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

Registration open: #LiLi conference: #AI Meets Information Literacy

Registration is now open for the free online LiLi (Lifelong Information Literacy) Annual Conference, 23 July 2026 (9.30 – 14:10 US PDT, which is 17.30-22.10 BST) and 24 July 2026 (9.30- 12.50 US PDT). The conference theme is Artificial Intelligence Meets Information Literacy: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future.
The programme is at https://tinyurl.com/yky9n3va I am very happy to say that I was invited to start the 24 July day addressing its theme of AI and information literacy! There are lots of interesting talks over the 2 days, so I'm very much looking forward to it. 
Register by 17 July at https://tinyurl.com/ye9aurdt Register for live participation (limited to 300 simultaneous participants) + recordings, or just a link to the recordings. 

Call for papers: #RAILS

The call for proposals for RAILS (Research Applications in Information and Library Studies) which will be held 1-3 December 2026 in Adelaide, Australia, closes on 20 July 2026. The conference includes the Australasian Information Educators' Symposium (AIES), a Doctoral Consortium, and Keynote Sessions. The conference theme is New Ideas, New Beginnings.
They "welcome submissions across a wide range of topics, including professional practice, community engagement, knowledge organisation, literacy and reading cultures, archives and records management, digital inclusion, leadership, and innovative service delivery. ... we particularly encourage contributions that explore the broader professional, social, and cultural dimensions of library and information work."
Go to https://railsconference.wordpress.com/call-for-proposals/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sculpture (Lisa Slade: the life of stars), Adelaide, July 2019