Awards
2023 Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year
Illinois Library Association, Sponsored by Library Juice Academy
2023 Founding Diversity Officer for Western Illinois University Libraries
2019 Institute of Jazz Studies Archival Fellowship, Rutgers University—Newark, New Jersey
Publications & Presentations
—2026—
Mentor: Illinois Library Association Mentorship Program
—2025—
Essay: “The Queer Archives of Dykes to Watch Out For”
“Drawn to the Stacks: Essays on Libraries, Librarians and Archives in Comics and Graphic Novels”
edited by Carrye Syma, Donell Callender, and Robert G. Weiner, published by McFarland, 2025.
Presentation: GLAM Virtual Fair for Library Students and Government, Library, Archive, and Museum Employers
Careers in Government Libraries Panel, February 2025
App Launch: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum's Lincoln Unlocked, February 2025
Collaborative project with ALPLM, Google, and Thoughtworks
Mentor: Mentoring Program for the Committee on Gender Equity: North American Saxophone Alliance
Mentee: Haley Smith
Interview: Illinois Library Association Member Spotlight Facebook Post, January 2025
—2024—
Performance: FOURsquared Multiple Woodwind Quartet
Brown Bag Concert Series, December 4, 2024, First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois
Presentation: 20th Anniversary of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Anniversary Celebration, October 16, 2024
Presentation: Music & Music Instruments in the ALPLM Collection
The Association of Lincoln Presenters, October 2024
Poster: "That's Illinois?! Surprising People and Events in Illinois History Recorded in Primary Sources at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum"
Kelsey Wise, Matthew Deihl & Jade Kastel
ILA Annual Conference — Libraries are Lit: Sparking Innovation and Imagination, October 2024, Peoria, Illinois
Poster: “High Impact, Low Stress: DEI Initiatives for the Busy Academic Librarian”
Jacqueline Zook, Jeremy McAninch & Jade Kastel
ILA Annual Conference — Libraries are Lit: Sparking Innovation and Imagination, October 2024, Peoria, Illinois
Presentation: ALPLM Upper Vault Tour for attendees of the Council of State Archivists 2024 Annual Meeting
Hosted by ALPLM and the Illinois State Archives, September 2024
Presentation: "Hiss, Clang, Kerplop: A Cacophony of Sounds from the ALPLM Stacks," History Happy Hour
Hosted by ALPLM and Illinois State Museum, May 15, 2024, Gin Mill, Springfield, Illinois
Radio Interview: Picturing Lincoln aired July 29, 2024
WTAX 93.9FM / 1240AM with Joey McLaughlin, Springfield, Illinois
Picturing Lincoln: An ALPLM digital collection featuring the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln
Sponsored by a grant from the Illinois State Library and hosted on the Illinois Digital Archive
Presentation: ALPLM Upper Vault Tour for the Mortenson Center Associates
Hosted by ALPLM and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University Library, June 2024
Presentation: "Music Instruments in the ALPLM Collection," Tales from the Vault
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, June 4, 2024, Springfield, Illinois
Presentation: "Divas, Drag Kings, Damsels and Dames: Celebrating Women and Gender in the ALPLM Collection," History Happy Hour
Hosted by ALPLM and Illinois State Museum at Anvil and Forage, March 20, 2024, Springfield, Illinois
Book Review: Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy
Notes, Music Library Association Journal
Volume 80, Number 3, March 2024, pp. 533-536
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2024.a919052
Radio Series: Tri States Public Radio Commentary
This commentary series is coordinated by WIU’s Professor Emeritus Janice Welsch, with WIU professors Heather McIlvaine,
Rebekah Buchanan, and Barbara Lawhorn.
Presentation: GLAM Virtual Fair for Library Students and Government, Library, Archive, and Museum Employers
Careers in Government Libraries Panel, February 2024
Careers in Special Libraries, February 2024
—2023—
Radio Series: Tri States Public Radio Commentary
The Magnetic Attraction—Fishing the Anthropocene
Book Review: Tania León's Stride: A Polyrhythmic Life by Alejandro L. Madrid
Notes, Music Library Association Journal
Volume 79, Number 3, March 2023, pp. 407-409
Tapestry: An Interview Series Featuring Indiana's Diverse Library Staff (2022-2025)
Coordinator and Interview Host
Arts Midwest Reviewer: NEA Big Read Grant Program
Grant Reviewer
Moderator: 92nd Annual Meeting, Music Library Association and 2nd Joint Meeting with the Theatre Library Association
St. Louis, Missouri, March 1–5, 2023
—2022—
Radio Series: Tri States Public Radio Commentary
We are the ones we have been waiting for
Knock, Knock — and Knock, Knock
Free Improv: Inspired by Pharoah Sanders
Composed & performed by Jade Kastel for saxophone, piano & accordion with multimedia & tweleve-tone row
Presentation: “Music & Libraries: How music workstations and Makerspaces support therapeutic and adaptive recreation”
Jade Kastel and Dr. Ryan Aguirre, WIU Music Education Assistant Professor
Reaching Forward Conference Presentation, Illinois Library Association
Moderator: 91st Annual Meeting of the Music Library Association
Virtual Conference, March 2–6, 2022
—2021—
Short Film: Letters in Motion, #CitizenMiriam
Poetry by Freesia McKee, music and video compiled by Jade Kastel
Article: “Small Library, Big Impact: How JWU’s North Miami Library Developed Early Career Library Professionals”
Florida Libraries Volume 64, No. 2 Fall 2021 pgs. 10-13
Journal of the Florida Library Association
Article: "World Cup Librarianship: Using the NWSL to Introduce Key Concepts in Competitive Intelligence and Information Literacy"
ALA’s Academic BRASS newsletter
Article: “Quick Tips for Disasters & Emergencies: Developing a Full Disaster Plan”
CARLI Preservation Committee Website
Archival Finding Aid: Guide to the Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill music and papers, 1930-2018
Kailee Faber, Alexandra Howard, Jade Kastel, Adriana Cuervo, and Elizabeth Surles
IJS.127 2019-06 Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University Libraries
Presentation: "Using Digital Humanities to Increase Engagement with PFW’s Newest mDON Digital Collection: The Fort Wayne Free Press"
Jade Kastel & Erika Mann
Society of Indiana Archivists Annual Conference
Presentation: "1970s Activist Movements Documented in PFW's mDON Collections Share Relevance to Social Justice Movements in 2020"
Jade Kastel & Erika Mann
42nd annual Southwest Popular/American Culture Association (SWPACA) Conference
Presentation: "Meme Me: Incorporating Reverse Image Search and Online Resources Like Google Scholar and Internet Archive to Enhance Information Literacy in Classroom Instruction"
24th Annual Fort Wayne Teaching & Learning Conference
—2020—
ALA Reviewer: STAR Net STEAM Equity Project: Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Libraries of Rural Communities
Grant Reviewer
Book Review: Creative Improvised Music compiled by John Gray
Notes, Music Library Association Journal
Volume 77, Number 2, December 2020, pp. 313-315
*Poster Session: "Tailoring Library Instruction and LibGuides to Engage Music Majors"
USF 12th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, Poster Session
*Rescheduled and then canceled due to COVID-19
Virtual Poster Session: "Tailoring Virtual Library Instruction and LibGuides to Engage Music Majors"
Distance Library Instruction Virtual Poster Conference
Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)
*Presentation: "Diversity ≠ Equity & Inclusion: Institutional Strategies for Diverse Communities"
Jade Kastel and Paul Bazile
Florida Library Association (FLA) Conference
*Rescheduled due to COVID-19; proposal was accepted and I was unable to attend on the new date
Presentation: "IR Wisdom Across Four States: JWU’s Institutional Repository ScholarsArchive"
Southern Miss Institutional Repository Conference (SMIRC)
—2019—
Poster: “Inclusive Language Broadens Access for All to Library Service, Collections & Archives”
Florida Association of College & Research Libraries (FACRL) Conference, Poster Session
Poster: “An Academic Library’s Creative Interdisciplinary & Community Collaborations”
Jordan Workman, Lindsey Corey, and Jade Kastel
Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN) Conference, Poster Session
—2018—
Poetry Anthology: The Politics of Shelter, Brackish Daughters Press
Co-founder and co-editor of Brackish Daughters Press with Freesia McKee