Todd Michelson-Ambelang

Biography

My responsibilities at the libraries are twofold: I am the subject specialist for South Asia and Scandinavian Humanities in the International and Area Studies Unit, and I am the ADA Accessibility Liaison for the Library System, where I work with various departments and stakeholders at the libraries and throughout the university to provide equitable access to library users with disabilities and impairments. I have a BA in German from Arizona State University, an MA from UW-Madison in Scandinavian linguistics, specializing in Norwegian language policy and historical linguistics, as well as a master’s in library and information studies from UW-Madison, focusing on academic and special libraries. I have a PhD in Scandinavian philology. I wrote my dissertation on disability and how it was perceived and received in the Icelandic Settlement Sagas. My research interests are outsiderness in Saga Literature and accessibility for patrons with disabilities and impairments, as well as for patrons in the global East and South. Although I have no formal graduate training in South Asian Studies, over the last decade, I have educated myself on the special requirements and needs of collecting on South Asia and in South Asian languages. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me.