June 1st USAIN Conference Schedule

9:00 a.m. -10:15 a.m. (Hybrid SessionKeynote speaker with Dr. Chastity Warren English, Professor & Coordinator of Agricultural Education

10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m. (Hybrid SessionTech Trends Interest Group Lightning session                                                              Co-Conveners, Alex Wiker and Nicole Juve

Discovery to Decisions: Technology’s Evolving Role in Agricultural Librarianship

Using AI to Help Make ‘Hidden’ Library Collections Discoverable                                                                                                    Becky Miller, Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences Librarian, University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley Library has been experimenting with using GenAI tools to generate metadata for special collections across the libraries. I will talk about my experience using a commercial product, JSTOR Seeklight, to generate metadata for two previously ‘undiscoverable’ collections - forestry-related glass lantern slides, and uncataloged agricultural extension publications. I will cover efficiencies gained, challenges encountered, balancing professional expertise in GenAI-assisted workflows, and improvements to the discoverability of these two very different collections.

From Index Terms to Insights: Leveraging SDGenie and CABI Thesaurus Search Builder for Agricultural Research Support                                                                                                                                                                                                     Claire Jackson, Publisher, CABI and Lieke Boerefijin-van Schaajk, Platform Manager, CABI

Discover how two new CABI tools - SDGenie and the CABI Thesaurus Search Builder - help agricultural librarians strengthen research discovery and highlight SDG‑aligned impact. Both tools are powered by the rich indexing terms of CABI Thesaurus, a controlled vocabulary covering agriculture, environmental sciences, and related applied life sciences. Together, these tools empower librarians to enhance discovery, strengthen research support, and demonstrate contributions to global challenges such as food security, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

When “Unique” Isn’t Unique Anymore: How Open Access is Quietly Reshaping Aggregator Value in Agricultural and Environmental Publishing                                                                                                                                                                 Carson Williams, Collection Development Librarian, Agriculture & Life Sciences, Cornell University

Using title-level overlap and usage analysis, this presentation shows how materials once considered “unique” within aggregator databases are increasingly accessible elsewhere. It highlights what this shift means for evaluating database value and making collection development decisions under tightening budget constraints.

11:30 a.m. -12:50 a.m.  (Hybrid SessionLunch with Dr. Kim Niewolny, Professor and Director of the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation

Why the Social Imaginary Matters: Knowledge and Praxis for Sustainable Food Systems

I explore why the social imaginary is foundational to sustainable food system possibilities and propose ways to foster critical praxis to “unthink” the orthodoxies that often shape our sense of what is possible. This involves shifting away from centering solely on what we know in our research, extension, and teaching, and instead focusing on how we intentionally and critically engage diverse forms of knowledge and ways of knowing to explore and catalyze the conditions for a more abundant and healthy food future. Such work depends on collaborative, networked, and participatory approaches that prioritize generative, rather than extractive, ways of producing knowledge across our research, teaching, and extension spaces. Examples of community-university coalition building, action research, and storytelling approaches offer tangible praxis insights.

11:30 a.m. -12:50 a.m. (Hybrid SessionPapers Concurrent Sessions, themes: 1) Extension and 2) Liaison Librarianship 

Liaison Librarianship

  • Nurturing a New Ag Librarian: Experiences using a liaison toolkit to help onboard a new Agriculture Librarian       Randa Morgan (rlope12@lsu.edu) and Larissa Miller (lellio3@lsu.edu)
  • Cultivating Research Skills: Honoring Librarian Traditions, Empowering Graduate Success, and Growing Future Scholarship                                                                                                                                                                                       Livia Olsen (livia@ksu.edu), Jason Coleman (coleman@ksu.edu), Cindy Logan (clogan@ksu.edu) and Carol Sevin (sevin@ksu.edu)
  • From audit to action: Inclusive exhibit practices in academic libraries                                                                                         Janis Shearer (janisjshearer@gmail.com)
Extension
  • Starting from Scratch: Creating a New Library Partnership with Extension                                                                                  Jara Anderson (jbanderson@missouri.edu)   
  • Recovering Our Roots: A Librarian’s Quest for Extension Publications                                                                                Karen Burton ( kbburto@clemson.edu)
  • Beyond Victory Gardens: How MSC Extension trained Michigan women for self-sufficiency                                      Suzanne Teghtmeyer (teghtmey@msu.edu)
1 p.m. -2 p.m. (Hybrid SessionPapers Concurrent Sessions, themes: Evidence Synthesis 
  • From Seed to Paper: Mapping the Journal Landscape of Plant and Crop Breeding, 2016–2025                              Yaoguang Li (yaoguang.li@uconn.edu)
  • The Practices and Costs of Agricultural Data Management and Sharing                                                                              Isaac Wink (isaac.wink@uky.edu) and Leslie Delserone (ldelserone2@unl.edu)
  • New Farmers of America - Part of America's Past                                                                                                                    Netta Cox (nscox1@ncat.edu)

3:15- 4:15 p.m. Ag Econ Research, Information and Education Interest Group roundtable discussions                      Becky Miller, Moderator

In this session, participants will have small group discussions with a topic for each table/group. At the end of the session, participants will report back about items discussed. 

4:15- 5:15 p.m. AgNIC Interest Group Q&A session                                                                                                                                  Karen Burton, Moderator

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