New articles: Research and library & information practitioners; LIS literature growth; AI competencies in libraries

The latest issue of open-access Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (Vol. 15 No. 3 2026) includes
- Exploring the research experiences, skills and confidence of LIK [library, information and knowledge] practitioners – a methodological reflection by Gillian Siddall, Cath Dishman, Kirsty Thomson, Dr Leo Appleton, Jessica Blackburn-Smith, Fariba Bannerman, Professor Alison Brettle, Marlene Kikteff Rak, Emma J. Ramstead, Judy Wright
- Modelling the Literature Growth of BRICS Countries in the field of Library and Information Science by Juli Devi and Meera
- Integrating Artificial Intelligence Competencies in Academic Libraries: Perceptions of Portuguese Librarians by Luiza Baptista Melo, Tatiana Sanches, Isabel Andrade, Silvana Roque de Oliveira
Go to https://www.qqml-journal.net/index.php/qqml/issue/view/62
Photo by Sheila Webber: forest near Zagreb, September 2026

Manifesto for Generative AI in Higher Education

An interesting open access book was published last month. You can download it or read it online.
Farrell, H. & McCarthy, K. (Eds.) (2026). Manifesto for Generative AI in Higher Education: The Book Project: A living reflection on teaching, learning, and technology in an age of abundance. Pressbooks. https://pressbooks.pub/mfaihe/
It addresses the question "What kind of education do we want to create in a world where GenAI is readily available?" It consists of 30 chapters, each of which is prompted by a manifesto statement (which becomes the chapter title). The chapters I've read are stimulating and good starting points for discussion or action.
I will highlight the chapter coauthored by my longtime writing partner, Bill Johnston:
Johnston, B., MacNeill, S. & Smyth, K. The future classroom is a conversation, and it can be extraordinary. https://pressbooks.pub/mfaihe/chapter/the-future-classroom-is-a-conversation-and-it-can-be-extraordinary/
Photo by Sheila Webber: tree near the cablecar station, Zagreb, I think it's a beech, September 2026

Is there a right age for AI in education?

Livingstone, S., Sylwander, K. R., El Gemayel, S. and Atabey, A. (2026). Is there a right age for AI in education? Deciding whether AI is age-appropriate and why. UNESCO.  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399343 (20 pages)
From the recommendations (p.12) 
"In deciding whether and how to invest in AI resources for early childhood education, primary and secondary education, three priorities are recommended for Ministries of Education and schools:
1. Consider applying the Precautionary Principle (UNESCO, 2005). 
Evidence is lacking for most age groups in most countries regarding the benefits and harms of AI to children. Nonetheless, the current evidence on AI’s impact on children indicates that action may be required to actively avoid or diminish plausible harms. This applies especially to GenAI (including chatbots, AI tutors, mental health bots, companion AI), emotional AI, and biometric and neural-data AI technologies.
"2. Conduct a Child Rights Impact Assessment (Livingstone and Pothong, 2025). Deploy AI in education only when: 
(i) independent evidence shows it benefits learning among the relevant age group; 
(ii) data is processed in ways that are legally compliant, respect children’s privacy, and do not introduce learner safety risks; and 
(iii) it supports the human teacher and their interaction with their students, or it supports students’ learning in ways that do not displace either the teacher or peer collaborative learning. Answers to these questions should be reviewed regularly. In low-income settings, open-source evaluations and regional collaborations could be particularly useful.
"3. Ensure key questions are asked and answered before deployment.
a) Is there prior independent evidence of educational benefit for the target age group? Have developmental risks been evaluated, anticipated and mitigated?
b) Is AI needed for the target age group, compared with non-AI alternatives? Does the tool support or displace the teacher-student relationship and peer learning?
c) How has the proposed AI been meaningfully consulted on with students and teachers? During AI deployment, will children have supported opportunities to question it?
d) Has the AI product been tested independently and locally for children who will use it, ensuring its linguistic and cultural relevance, availability of help, and adaptation for multilingual learners and children with disabilities?" (the references are all in the document)
Photo by Sheila Webber: Narnian lampost in Zagreb, September 2026

Papers from the 2026 Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Presentations from the 2026 Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy are available, linked from within the schedule.
The ones I looked at were powerpoints or posters e.g. Beyond the Buzzwords: Working with Faculty to Create AI-Informed Personal Information Literacy Frameworks (which is proposing scaffolding staff and students to develop their own framework) and Empowering Research Topic Development with Generative AI Prompts - a Pilot study for First-Year Writing Students.
Go to https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2026/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Zagreb cathedral, the spires are under restoration, September 2026

New book: AI for the information professional

A new book, authored by my colleague Dr Andrew Cox:
Cox, A. (2026). AI for the information professional: A critical guide. Facet Publishing. https://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/page/detail/ai-for-the-information-professional/?k=9781783306862
For another couple of days (til 25 September) you can use code SCHOOL50 for 50% off.
The "sample chapter" containing the contents list and introduction is here and if you read this you can see Andrew takes a very interesting and readable approach, so much so that I just bought the book (£25+ postage with the 50% off)
Photo by Sheila Webber: Botanic Gardens, Zagreb, September 2026

Professional Identity, AI and Institutional Change #KRIK

There are short presentations next from the KRIK conference in Zagreb, with the theme of Professional Identity, AI and Institutional Change. As a reminder, the book of abstracts is here https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:131:308294 The actual presentations are only 10 minutes each so I won't be able to liveblog too much!
Firstly, Professional Identity or Institutional Habitus? from Darren Flynn (University College London, UK). He was presenting from his PhD research. He started by talking about professional identity (about which there is a lot of literature, including specifically librarians' professional identity). Professional context, the professional environment and professional socialisation are contributors to professional identity and Flynn refered to a useful review. However, it isn't simple, and Flynn uses Bordieu's idea of habitus in his research - that how people act and perceive in a given setting is based on "predispositions developed in their sociocultural background". Institutional habitus (a concept from Reay's works) looks at "social composition, predispositions and socio-cultural expectations of an institution".
Flynn wanted to investigate the interaction between social class backgrounds and professional identity. The middle class interviewees felt their professional identity did become more of their personal identity over time, and also felt like librarians when they started working as such, also they perceived the profession as a multi institutional broader place. The working class participants were more likely to keep their personal/professional identity, didn't at once "feel like librarians", and also viewed the profession in a more localised way. Flynn argued that the normatised view of professional identity was more the middle class view.

Next there is Understanding Librarians’ Capacity to Teach AI Literacy: A Participatory SWOT Analysis from Alica Kolarić (University of Zadar, Croatia) (presenter), Ivana Martinović (Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia) & Dejana Golenko (University of Rijeka, Croatia). She mentioned the transition of librarians' roles to AI literacy educators, and they wanted to know how Croatian librarians saw themselves in this territory. They used SWOT analysis, gaining their data through workshops, with 90 librarians in total. Strengths are: starting with strong info literacy foundation; teaching capacity (working with various different groups); AI and digital experience and also a readiness to learn and collaborate (including self-reflection, openess). The main weakness prerceived was limited knowledge of AI; some critical and metacognitive gaps; attitudinal issues; organisational constraints. In terms of Opportunities there is: a new educational role; institutional support; professional development (lifelong learning, new tools etc.) and opportunities for collaboration and demand from users.Threats include rapid AI development; resource constraints; changing information environment; and challenges to do with users and ethics. There was also limited recognition of librarians as AI literacy educators.
One of the conclusions is that competencies vary across dofferent library/ user contexts. Another is that librarians are not "starting from zero" and readiness requires building on existing competencies.

Finally in this session, From Awareness to Action: Institutional Readiness of Academic Libraries for Sustainable Development Goals from Branka Marijanović & Ana Marić Turkalj (University of Zagreb, Croatia). They started by introducing the UN SDGs and thinking about what it means to implement them in a specific context, considering how sustainability goals could be implemented. This involves commitment but also needs efficacy (having the resources to do it). They assessed readiness by surveying library managers in 5 categories. They found that commitment is relatively strong, but Strategic Integretion is weak e.g. SDGs are not included in strategic plans. There is also a capacity gap, notably 0% perception of having financial resources to make change.
They have constructed a preliminary maturity model - going from awareness - to emerging integration - to institualised practice - to transformative practice. At the moment the libraries seem to be between awareness and emerging integration (from their survey). They are aiming to tests and develop the model and also develop an evaluation model.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Gulliver mural, Zagreb, September 2026

The Postdigital Condition and Critical AI Literacy #KRIK

Next up from the KRIK conference in Zagreb is the second keynote The Postdigital Condition and Critical AI Literacy, by Mario Hibert (University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina). He talked about a lot of different scholars and ideas, and I most definitely haven't captured all of this in my liveblog. However, hopefully it gives a flavour of some of his ideas.
The first part of his talk focused on postdigital science and the postdigital condition. The postdigital condition concerns structural transformations in human-machine entanglements that have become so common that they can be difficult to perceive, they become invisible. Hibert observed that the term postdigital itself had appeared and disappeared in different disciplines, starting with art and moving to subjects such as media studies and critical pedagogy, taking root in the social sciences and education. The questioning of the postdigital has become part of its interest, and there is no one definition (discussing definitions is one way in which the concept evolves). One of the goals of the postdigital field is to understand the "messy relationships" between technology, society, people etc. 
Negroponte coined the term postdigitality, saying that the digital would become part of life and invisible, just as plastics have become integrated and banal. However Hibert felt that what was not banal was the "normalisation of infrastructural violence" by digital technologies. Digital's normality obscures the control that platforms exercise. Although the digital apparently gives us "what we think we want" it has resulted in trolling, misinformation. Lovink has argued that the internet has reached a point of no return, with people reacting to machine made prompts (rather than creating proactively). Capitalism can leverage these developments to sustain itself.
Hibert went on to talk about psychopolitics with the subjugated not aware of their own subjugation and then he talked about possible ways of de-platforming. Doctorow has argued that the AI financial bubble will burst, however as AI companies have formed such a disproportion of the stock market then there will be a destructive crash. Also, the use of AI for war has proved one of the most "profitable" uses, so it is possible that the uses that will survive will be escalating wars, with economic and social destruction. Parikka has also identified harms in terms of data (cognitive exploitation etc.), labour (exploitation, free labour etc.) and the environment (water etc.).
Moving on to Hibert's own work, this looks at "Unpacking black boxes" and "Uncovering the "inevitable"". This visualises 3 extractive processes on: material resources, human labour and data. He cited the work of Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler, including Joler's website https://extractivism.online and their joint project Calculating empires.
Talking about the unlearning of human cognition (accelarated by AI), he mentioned (among other things) that the PISA 2025 survey showed a decline in both maths and reading. Hibert also mentioned the work of Neil Postman, including that technology education "is a branch of the humanities". He thought that AI Literacy should extend beyond functional competence, with questioning technology as an important part of education. Also there was a need for literacy education to not just be a requirement of the individual, but also including questioning systemic issues, inequalities etc.
Hibert talked about digital backlash, "Contemporary disenchantment with digital information systems and media gadgets" which exists in this postdigital context. He positioned his concept of the postdigital as critical instruction and orientation. It can provide a broader critical orientation through which AI etc. can be examined. Mapping the infrastructues of the digital (digital/AI cartography) can be used to foreground critical engagement with the issues concerned.
Photo by Sheila Webber: hill track by Zagreb, September 2026

Task cards for teaching AI Literacy & AI competence

Faktabaari (a Finnish "digital information literacy and fact-checking service") has published a pdf with 286 "Task cards for teaching AI Literacy & AI competence descriptions for learners " in English.  Each card (a page in the pdf) has an outline of a lesson plan for teaching some aspect of AI Literacy, and there are cards for all levels of education from kindergarten to university (with a lot fewer at university level, but that seems fair). "Each card is based on the principle of AI as supporting tool in which AI can be used to support human thinking, learning and action, not as a source of information or a substitute for decision making."
For example, there is an activity for those age 1-5 "Sometimes the machine does something silly" "Staff show an example in which the machine does something silly or wrong, for example draws an odd picture. Notice together that the machine does not always get it right. Wonder that a picture made by a machine
is not a photograph and is not true, but something the machine has made." (with more tips for the teacher). Each card also makes links to the Finnish national curricula and the OECD AI literacy framework.
The introduction is here https://kivinen.wordpress.com/2026/09/02/task-cards-for-teaching-ai-literacy-ai-competence-descriptions-for-learners/
The pdf is at https://faktabaari.fi/images/ai_task_bank_by_level_en.pdf
Photo by Sheila Webber, taken in Second Life, interior design by me, August 2026. This is not a machine-made picture, as I spent hours choosing and arranging each part of the furnishings and then taking pictures, on the other hand it is entirely virtual. I think it will also be important to think about the difference between "real screenshots" (of virtual worlds, games tec.) and AI-created screenshots.

Recent articles: algorithmic literacy; writing with AI

The latest issue of open-access College & Research ibraries News (Vol 87, No 86) includes:
- Putting Algorithmic Literacy into Conversation with the ACRL Framework: Insights, Ideas, and Innovations by Sarah Morris
- When the Program Becomes the Author: A Librarian’s View from the Threshold by Anna Małgorzata Kamińska (discusses writing and AI)
- AI as Assessment Partner: Practical Applications and Critical Cautions, Part 2 by Becky Croxton, Megan Oakleaf (this is about evaluation of services or programmes, not assessing learning)
Go to https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1701/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: adopt a phone box, August 2026

Critical Thinking Bootcamp 2026: Strengthening AI Literacy

The publishers Sage have made available material from an event held in July 2026: Critical Thinking Bootcamp 2026: Strengthening AI Literacy. It comprises recordings of speakers (all from North America) e.g. The rationality of distrust: Information integrity beyond individualism by Brooklyne Gipson (Rutgers University), and "a crowdsourced list of AI literacy and critical thinking resources, including teaching materials and reading recommendations shared by attendees of the 2026 Bootcamp" (i.e. a list of curated links).
Go to https://www.sagepub.com/our-initiatives/critical-thinking/critical-thinking-bootcamp-2026
Photo by Sheila Webber: lowering weather in North Greenwich, August 2026

AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit for Teaching and Learning

The AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit for Teaching and Learning has just been launched: "an openly licensed and adaptable resource that supports teaching and learning with generative AI through the framework of metaliteracy". The toolkit was developed by Nicola Marae Allain, Tom Mackey, and Eugenio Solis de Ovando, in collaboration with Alena Rodick (Empire State University, USA). The project was funded through a State University of New York (USA) Innovative Instruction Technology Grant. 
There are five modules: metaliterate learner identity; ethical evaluation and production; collaborative and participatory engagement; development as a metaliterate learner; and next steps for continued learning. "The modules include activities, assignments, reflections, rubrics, and supplemental resources" 
There is an introduction here: https://metaliteracy.org/2026/08/28/introducing-the-ai-metaliteracy-oer-toolkit-for-teaching-and-learning/ 
Access the toolkit via this page https://metaliteracy.org/ml-in-practice/how-to-access-the-ai-metaliteracy-oer-toolkit/

Recent articles: AI literacy; infolit as capability; disinformation

- Choi, J. (2026). Reimagining Information Literacy as Capability (ILaC): A Conceptual Framework. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 75(2), 212–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2025.2606647 "The framework distinguishes information capabilities both from skills and practice, clarifies the relationship between informational well-being and informational agency, and integrates normative concerns in IL. "
- Johnston, N., Yerbury, H., & Henninger, M. (2026). Academic Librarians and Information Literacy Practice in an Age of Mis/Disinformation. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 75(2), 321–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2026.2648061 " presents findings from a study exploring Australian academic librarians' concerns about the impact of misinformation and disinformation on society, university students and access to reliable information. "
- Ford, H., Burrell, A., Monin, M., Narayan, B., & Jethani, S. (2026). Hacking AI Chatbots for Critical AI Literacy in the Library. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 75(1), 42–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2026.2614000 "Using a case study of a critical AI literacy intervention in four Greater Sydney libraries, we argue that instead of learning only about how AI works, AI literacy might involve learning when, how, and why AI doesn’t work. "
Photo by Sheila Webber: giant allium seed head, August 2026

Recent articles: infolit of students; digital literacy; trends in AI in higher education; mis/disinformation in election

Some articles from International Information & Library Review (subscription publication):
- Alenezi, F., & Buabbas, H. (2026). Investigating the Level of Information Literacy Skills of Undergraduate Students at the College of Basic Education, Kuwait. The International Information & Library Review, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2026.2717674
- Hussain, A., Ahmad, P., ALZahrani, A. S., & Ahmad, K. (2026). Artificial Intelligence and Information Literacy in Higher Education Institutions: Global Publication Trends and Patterns. The International Information & Library Review, 58(1), 67–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2026.2614894
- Bhoi, S., Jha, V. K., & Kumar, R. (2026). Information Disorder in Democracy: A Thematic Analysis of Mis/Disinformation in the 2024 Indian General Election. The International Information & Library Review, 58(1), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2026.2620350
- Bélanger, A. (2026). In Support of the Continued Role of Libraries in Digital Literacy. The International Information & Library Review, 58(1), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2026.2614244
Photo by Sheila Webber: from the Hungerford footbridge, August 2026

AI for Teaching Guide

Librarians at Kutztown University, USA, have created a LibGuide, AI for Teaching.
It has information about using AI in assignments, AI literacy sessions offered, sources to keep up to date with AI etc. 
Go to  https://library.kutztown.edu/AITeaching

Photo by C Webber: flower on the windowsill, August 2026

Recent articles: Media Literacy; Content Literacy; AI; teaching and assessment

The latest issue of open-access Journal of Media Literacy Education (Volume 18, Issue 2, 2026) includes the following:
- The role of media literacy in shaping campus student leaders’ perceptions of media activism, online risks, and social support by Srividya Ramasubramanian, Minnie S. McMillian, Shumaila J. Bhatti, Shannon Burth, Julius Matthew Riles, Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, and Melody Wilson
- Content literacy in the digital age: Integrating the development of digital language skills into civic education by Cedric Lawida and Ina-Maria Maahs
- Fact-checking in the university: The experience of the ‘Verificatón Electoral’ as a model of teaching innovation by Irene Larraz et al.
- Demographic context of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skills among senior high school students in Ghana by Patience Emefa Dzandza Ocloo, Aurelia Ayisi, Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin, and Annie Oye
-Integrating AI into media analysis projects: Students’ insights on using ChatGPT by Serpil Yalcinalp and Hacer Turkoglu
- How to incorporate media literacy into general education curricula by Dennis O. Frohlich and David Magolis
- Mapping media literacy assessment: A systematic review to connect the dots by Lara Azar, Casey Frechette, Hafsa Zia, and Joy Amulya
- Fostering responsible AI use in communication: An integrated approach to digital literacy education by Omer Keynan, Liron Mishkin Drezner, and Yuval Gozansky
Go to https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol18/iss2/
Photo by Sheila Webber: a nice flat white, August 2026

Information Literacy in Ghana, Bulgaria, Germany and Dubai

One paper from the WLIC conference that tool place in Busan, South Korea, last week and two papers from the IFLA Information Literacy Section satellite meeting to the WLIC conference (they are all short full-text papers): 
- A Case Study of Public Libraries in Ghana: Equipping Students with Critical Information Literacy Skills in the Age of AI and Misinformation by Ugne Lipeikaite and Ramune Petuchovaite https://repository.ifla.org/handle/20.500.14598/7250 
- AI, Misinformation, and Trust in Higher Education: Information Literacy Approaches of University Librarians in Germany and Bulgaria by Munazza Jabeen, Claudia Lux and Marina Encheva. https://repository.ifla.org/handle/20.500.14598/7249 
- Using 360° Tours and AI-Generated Media to Support Inclusive Discovery and Information Literacy by Sayed Mahmoud
Photo by Sheila Webber: no rain on Blackheath for many weeks, August 2026

GAIN: Generative AI literacy and kNowledge Framework Project Report

A report from some of my colleagues here at Sheffield University School of Information, Journalism and Communication, together with authors from the University of Cape Town: 
Cannizzaro, S., Abbott, P., Brooks, L., Mfengu, A., Raju, R. & Wagg, S. (2026). GAIN: Generative AI literacy and kNowledge Framework Project Report. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.32336400
"In this report we present the results of a review-based study of AI literacy guidelines from a select number of British and South African Universities. The objective of this project was to conduct an initial exploration of AI literacy guidelines from an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) perspective across a wide spectrum of institutions in the two aforementioned contexts (UK and South Africa), establishing a foundation for a more systematic and inclusive integration of these principles within broader HEI GenAI policy guidelines. In the report, we provide some observations about distribution patterns of the guidelines across the UK and South Africa, and an outline of the extent to which GenAI literacy training frameworks appear to have incorporated principles around EDI"
Photo by Sheila Webber: fallen cherry blossoms, April 2026

Critical AI

I haven't explored it fully, but there is interesting material on Olivia Guest's Critical AI site: papers, blog posts and videos, and some nice summaries of a few key projects at the foot of the page. Guest co-authored the paper that I blogged a few weeks ago. 
The site includes a link to the Critical AI Literacy (CAIL) project site.  The outputs of that project all look interesting, but my eye was caught by one of the shorter ones entitled To Improve Literacy, Improve Equality in Education, Not Large Language Models. 
Go to https://olivia.science/ai/
Photo by Sheila Webber: the sky this morning

Recordings and presentations from #LILi (Lifelong Information Literacy) conference

The slides and recordings are available for the excellent LILi (Lifelong Information Literacy) conference that took place online in July 2026. The recording links (one recording for each day) are at the top of each day's page, and the slides are linked session by session. There were lots of interesting talks, with both practical examples and ideas to refelect on afterwards (also lively dialogue in chat), and it was one of those conferences that you are sorry has to end. The theme was Artificial Intelligence Meets Information Literacy: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future.
I did a talk at the start of day 2 I think you're talking about information literacy, which had four elements: Why am I not more excited about AI?; The overlap of Information Literacy and Generative AI; My approach to teaching and learning; Generative AI in Information Literacy education - example. I refer back to some of the talks that had been given on day 1 of the conference.
Go to https://lili.libguides.com/lili2026conference/Schedule for the links (the first day is displayed, click on the tab at the top for the 2nd day)

Recent articles: One-shots; Students and AI; Teaching referencing

The latest issue of the Journal of Academic Librarianship (vol 52 issue 4) includes the following (priced, unless it says they are open access):
 - Exploring alternative approaches to the one-shot by Elizabeth Borges, Faith Rusk (open access)
- Teaching citation in the age of generative AI: Rethinking research literacy, academic integrity, and epistemic responsibility by Dag Øivind Madsen, Emmanuel Sirimal Silva (open access)
- ‘I shouldn't be saying this’: Library-based student confessions about AI, cheating, and academic integrity by Sarah T. Zipf, Tiffany Petricini, Steve Borrelli
- University libraries in the age of generative AI: Perceptions and usage among students in developing countries by Bolaji David Oladokun, Diana Atuase, Gloria Tachie-Donkor, Tshepho Lydia Mosweu, Panorea Gaitanou
Go to https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-journal-of-academic-librarianship/vol/52/issue/4 
Photo by Sheila Webber taken in Second Life, July 2026