Proposals are now being accepted for chapters in a book designed to be an introduction to critical disability studies for libraries and LIS professionals. The editors are seeking input from library workers around the world on the way disability exists within their work and efforts to break down ableist systems in our field. See below for the full call.Proposal Submission FormChapter proposals due by end of day Monday, November 30, 2026Book DetailsWorking TitleAccess for All? Examining LIS Through Critical Disability StudiesBook SeriesThe book will be proposed for potential publication in the series Critical Issues in Library and Information Sciences and Services. More information about the series can be found at the book series main page. Book OverviewAccess for All? Examining LIS through Critical Disability Studies provides a primer on the field of Critical Disability Studies (CDS) and its application for library and information science (LIS) professionals. Developed at the intersection of Disability Studies and Critical Theory, CDS is both a methodological approach and theoretical framework for studying the systems of power that create societal norms for bodies and minds and oppress those that deviate from the norm (Minich, 2016; Schalk, 2017). This book will apply that theoretical grounding and methodology to examine the state of disability in libraries around the world and the efforts of LIS professionals to break down accessibility barriers for patrons, workers, and LIS students. The book will be divided into three sections, which will include chapters from LIS workers from a variety of professional and cultural positions. The first section of the book provides an introduction from the book editors to disability as a social construct and the development of CDS as a tool for understanding disability in our societies. The editors will go on to broadly detail how disability systems exist in the LIS field and the challenges to truly providing access to all in a profession that centers nondisabled cultural standards.The second section will include chapters from LIS workers documenting what CDS theorists refer to as dis/ability or (dis)ability: the hierarchical systems that define who is and is not disabled in a society. For example, both glasses and canes are accessibility aids, but only canes are seen as a symbol of disability in American society. Chapters in this section will explore the different disability systems that impact libraries in various international contexts through research, case studies, theoretical analysis, and personal reflections.With the critical issues defined, the third section implements CDS as a methodology by examining solutions for equitable access for people with disabilities in libraries. LIS workers will share their efforts to disrupt disability systems through practices, policies, and culture that exemplify disability inclusion. In doing so, this chapter will present a roadmap for other LIS workers to enact CDS to create more just libraries for disabled patrons and employees.ProposalsSuggested FormatsWe are loosely defining chapters for this call in order to provide flexibility to represent the lived experience of disabled peoples as library workers and patrons. Chapters can include: Formal research studiesCase studies of policy or programmingPersonal reflections and autoethnographic piecesTheoretical analysis using Critical Disability Studies (CDS)Short vignettes Suggested TopicsHow disability is constructed in different cultural, geographic, and/or legal contextsLibrary practices that reflect disability hierarchies Disability in various LIS settings, including but not limited to: public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, archives, special collections, and LIS educationExperience of LIS workers with disabilities navigating hierarchiesLibrary programming and practices that dismantle ableist structures and/or promote inclusion for patrons and/or staffHistories of disability in LISStrategies for increasing accessibility and inclusion throughout the fieldThe intersection of disability and other identities in library work/patron experienceChapter proposals delving into other topics or formats relevant to the book’s overall theme are welcome and encouraged.Proposal ElementsWorking TitleFormat of the chapter300-500 word abstractBrief author bio (100-150 words)Proposal TimelineCall for proposals goes out on Wednesday, October 21, 2026Proposals due by end of day, Monday, November 30, 2026Notifications will go out by Friday, December 18, 2026Editors will submit book proposal to Routledge for consideration in January 2027If accepted, editors will notify chapter authors of acceptance in Summer 2027 with a timeline for chapter drafts to be completed throughout the 2027-2028 academic yearChapter Selection CriteriaSuccessful implementation of CDS as a methodology or theoretical framework in relation to LISComprehensive global representation of LIS workAbstract clearly and concisely details the goals of the chapter and how they will be achievedProposal Submission FormChapter proposals due by end of day Monday, November 30, 2026Questions? Contact: CritDisLISBook@protonmail.comEditor Biographies and Related WorkKatelyn Quirin Manwiller is the Education Librarian and Assistant Professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She is chronically ill and dynamically disabled. Her scholarship focuses on improving disability inclusion in libraries and higher education by building disability communities, addressing disability misconceptions, and creating accessible work environments. She has written and presented extensively on topics related to disability in the library workplace, particularly in relation to navigating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Katelyn is also a founding editorial board member of the journal Disability in LIS. She received her MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh and recently completed an MS in Transformative Education and Social Change from West Chester University, with a Master's thesis entitled “Beyond Compliance: Creating a Disability Self-Advocacy Summit for Higher Education using Critical Disability Pedagogy.”Brea McQueen is an academic librarian in southwest Ohio whose work primarily focuses on the intersections of disability and librarianship, and challenging normative ideas of what librarianship should look like. She is particularly interested in the concepts of crip time, slow librarianship, and disengaging from fascist technologies. Brea is a founding editorial board member of the Journal Disability in LIS (DisLIS), as well as a member of the In the Library with the Lead Pipe editorial board. She has a forthcoming chapter in the book Disability Justice in Libraries titled “Generative AI Will Not Save Us: Interrogating the Use of the Disability Justice Framework in Gen AI Conversations.”Abigail L. Phillips is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She holds Master’s and Specialist degrees in Information Science. After serving as a public librarian for some time, she left to begin a doctoral program and received her PhD in Information Science from Florida State University in Spring 2016. Her research interests include neurodiversity, mental health, physical and invisible disability, d accommodations, and self-advocacy. She also explores librarianship as a practice, and libraries as both institutions and community spaces. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Collection and Curation and an Associate Editor for Curator: The Museum Journal. Working with Dr. Victor Lee, she co-edited, Reconceptualizing Libraries: Perspectives from the Information and Learning Sciences. Upcoming for Abigail is the publication of her first book, Challenges and Solidarity in Library Work: A Supportive Approach.