Autism-Informed Academic Librarians.

Area of Science:

• Library and Information Science
• Neurodiversity Studies
• Higher Education

Background:

• Academic libraries serve as crucial support spaces for some autistic college students.
• Autistic students utilize libraries for interest exploration and as a refuge from busy campus environments.
• Currently, academic librarians lack formal education requirements regarding autism and broader neurodiversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the extent and nature of autism-related education provided to academic librarians through professional conference sessions.
• To analyze the availability and content of autism and neurodiversity information presented at major academic librarian conferences in the U.S.

Main Methods:

• Content analysis of conference programs from five national Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conferences.
• Examination of session titles, metadata, and descriptions for references to autism and neurodiversity.
• Descriptive statistics and qualitative methods were employed to analyze session data.

Main Results:

• Few conference sessions specifically addressed autism, but the number is increasing, particularly when discussed under the umbrella of neurodiversity.
• Since 2015, there has been a steady rise in autism and neurodiversity-related sessions, with notable exceptions in 2017.
• Language used in sessions is shifting towards preferred terminology and away from deficit-based descriptions, indicating growing awareness.

Conclusions:

• While autism and neurodiversity content in academic library conferences is limited, it is growing in both quantity and quality.
• Enhancing professional development opportunities for academic librarians on autism is essential.
• Informed librarians will contribute to more inclusive and supportive academic library environments for autistic students.