Kilgour Lecture featuring Hannah Cyrus
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Carolina Union, Room 3411, North Carolina
Join the School of Data and Information Sciences for the Kilgour Lecture in Information Science, featuring Hannah Cyrus, digital media librarian at Bangor Public Library. Cyrus will present the lecture, “Building Solidarity with Library Patrons through Tech Refusal,” on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. in Carolina Union Room 3411 and via Zoom. A Q&A will take place from 4:15 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception and refreshments from 4:30 to 5 p.m. Students can earn CLE credit for attending. The event is open to the public. Register online and indicate whether you plan to attend in person or online. Abstract: Library patrons, like library workers, are increasingly expected to make use of digital technologies to work, manage their daily needs, and access information. Frequently, these technologies are delivered by some of the largest, most powerful corporations in the world, and the privacy, mental health and environmental impacts of using them often run counter to the library profession’s stated values. As librarianship requires more and more understanding of digital products, how can librarians, as professionals, connect with patrons, working to build power together in the face of the pressures to adopt different technologies? In this lecture, Hannah Cyrus, Digital Media Librarian at the Bangor Public Library, will share stories from her technology instruction work and explore how libraries are positioned to work with our communities on technology questions. Library workers can build mutual understanding and prioritize patron autonomy through honoring skepticism towards technology, combatting assumptions and dominant narratives around tech, and keeping refusal a viable option. At a time when government agencies are harnessing the mass surveillance infrastructure built by tech companies, AI use is becoming a prerequisite for professional advancement in many fields, and using the internet is feeling less fun than ever, many people are re-thinking their relationships with technology – from returning to flip phones to cutting down license plate reader cameras. As trusted sources of information, library workers can and should be part of these conversations, working with our patrons to meet their needs while holding true to professional values. More about Hannah Cyrus Hannah Cyrus works as the digital media librarian at Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine, with a focus on technology instruction and digital privacy. Her work often centers around patrons concerned about their accounts being compromised, overwhelmed with junk email and spam phone calls, or concerned by the ubiquitous creepiness of online surveillance capitalism. Hannah received her Master of Science in Library & Information Science from Simmons University in 2016. She is a member of the Library Freedom Project and a recipient of the 2026 Jim Campbell Intellectual Freedom Award from the Maine Library Association. Her article, “Refusal as Instruction: Equipping Patrons to Resist AI, Data Brokers, Big Tech, & More,” was published in Information Technology & Libraries in March of 2026. About the OCLC/Frederick G. Kilgour Lecture in Information Science The Frederick G. Kilgour Lecture was established in 2004 by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) on the occasion of Dr. Kilgour’s 90th birthday. Kilgour was a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and Founder of OCLC. Of his many innovations, he is most noted for inventing the WorldCat database in 1971. Today, OCLC is a nonprofit global library cooperative providing shared technology services, original research, and community programs so that libraries can better fuel learning, research and innovation.