the Asian and African Section or ACRL, the Slavic and East European Section of ACRL, and WELS.
- Speakers: Julian Behrstock; W. Bradford Wiley.
- Book Trade in Western Europe
- Speakers: George Vrooman; Knut Dorn; Hugo Cortius (Nijhoff); Mario Casalini; and Emanuel Molho (French & European Publications).
- The World of Books
- Speakers: Alan Taylor; Herbert Lottman
- Discussion group on above topic for Western Europe: Agnes Peterson.