JoyEllen Williams

JoyEllen Williams is the Special Collections and Rare Books Curator in the Department of Museums, Archives, Rare Books, and University Libraries at Kennesaw State University. In this role, she manages all aspects of the university's rare book collection. JoyEllen received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in archival studies from Clayton State University. She also holds certifications from the Academy of Certified Archivists and the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School. JoyEllen has worked professionally in the special collections field since 2015, first as an internship fellow at the AUC Woodruff Library and then as the Outreach Archivist at Kennesaw State University before fully transitioning to her curatorial role in 2018. She is a governor-appointed member and vice-chair of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council and a founding member of the Atlanta Black Archives Alliance. In February 2022, she was a recipient of the 2022-2024 Rare Book School/Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion, & Cultural Heritage. Her professional writing has been published in several books and magazines. Most recently, JoyEllen contributed a chapter to the forthcoming book, Radical Visions: New Perspectives in Special Collections Curatorship, slated for publication by the Society of American Archivists in 2026.