Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am

How can libraries use data stories to build support and resilience? Drawing on her forthcoming book and the IMLS Data Storytelling Toolkit, Dr. Kate McDowell shares ethical, impactful approaches for crafting compelling narratives. Learn to reach diverse audiences, leverage powerful story structures, and build resilience in the face of funding cuts and censorship. This session supports library workers in any role in telling the stories of why libraries and other public information institutions matter.

Our Speaker...

Dr. Kate McDowell’s interdisciplinary work examines how storytelling plays a vital role in humanizing data analysis and communication. She focuses on storytelling as information research and how the history of library storytelling informs data storytelling. Her article “Storytelling Wisdom: Story, information, and DIKW” theorizes storytelling as a fundamental information form. She leads the Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 5,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far. As of 2024, she had delivered over a dozen keynotes on her work to nonprofit organizations nationally and internationally, and many more informal talks for state and regional organizations. She won the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award in 2022, and her new book is Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact.

Additional Information

Free for ESLN members. Registration is required. This webinar will be recorded.

This session is sponsored by the Empire State Library Network. If you have any questions, contact Kathleen Gundrum at kgundrum@cdlc.org

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Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries

Critical Data Storytelling for LibrariesWednesday, November 19, 2025 | 10:00 am - 11:00 amHow can libraries use data stories to build support and resilience? Drawing on her forthcoming book and the IMLS Data Storytelling Toolkit, Dr. Kate McDowell shares ethical, impactful approaches for crafting compelling narratives. Learn to reach diverse audiences, leverage powerful story structures, and build resilience in the face of funding cuts and censorship. This session supports library workers in any role in telling the stories of why libraries and other public information institutions matter.Our Speaker...Dr. Kate McDowell’s interdisciplinary work examines how storytelling plays a vital role in humanizing data analysis and communication. She focuses on storytelling as information research and how the history of library storytelling informs data storytelling. Her article “Storytelling Wisdom: Story, information, and DIKW” theorizes storytelling as a fundamental information form. She leads the Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 5,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far. As of 2024, she had delivered over a dozen keynotes on her work to nonprofit organizations nationally and internationally, and many more informal talks for state and regional organizations. She won the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award in 2022, and her new book is Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact. Register Now for Using Data for Building and Presenting Academic Library ValueAdditional InformationFree for ESLN members. Registration is required. This webinar will be recorded. This session is sponsored by the Empire State Library Network. If you have any questions, contact Kathleen Gundrum at kgundrum@cdlc.orgRegister: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pWNs6Z3aRSKBeS7N0NaLpw#/registration...

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