Karla Strand

Karla J. Strand is the Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian (GWSL) for the University of Wisconsin System. Created in 1977, the Office of the GWSL is one of the premier resources for support of gender and women’s studies and LGBTQ scholarship and librarianship in the country. From a base at UW Madison’s Memorial Library, the Office serves the UW System and beyond in many ways, including the publication of three GWS-focused journals and an online database of GWS-focused films. Karla J. Strand, the GWS Librarian, provides research assistance, creative cooperation, information sharing, and advocacy to scholars and activists whose work is focused on gender equality, women’s history, feminism, girls’ studies, and LGBTQ studies. Dr. Strand oversees projects such as Wisconsin Women Making History and the International Women’s Library. She is currently serving on the national boards of the Women’s Centennial Vote Initiative and Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association as well as the editorial board of Reveal Digital. Strand holds a bachelor’s in history and women’s studies from Carroll College, a master’s in library and information science from UW-Milwaukee, and a doctorate in information science from the University of Pretoria (South Africa). Her professional, research, and life interests are focused on the roles that libraries, information, and knowledge play in the empowerment of women and girls throughout the world.

Affiliations: Office of the Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian