Transformación Juntos: History and Future Engagement Between the ARLIS/NA Community and Mexico

Since its founding in 1972, the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) has strived to serve art information professionals across North America. However, for much of its history, this "North American" designation primarily referred to the United States and Canada, with little involvement from or strategic approach to building connections with art information professionals in Mexico until the early 1990s. The 1991 ARLIS regional meeting in conjunction with the Guadalajara International Book Fair and the geographic expansion of the ARLIS/NA Texas-Mexico Chapter in 1997 marked key milestones toward ensuring better geographic representation across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. These efforts culminated in the 2023 ARLIS/NA Annual Conference in Mexico City, a landmark event that symbolized the fruition of more than three decades of engagement between ARLIS/NA members and Mexican art information professionals. ARLIS/NA now stands at a critical moment in society history to determine how engagement with and representation by Mexican art libraries and librarians can and should occur in the future. This panel and roundtable discussion explored the long history of ARLIS/NA's initiatives to foster greater collaboration with Mexican colleagues by examining the persistent challenges while exploring possible pathways forward. The panelists, Clayton Kirking (retired, New York Public Library, Beverly Mitchell (retired, Southern Methodist University), and Fernando Corona (Universidad Intercontinental) are professionals engaged in these efforts for decades and were organizers of these key events whose perspectives and experiences inform the future of engagement for ARLIS/NA in Mexico. The discussion will emphasized how sustained, meaningful interaction across borders serves ARLIS/NA's core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. By understanding the society's history, panelists offered insights into the roadblocks faced and recommend strategies for overcoming them, ensuring that ARLIS/NA continues to expand its reach and invite greater collaboration and build community across the entirety of North America well into the future.