Profile for Mike Olson

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Mike Olson
Assistant Professor
University Library
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Mike Olson
Assistant Professor
University Library
Specialty area(s)
Critical Cataloging, Critical Visual Literacy, Zines & Alternative Information Networks
Brief biography
Mike Olson is an academic librarian specializing in cataloging and critical cataloging practices. He is a strong advocate for dismantling harmful subject headings and is dedicated to making knowledge accessible through innovative methods, including zine-making. He transforms scholarly research into zines, which he uses to build the Zine Reading Room, a resource that promotes diverse voices and challenges information privilege. His research also focuses on critical visual literacies in activism, analyzing how visual elements in protest and grassroots publications empower communities. At UW-La Crosse, he integrates scholarship, creativity, and critical information literacy.
Education
MLIS, Valdosta State University
BA Studio Arts, University of Northern Iowa
Career
Research and publishing
Olson, M. (2025, March 25). Classification as colonization: The hidden politics of library catalogs. The Scholarly Kitchen. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/03/25/guest-post-classification-as-colonization-the-hidden-politics-of-library-catalogs/
Olson, M. (2024, November 4) Critical visual literacy in activism: Artist Keith Walsh’s political infographics - Illuminating social histories [Conference presentation]. 56th Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA), Virtual. https://ivla.org/conference-2024/ Video: https://youtu.be/KEFNS7rjilg
Olson, M. (2024). Reading the pictures [review of the website, in Internet Resources]. Public Services Quarterly, 20(4), 306-311. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2024.2405704
Olson, M. (2024). Critical visual literacy in activism: Artist Violet Ray's counterimages. In J. Lee, L. Okan, F. Rodrigues, C. Huilcapi-Collantes, E. Corrigan, G. Chesner, & H. Han (Eds.), Ways of Seeing: The Book of Selected Readings 2024 (pp. 85-99). International Visual Literacy Association. https://doi.org/10.52917/ivlatbsr.2024.017 / Zine version
Olson, M. (2023, October 2-8) Critical visual literacy in activism - Counterimages: Radically repurposed visual culture in Violet Ray’s ‘Advertising the Contradictions’ [Conference presentation]. International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) Conference, Urbana-Champaign, IL, United States. https://ivla.org/conference-2023/ / Slides
Kudos
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