Description
Analú López and Will Hansen will discuss items recently added to the library's renowned collections for Indigenous Studies and Americana, including rare and unique items related to ledger art, immigration, Mexican history, Asian-American restaurants, and more!
About the Speakers
Will Hansen is the Roger and Julie Baskes Vice President for Collections and Library Services, and Curator of Americana at the Newberry Library. He holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; a Nebraska native, his bachelor’s degree in English is from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He began his career in libraries at the Newberry in 2003 as a Circulation Assistant and then, in 2004, as the library’s Reference Assistant. From 2007 to May 2014 he was Assistant Curator of Collections at Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and he returned to the Newberry in June 2014 as Director of Reader Services and Curator of Americana.
Mr. Hansen has published articles on Herman Melville, active learning with primary source materials, archives of “born-digital” materials, library services for Indigenous Studies, and other topics. His curated exhibitions at the Newberry include “Hamilton: The History Behind the Musical” in 2017; “Melville: Finding America at Sea” in 2019; “¡Viva la Libertad! Latin America and the Age of Revolutions” in 2021; “Indigenous Portraits Unbound” in 2024; and “Native Pop!” in 2025.
Analú María López (Huachichil/Xi'úi) is the Ayer librarian and assistant curator of American Indian and Indigenous studies at the Newberry Library. She helps steward the Indigenous studies collection while guiding library users through, connecting them with, and interpreting materials linked to the Indigenous studies collection. She is interested in the preservation, revitalization, and instruction of Indigenous languages, decolonial theory (within libraries), and intentional community collaborations for access to materials within colonial institutions. She has published articles on Indigenous Librarianship, Archival theory, languages, and active learning with primary source materials, and other topics. She has led hundreds of hands-on instructional sessions with rare books and other primary sources and co-curated exhibitions at the Newberry: “What is the Midwest?” in 2018 and “Indigenous Chicago,” in 2024 which she is also the co-Director of the “Indigenous Chicago” project, a multifaceted project exploring these histories, centering Indigenous voices, laying bare stories of settler-colonial harm, and gesturing toward Indigenous futures. She holds a master of library and information sciences with a certificate in archives and cultural heritage resources and services from Dominican University and a bachelor of arts in photography with a minor in Latin American studies from Columbia College Chicago. She began her career with the Newberry in 2004. After working for other libraries and museums in Chicago for thirteen years, she returned to the library in her current role in September 2017.
About Colloquium
Colloquium is a weekly series of talks featuring staff, fellows, and scholars who are working with the library’s vast collections. These events bring together experts from various fields to share their research on a wide range of topics, followed by an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and engage in conversation.
Colloquium is open to the public and offers a chance to explore fascinating ideas and new discoveries. No advance registration is required.