Elizabeth Ajunwa
Interview conducted by Olivia Levy (Scripps ’28) and Hazel Hayashi (Scripps ’28)
Elizabeth Ajunwa is the director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She started her career as a library associate and then eventually became a branch managing librarian in the Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland. She was drawn to the profession because of her interest in arts and humanities and her belief in the importance of books in the face of increased censorship. In her current role she values her ability to learn about art made by women and hopes to expand the library's collection to include more diverse perspectives. Given her background in public libraries, Ajunwa hopes to provide more opportunities for the public to engage with the library and its collections.
What are your responsibilities as a library director?
As the director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, my role involves overseeing the library’s collections, programming, and research services to support the museum's mission. I work with our library team to manage acquisitions, preservation, and organization of our book and archival collections and other materials including our artist's book collection, ensuring that they are accessible to researchers and the public. Additionally, I work closely with museum staff on exhibitions, provide guidance to visitors, and advocate for the importance of artists’ books and women’s contributions to book arts.
What are some of your current goals or projects for the Betty Boyd Dettre Library?
Right now, I’m focused on sustainability and organization within the Library and Research Center. We want to create and maintain an environment where materials are well-preserved and accessible. To achieve this, I've advocated for structured time for library maintenance and inventory. I am also working on collaborations with artists, scholars, and institutions to explore ways to integrate artists' books into more museum programming. Currently, I am working to bring to NMWA a traveling artist's book exhibition called A Radical Alteration: Women's Studio Workshop as a Sustainable Model for Art Making. The exhibition will feature over 25 artists' books by women and women-identifying artists and will open April 2025.
How does your work interact with the larger goals and exhibitions of the museum as a whole?
The library serves as both a place research hub and an extension of the museum’s curatorial practice. I collaborate with curators, educators, and museum leadership to highlight book arts as a vital component of the contemporary artistic conversation. Whether through artist talks, special installations, or educational outreach, the library helps amplify the museum’s mission to champion women artists.
You’ve talked about the importance of books in the face of increased censorship. In what way do you think the book form is more successful than 2D art at communicating difficult themes such as social justice?
Artists' books have a special way of drawing people in—they’re intimate, tactile, and require active engagement. Unlike an 2D artwork on a wall, an artist's book can often hold layered meanings and questions for deep reflection that people can touch and interact with. This makes them especially powerful for tackling complex societal issues like social justice. Books in general can be shared, reproduced, and passed from person to person, which makes them an incredible tool for resistance and memory in times of censorship.
Do you have a personal definition of the term “artist book?” How has this definition changed throughout your work at the Betty Boyd Dettre Library?
My definition of an artist’s book is as malleable as the medium itself, but at the core, I see it as an artwork that uses the book form as inspiration. Over time, my understanding has grown to appreciate how artists challenge traditional notions of what a book is and what an artist's book is — Whether they do this through unconventional materials, interactive structures, or dynamic storytelling. Working at the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center has exposed me to a wide variety of artist books, teaching me how the medium is a space for experimentation, storytelling, and political expression.