Carson Williams (he/him) is a trans-masculine artist, librarian, and educator who has several years of experience providing accessible information on queer identity, representation, diversity, equity, and inclusion in library spaces for patrons, library staff members, and the community.

Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, he learned how to create positive interactions with members of the community who had never met a transgender person before. Through these lived-experiences, he has gained the ability to talk with people from any walk of life about the queer experience in a productive, enlightening way. After writing an article on how library supervisors can better support their queer staff members for Library Journal, Carson was asked to present at Library Journal and School Library’s online course, “Evaluating, Auditing, and Diversifying Your Collections,” on queer representation, stereotypes, and tropes in literature. From there, he has spoken to many library organizations on similar topics.

In his personal life, Carson is an activist and advocate for marginalized populations everywhere. He spent three years working in a psychiatric hospital, working closely with LGBTQIA+ youth, and providing diversity trainings for staff members. He is a member of the Prison Library Support Network, an organization of librarians providing reference services to community members around the country who are incarcerated. He is a founding member of his library’s newly-formed diversity, equity, and inclusion group and began leading the first diversity audit on the Young Adult Department’s collection.

Carson is passionate, transparent, and open with the audiences he speaks with. He believes in humanity, positivity, and never-ending personal growth. He hopes that message will shine through in every presentation he gives.

Location: New Mexico

Keywords = Accessibility, Adults, Children, Collection Development, Diversity, Disability, Equity, Gender, Implicit Bias, Inclusion, LGBTQIA+, Microaggressions, Older Adults, Public Libraries, Queer, School Libraries, Transgender

$Speaking Fee (Speaker requests honorarium.)

Virtual Presentations

Gabrielle Barnes

Windsor, Connecticut
K.T. Vaughan

Lexington, Virginia
Twanna Hodge

Gainesville, Florida
Heidi Rabinowitz

Boynton Beach, Florida