Hope A. Olson

Who is Hope A. Olson?

Hope A. Olson is Associate Dean and Professor at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She was previously a professor at the University of Alberta.

From 2000-2004 Olson was the editor-in-chief for Knowledge Organization and she currently serves on its editorial board. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Library Metadata. Olson has authored or co-authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and has published three books: Subject Analysis in Online Catalogs, 2nd ed., co-authored by John J. Boll; Information Sources in Women's Studies and Feminism, editor; and The Power to Name: Locating the Limits of Subject Representation in Libraries.

She received a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College, an M.L.S. from the University of Toronto, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Olson's research focuses on critical analysis of subject representations and classification systems. Using feminist, poststructural, and postcolonial perspectives, she examines the biases inherent in hierarchical organizational structures.