Ian Beilin – In the Library with the Lead Pipe

I’m Humanities Research Services Librarian at Columbia University. I’m also a historian and I teach modern European history as an adjunct professor (intermittently) in the Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies of New York University’s School of Professional Studies. My scholarship in history focused on early 20^th century German nationalism and national identity.

My scholarship includes topics in critical information literacy, critical librarianship, the history of academic librarianship, and modern German history. I’m the co-editor of the Library Juice Press book Reference Librarianship and Justice: History, Practice, & Praxis.

For me librarianship has the most meaning when placed in its larger contexts: social, political, economic, and cultural. I try to always connect what I do as a librarian to the issues that affect our lives, both professional and personal. I’m interested in better understanding the various ways that patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism influence and structure library practice, and in working with others in the struggle against those forces.

I hold a PhD in modern European history from Columbia University, an MSIS from the University at Albany, and a BA in German and History from the University of Michigan.