The latest in ACRL's Keeping up with ... series is Keeping up with ... AI Ethics. As usual it is just a few pages, summarising issues and with references/links. Go to https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/ai_ethics Image created by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI, November 2025

ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) has published AI Competencies for Academic Library Workers following approval by the ACRL Board of Directors in October 2025. Go to https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ai?_zs=SUvvg1&_zl=RQfQA Another AI-related read is: Ball, E. (2025, October 20). Teaching AI as an Anti-AI Librarian. ACRLog.  https://acrlog.org/2025/10/20/teaching-ai-as-an-anti-ai-librarian Photo by Sheila Webber: fallen gingko leaves, Amsterdam, November 2025

The ACRL Instruction Section Teaching Methods Committee has a call for proposals for a presentation at their 2026 Virtual Forum. "The hour-long forum will be held in spring with the exact date to be determined based on availability of the speaker(s)." Deadline for proposals is 5 January 2026. It will consist of a 45-minute presentation followed by 15-minute Q&A. The event is free to participants. The presentation should "showcase innovative teaching methods, assessment, and theoretical approaches. Past topics include critical race pedagogy, gendered labor and instruction, visual literacy, and assessment." Past events are listed on the Instruction Section website. Only one proposal will be selected. The proposal form is at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbkIIKU4ZDMTaD11vsxSZ3syY4GMfzjDtHWTT3cnHocrF-6Q/viewformPhoto by Sheila Webber: take a book, Amsterdam, November 2025

The ACRL Instruction Section wants nominations of Online Learning Objects which "may include online modules/tutorials, videos, podcasts, or other relevant media created or substantially updated within the past five years". This is for the Featured Online Learning Objects (FOLO) project (which replaces the previous PRIMO project) which highlights high quality online IL learning materials. Nominations are due by 11 January 2026. Go to https://acrl.ala.org/IS/is-committees-2/committees-task-forces/folo/ Photo by Sheila Webber: late autumn branches, Amsterdam, November 2025

The Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARLG) is funding 2 bursaries for the LILAC conference, one for a Further Education libraran and one for a Higher Education librarian. Closing date is 21 November 2025. The bursaries will include three days at the conference and social events. They also include up to £250 in expenses for reasonable travel and accommodation. To apply for the ARLG bursaries you must be a current CILIP member - if selected, you will be asked to provide your membership details to confirm this. You apply via the LILAC conference website https://www.lilacconference.com/register You need to register for the LILAC conference site (or login if you are already registered - if you attended LILAC in the past few years you will be already registered). (1) Register / Login (2) Select MY ACCOUNT (3) Scroll down the page to "Bursary applications are now open and will close on 21 November 2025" where the individual bursaries are listed.

There is a call for proposals for the 2026 Critical Approaches to Libraries Conference (CALC) which will take place online during the week beginning 11 May 2026. CALC has a two-part process with the stage 1 (which is the call open now) reserved for sessions led by presenters who experience under-representation and/or marginalisation in libraries, academia or traditional library conferences. The closing date for stage 1 proposals is 19 December 2025 at 23.59 GMT (UK time). A second unreserved call for proposals will open in January 2026. There is more information at https://sites.google.com/view/calcconference/call-for-papers including a guide to writing proposals and the form to submit session proposals. There is a short explanation about the scope of the conference at https://sites.google.com/view/calcconference/about/what-is-critical-library-practice Questions or queries can go to calcconference@gmail.com Photo by Sheila Webber: Frederik Hendrikplantsoen in Amsterdam, November 2025

On 10 December 2025 11.00-12.00 noon US Pacific time (which is 19.00-200.00 GMT) there is a free webinar in the LILi Show and Tell series: Information Literacy Instruction on Grad Course Materials presented by information literacy expert Esther Grassian. "This session will focus on explaining the definitions and history of information literacy. Along with planning, developing, designing, and evaluating information literacy and brainstorming ideas for updates on current and future instructions. The goals are to: "review the shared UCLA Information Literacy Instruction (ILI) course materials to understand their overall structure, purpose, and pedagogical approach; Explore strategies and models for planning, designing, developing, and evaluating effective information literacy instruction." The session will include learning how to design, develop, and evaluate information literacy interventions and sharing ideas for updating the UCLA materials (which have CC: BY-NC-SA licenses) for current and future needs. Information and link to the online session at https://lili.libguides.com/showandtell/home Photo by Sheila Webber: canal in Amsterdam, November 2025.

A couple of free webinars from the ESRC Digital Good network (that's a UK-funded research network): - Digital good from the South: 3 December 2025 at 14.00-15.00 GMT. Speakers: Padmini Ray Murray (Design Beku), Alex Cosmo de Mesquita (NGO Thydêwá), Parag Bhatnagar (Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora) - Digital health: the digital good in low-resource settings in Africa. 25 February 2026 at 14.00-15.00 GMT. Speakers: Bronwyn Harris and team Go to https://luma.com/digitalgoodnetwork?k=c Image created by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI with the prompt: an abstract image of a network in greens yellows reds, the background is warm and light

The latest issue of the open access journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, Vol. 20 No. 3 (2025), includes: - Feel Good Incorporated: Using Positively Framed Feedback in Library Instruction Course Evaluations Using a Survivorship-Bias Lens by Benjamin Grantham Aldred - "We Don't Like Unanswered Questions”: Information Practices of Students Transitioning to Clinical Education by Nena Schvaneveldt ("Students’ information practices are characterized by three themes. They are motivated to build competency to provide patient care; they operate in dual roles as student and clinician; and they navigate ambiguity, uncertainty, and doubt. They were able to describe the way they experienced information, problems they solved, and the development over time." - Government Information Use by First-Year Undergraduate Students: A Citation Analysis by Sanga Sung, Alexander Deeke Go to https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.php/EBLIP/issue/view/1974 Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn roses, October 2025

There is a call for proposals for the free online 54th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science, taking place 22-26 Junew 2026, which has the theme Information in Repair. It is hosted by conference organizers at the University of British Columbia School of Information. Deadline (for extended abstracts) is 31 January 2026. "This year’s theme, “Information in Repair,” centers the maintenance and reparative work that is always required, but rarely lauded, across information systems. Scholarly attention and resources are often directed towards the new and novel, the conceptualization and design of innovative systems and interventions. This tendency risks ignoring opportunities to learn from the vast amount of knowledge, practice and technical expertise that goes into monitoring, adjusting, and navigating changes within critical, long-term components of longer-term/ongoing/continuing information systems. We are particularly interested in information science perspectives on practices of disposability or reuse, of reparative work, and theories of repair. We invite creative and expansive views of what is being repaired and maintained, as well as exploration of repair itself as information work." Topics that are relevant include Information seeking and behaviour; Information literacy and education; Information policy and ethics. Go to https://cais2026.ca/call-for-papers/ (English) or https://acsi2026.ca/call-for-papers/ (French)

The next LIS Pedagogy Chat is on 21 November 2025 at 14.00 US EST (which is 19.00 GMT, UK time), free online. The topic is Teaching Across Borders: What LIS Research Tells Us About Library Instruction Geared Toward or About Immigrant and International Groups. "Join us for a conversation about three different types of LIS pedagogy: instructing college students of immigrant or international heritage, teaching English-learning adults in public libraries, and training LIS professionals to effectively engage with immigrant communities. While we are careful to avoid homogenizing groups, there are transferable lessons from each instructional context." Register at: https://www.lispedagogychat.org/schedule-registration "LIS Pedagogy Chat is a community of practice for faculty and professionals who teach in LIS" (library and information services).

A new UNESCO 80-page publication:  UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Shanghai Open University & Institute for the Future of Education. (2025). Bridging the grey digital divide: enhancing ICT learning for older adults; research report. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396040 ISBN: 978-92-820-1261-1 Photo by Sheila Webber: autumnal tree in the park, November 2025.

The latest issue of the open access IFLA Journal (vol. 51 no. 3) focuses on Artificial Intelligence and libraries. It includes (among other articles on AI/libraries):  - Skills and AI literacy of engineering students by Thuy Thanh Bui, Son Hong Do and Ly Dieu Din - Facing the era of generative artificial intelligence: Strategies of information and digital literacy in Chinese studies by Bing Wang, Cecilia Zhang, Khamo and Shuqi Ye  - AI literacy guidelines and policies for academic libraries: A scoping review by Muhammad Yousuf Ali and Joanna Richardson  - Student satisfaction with artificial intelligence chatbots in Ethiopian academia by A Subaveerapandiyan, S Radhakrishnan, Neelam Tiwary and Sisay Mulate Guangul  - Exploring the potential of artificial intelligence usage in the knowledge and evidence services of a public health body: A working group approach by Zalaya Simmons, Charlotte Bruce, Samuel Thomas, Patricia Lacey, Wendy Marsh, Scott Rosenberg and Daphne Duval  Go to https://repository.ifla.org/items/b8ea2089-3bfa-4a6c-bdb9-36f0c830edbc  Photo by Sheila Webber: South London house, October 2025

IFLA is encouraging library and information professionals to provide information about their work in countering  mis- and disinformation. The United Nations (UN) Department of Global Communications is collecting information on activities which could be said to contribute to the Suistainable Development Goals (SDGs). Deadline for submissions is 31 December 2025.  "Are you working on topics advancing the role of information in achieving the SDGs? Are you working on helping library professionals and users counter mis- and disinformation related to climate, peace and justice, health, or any of the other topics covered by the goals?" "Describe your action, its goals, methods and target audience. Indicate if its planned, ongoing or completed. Is your action research oriented, building public awareness, Media and digital literacy training, or something else? Share the primary focus area. Indicate which SDG(s) it targets Your input will contribute to a cataloguing of activities that help showcase good practices, share achievements, identify gaps and inform policy guidance."  Go to this page and follow the link https://www.ifla.org/news/are-you-addressing-mis-disinformation-and-the-sdgs-share-your-actions-with-the-un/ Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn branches and sun, October 2025

The AI Moment in Libraries: What It Means for Our Profession Tuesday is a webinar on 11 November 2025 at 17.00 to 18.00 GMT. The panel consists of  Beth Patin (moderator), Leo Lo, David Lankes, Sanda Erdelez, and Jeff Saltz. "As AI reshapes information access and discovery, libraries face critical choices about technology, equity, and community trust." the panel will "explore how libraries can navigate AI implementation while staying true to core values of access, privacy, and service to all communities." Further information at https://events.syracuse.edu/event/the-ai-moment-in-libraries-what-it-means-for-our-profession Photo by Sheila Webber: more of my Red Devil apples, October 2025

The latest issue of open access College & Research Libraries News (volume 86 issue 10) includes:  - Richard M Cho - Information in the Age of Infocracy: Recalibrating the Definition of Information for Library Instruction.  - Collin Stephenson - It Will Go Wrong: Reflections on Growing through Failure as an Instructional Partner.  - Mary Aycock - Prompting Generative AI to Catalog: The Promise and the Reality (I know, this isn't about IL)  Go to https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1686/showToc Photo by Sheila webber: apples from my tree (variety Red Devil), October 2025

The Reference Librarian plans a special issue "addressing how instruction librarians manage their information literacy and liaison programs while adapting to budget cuts and changes in organizational structures."  Deadline for 500 word proposals is 19 December 2025. Submit proposals via https://harrisburgu.libwizard.com/f/_wrefSP2526.  Questions can be directed to co-editors Lauri Rebar (Lrebar@fau.edu) and Christine Bombaro (cbomb22@gmail.com). Photo by Sheila Webber: a sturdy tree in autumn, October 2025

A book I missed posting  Santamaría, M. & Pfannenstiel, A.N. (2024). Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework. ALA. Price: ALA Member US $45.00; others US $50.00. 979-8-89255-545-6.  The sections are: Social Media and Information Literacy; The [ACRL] Framework, Social Media, and Empowered Educators; Lesson Plans Within Social Media to Develop Information Literate Citizens; Creativity and Ethics as Key Components of Metaliteracy.  Go to https://alastore.ala.org/information-literacy-and-social-media-empowered-student-engagement-acrl-framework  There is a review of the book just published in College & Research Libraries at  https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/27051/34930

The ALA Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) is calling for nominations for the LIRT Librarian Recognition Award (which recognises a practicing librarian's contributions to information literacy education) and the LIRT Innovation in Instruction Award (presented to a library for its innovative approach to information literacy education). Submissions can be from any type of library.  Winners will receive a US $1,500 award for Librarian recognition or US $2,000 for Innovation in Instruction and  US $1,000 stipend to be used to attend the 2026 ALA Annual Conference. Deadline is 15 January 2026.  You can self-nominate for either award, and it does not say that the awards are restricted to people/libraries in the USA (though all the ones listed from 2014 were in the USA - but perhaps there weren't enough applicants from elsewhere!)  Full information at http://www.ala.org/rt/lirt/awards Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaves, October 2025

The Central Library, Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research (IISER) (Berhampur, India) has organised a free webinar Information Literacy: Still powered by humans on 4 November 2025 at 10.30 GMT. The opening address will be by Professor Ashok K. Ganguli (IISER) and the speaker is Dr Alison Hicks (University College, London), Editor in Chief of the Journal of Information Literacy. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/57BJ1zV7QSq8Hs6hGssKcQ Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn day, October 2025

In UNESCO's Global Media and Information Literacy week, the AI and Digital Transformation in Government Course is launched, created by the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and UNESCO. It is free online, in English and Spanish (starting on 10 November 2025) with courses in French, Portuguese and Arabic to follow. Successful completion will give a Joint certificate from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and UNESCO. The modules are: AI & Human Rights, Ethics, Data Governance, Inclusive Service Design, Leadership and hands-on experience with Generative AI tools. The course is aimed at civil servants and public administration professionals at all levels. Go to https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equipping-civil-servants-ai-era

UNESCO launched a campaign AI Can Make Mistakes on 24 October as part of Global Media and Information Literacy Week. This is a short compilation video 

UNESCO, as part of Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week, has published an 18-page report comparing e.g. policy about MIL in different regions. It is not clear how the research was gathered (from my personal experience I think they circulated a questionnaire, and assume they did desk research). There is a press release which states among other things that "According to the research, 171 countries reference MIL within national policy frameworks, signalling growing political recognition of its importance. However, only 17 countries have taken the next step to develop dedicated, standalone MIL policies, a key factor linked to more systematic integration of MIL into education. Overall, 43% of countries have incorporated elements of MIL into formal education, while 29% offers MIL education limited to technical digital skills, neglecting critical thinking, analysis, and ethical engagement."  The publication can be downloaded here:  UNESCO. (2025). Media and information literacy for all: closing the gaps: global analysis of the current state of play of media and information literacy https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396030