Strengthening Europe through public libraries

A new report is:
OMC Group on the Role of Libraries. (2026). Strengthening Europe through public libraries: How sustained investment in public libraries and their multiple roles delivers social, cultural and democratic returns. European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/1906144
"The OMC Group brought together 36 experts from 25 EU Member States, with input from non-EU countries including Georgia, Iceland, Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom." It includes summaries of national policy & strategy related to public libraries in the countries, and examples of "best practice". The Group emphasises "that it is vital for public libraries to be recognised by the EU, Member States and regional and local governments as essential services for which free access must be guaranteed. This right of access should be grounded in the European Pillar of Social Rights" and also that public libraries need to be supported by national policy.
A quick search showed that information literacy, or media and information literacy, was mentioned in a few of the national policy summaries (Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia and Spain) and in some best practice examples. OMC= Open Method of Coordination, by the way.
A public library makerspace: Credit: Beth Filar Williams (2023, September 22) Rotterdam public library. https://flic.kr/p/2p4CyYY

New articles: Critical Information Literacy; Teaching IL; Critical Indigenous Studies Liaison Librarianship

The latest issue of open-access College & Research Libraries (Vol 87, No 4) includes: 
- Two Decades of Critical Information Literacy: A Review and Analysis of the Literature by Eamon Tewell
- The State of Critical Indigenous Studies Liaison Librarianship: A Landscape Analysis by Kathryn Randall, Alexander Watkins, Adrienne VandenBosch 
- Information Literacy Instruction Redux: What Are Instruction Librarians Doing Now? by Heidi Julien, Jesus Montiel Hernandez, Melissa Gross, Don Latham
Go to https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/issue/view/1700/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: A pleasant tea tray, July 2026.

Developing a Teaching Style

A blog post with short reflections from three first-year academic librarians on their experiences of teaching. 
ACRLog Team. (2026, June 10). Developing a Teaching Style… In Style! https://acrlog.org/2026/07/10/developing-a-teaching-style-in-style
Photo by Sheila Webber: rose, June 2026

Webinar: Exploring the Integration of Information Literacy After a Faculty Development Workshop

On 20 July 2026 at 12 noon US EAST (17.00 BST) there is a free webinar: When Faculty Are Our Students: Exploring the Integration of Information Literacy After a Faculty Development Workshop. 
"In this webinar, we explore if library-led teaching professional development programming is effective for integrating information literacy into courses and/or curricula. The presenters conducted semi-structured interviews with nine participants from a formal library-led teaching professional development program. In the presentation, the presenters will share initial results from their study and discuss the implications for how we might approach the goal of supporting the integration of information literacy into the curriculum." This is part of Ohio State University's Meaningful Inquiry programme. 
Register at https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZbCd64DSRoejQB8NiqOeLg#/registration
Photo by Sheila Webber: Rhododendron, May 2026

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026

The annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report report, which has international comparisons and short overviews of individual countries, identifies that "Social media and video networks are now the most widely used sources of news globally, ahead of both TV news" "Around a quarter (27%) of respondents globally get some news from news-focused individual creators or influencers, and almost half (46%) get some news from creators of any type." Online news video is the majority mode of consumption. 
Reuters notes a paradox, in that use of platforms and influencers is growing, but there is also distrust and awareness of the possibility of misinformation. "Trust in news has fallen in 29 of our 48 markets this year" - the lowest sinnce they started this publication. 
Use of AI has also grown "The use of AI chatbots for news is growing quickly but not as quickly as AI use for other purposes: 10% of people use AI chatbots for news, up from 7% last year. Usage is predominantly by those most interested in news and is more concentrated among younger audiences (16% of under-35s report using AI chatbots for news)." Interestingly, they identify that interest in "news" generally has fallen in many countries. 
There is lots of good detail in the report. The researchers adminstered surveys online internationally, and the methodology section lays out the limitations. 
Egan, J. et al. (2026). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2026
Photo by Sheila Webber: wild urban poppies, June 2026

Pressing prompts

Pressing Prompts, was recently published by Duke University , USA, with "activities, resources, and learning notes" around three themes:
- Trust & Truth: How do we evaluate what AI tells us?
- Power & Access: Who controls AI and who is affected?
- Self & Society: How does AI change us and our world?
It is "designed for dialogic and experiential learning". It already has useful material and they say that they also welcome further ideas. It is desgned for university-level use and (implicitly) North America, but could be applied more widely.
Go to http://pressingprompts.org/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Foxgloves, June 2026

Strategic Implications of AI Futures for Research Libraries

ARL & CNI have published a report which summarises the outcomes from a scenario workshop held a year and a half ago (on AI Futures for Research Libraries) and analyse progress since then (referring to North American academic libraries). To quote from the Executive Summary
"Priorities have shifted toward governing the AI already embedded in enterprise and library platforms. At the same time, external requirements are tightening, making embedding disclosure expectations into research and teaching workflows increasingly urgent. These findings confirm that the window for proactive positioning is open but narrowing. Research libraries that treat AI governance, workforce development, and collection strategy as integrated priorities will be best positioned to lead their institutions through an uncertain but consequential decade and to shape what research libraries become by 2035."
There is emphasis on developing AI literacy of staff, and also developing frameworks of AI literacy to embed in curricula. I was rather disappointed with the small extent to which connection was made between AI Literacy and IL, though.
Estlund, K. & Vitale, C.H. (2026). Strategic Implications of AI Futures for Research Libraries: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries and Coalition for Networked Information. https://doi.org/10.29242/report.futurescape2026.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Botanics, May 2026

Webinar: From Information Literacy to Gen-AI Literacy: Continuity or Change?

Dr Ellie Abdi (Curtin University, Australia) gives the second iSchools Community Keynote free online on 15 July 2026, 19.00 Australian Eastern Standard Time; 05.00 US EST; 10.00 UK BST; 17.00 China Standard Time with the title From Information Literacy to Gen-AI Literacy: Continuity or Change?
"Technologically enabled information environments have continually evolved, from computers to the internet to social media, each reshaping how people encounter, interpret, and participate in information ecosystems. Across these transitions, information literacy has remained a central capability, supporting effective and meaningful engagement with information despite changing tools and platforms. This keynote explores whether this pattern continues in AI-generated information environments, and considers whether Gen-AI literacy should be understood as a distinct literacy domain or as a contemporary expression of information literacy."
The Zoom link will be on this page https://www.ischools.org/community-keynotes

Book: The Patina of Distrust

One of the joint-winners of the ASIS&T information science book of the year award is:
Mitchelstein, E., Boczkowski, P.J., Wagner, M.C. & Suenzo, F. (2025). The Patina of Distrust: What People Do with Misinformation. MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262550765/the-patina-of-distrust/ ISBN: 9780262550765
The online open access version is here https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/6048/The-Patina-of-DistrustWhat-People-Do-with
The book analyses news reception in Argentina’s 2019 presidential election "drawing from interviews, survey data, and experiments" and they also more briefly address reception of news in the COVID19 pandemic and the 2023 election of the Argentine president Javier Milei. They focus on "the dynamics of reception that mediate between the production and spread of misinformation on the one hand, and its potential effects on the other"
Photo by Sheila Webber: foxtail lily, June 2026

Googling

I learned something from:
Cohen, J. (2026, June 19). Google's AI Overviews Aren't Going Anywhere. But I Figured Out How to Hide Them. https://uk.pcmag.com/ai/152436/google-ai-overviews-arent-going-anywhere-4-tricks-to-hide-them (although the 4th tip is basically "use a different search engine"). These tips have become more useful because ...
Perez, S. (2026, May 19). Google Search as you know it is over. Techcrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/google-search-as-you-know-it-is-over/ - also ...
- Perez, S. (2026, July 6). If you use Google, you’re training its AI. Here’s how to opt out. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/06/if-you-use-google-youre-training-its-ai-heres-how-to-opt-out/
Image created using Midjourney AI

Event: Information Literacy in a Disrupted Information Ecosystem

The IFLA Information Literacy Section and the Busan Metropolitan Library have organised a free in-person Satellite Meeting on 8 August 2026, in Busan, Korea: Information Literacy in a Disrupted Information Ecosystem: AI, Disinformation, and Trust.
Presentations are:
- Case Study of Ghana Public Libraries: Equipping Students with Critical Literacy Skills in the Era of AI and Disinformation (Ramunė Petuchovaitė)
- Strengthening Trust through Curated Connections: Transforming the Information Environment with Education, Grounded Curation, and Open Pedagogy (Cyril Oberlander)
- Building Digital Resilience through Metaliteracy: Meme-based Pedagogy to Counter AI-driven Disinformation (Changhong Wu)
- AI, Disinformation, and Trust in Higher Education: Information Literacy Approaches of University Librarians in Germany and Bulgaria (Munazza Jabeen)
- The Role of AI Refusal in Media and Information Literacy Programs (Kelly McElroy)
"In addition to these academic exchanges, participants will enjoy a special Korean cultural performance and a guided tour of the Busan Metropolitan Library."
Event page at https://library.busan.go.kr/busanlibrary/html.do?menu_idx=262
Registration at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclpkLk4TX8OBqWJpIO9gXZn279plfnYytFA4mHn0KgFDLZ5w/viewform

Critical AI Literacy Framework

 The Open University published in 2025 their Critical AI Literacy Framework which "treats ‘literacy’ as a ‘social practice’, i.e. something individuals do rather than possess". and is concerned about issues of equality and social justice. It has six elements: AI concepts and applications; Learning and Teaching with AI; AI ethics; AI creativity; AI in society; AI [in] careers. It can be downloaded at  https://about.open.ac.uk/sites/about.open.ac.uk/files/files/OU%20Critical-AI-Literacy-framework-2025.pdf
There is also a blog post about this framework and their Responsible by Design framework at  https://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/learning-design/?p=2288
Photo by Sheila Webber: Botanic Gardens, June 2026

Critical IL and AI Literacy

Baer, A. (2026). When Is Critical AI Literacy Critical? Critical AI Literacy Discourse and Principles of Critical Pedagogy. Library Trends, 74(4), 742-759.  https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2026.a992003 (open access)
"In academic librarianship, calls to teach a version of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy that requires generative AI (GenAI) use are usually accepted as common sense. Most in our profession would agree that libraries and instruction librarians need to respond to technological changes and to help prepare students to engage with the research tools available to them. At the same time, the well-documented costs and harms bound up in the development and use of GenAI technologies are in conflict with the values and goals of many librarians, especially those who align their teaching with critical pedagogy principles like examining systems of power and social and political inequities, investigating assumptions and working for a more just world, and affirming student and teacher agency. To explore current and potential ways to teach about GenAI technologies through a critical pedagogy lens, I examine discourse on (critical) AI literacy and related resources and how they reflect or deflect critical pedagogy principles."
Photo by Sheila Webber: foxglove, June 2026