Libraries Lead!

Episode 52 (Sept 2026): Information Shock!

Every so often the way we make information changes enough that the field built around it must rebuild. It happened after WWII when a flood of scientific data and the digital computer turned librarianship into library and information science. It is happening again. This time the cause is a machine you can talk to. When learning happens inside a conversation, there is no document left to check, and AI literacy runs out of things to grip. Generative AI triggers a major "information shock"—a fundamental disruption on par with the printing press or digital computer that forces fundamental changes in how we create, store, retrieve, use, and evaluate information. Dave makes the case; Beth and Mike push back.

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Episode 51 (May 2026): The Changing Contours of the Information Field

This episode examines the ascent of library science education from the academic periphery to becoming central to the modern university within Information Schools (iSchools). Over the past fifty years, the field has transformed from a niche, single-degree program into broad-based, robust, multi-program iSchool powerhouses with significant research funding and enrollments. But, iSchools exist within universities, and universities today are facing a "perfect storm" of severe enrollment declines ( the 2026 demographic cliff), mounting fiscal pressures, and a shifting cultural landscape. One “solution” taken by some is to merge and consolidate schools and departments. According to recent 2025–2026 data, nearly 20% of university presidents have engaged in serious merger discussions. This is called, the "Great Consolidation." In this episode we examine the implications of this consolidation, and whether it is the right move or misguided in relation to the field, universities, and society.

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Episode 50 (April 2026): Open Doors: Libraries as Sanctuary Space

Libraries aspire to be a place where everyone belongs — and in Episode 50, we explore what that commitment looks like in today's world. Far from simply reaffirming tradition, libraries are actively expanding their roles, From welcoming undocumented community members without fear, to opening their doors to neighbors experiencing homelessness, to providing access and safe spaces for student well-being in schools, libraries are fulfilling their function as true public sanctuaries. At the same time, the reversal of federal protected areas policies has put libraries in a new and uncertain position, with staff navigating real questions about how to keep their doors open and welcoming to all. Library leaders are also navigating the very real tension between serving their most vulnerable patrons and maintaining a safe, comfortable environment where families and community members of all backgrounds feel welcome. We talk policy, we talk heart, and we talk about the librarians and staff who show up every day to make sure no one is turned away.

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Episode 49 (March 2026): It's a Crime! And, that's an INFORMATION Problem.

America's obsession with crime, from Serial to Investigation Discovery marathons, runs deep, and libraries are right there with our patrons, stocking the thrillers and hosting the book clubs. But in Episode 49, Dave, Beth, and Mike ask a harder question: what lies beneath every cold case, wrongful conviction, and uninvestigated crime? The answer, again and again, is an information failure. Witness statements that never get digitized. Rape kit backlogs numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women who vanish from official databases as easily as they vanish from news coverage. Algorithms trained on biased data that tell police where to patrol and judges who to detain. From the Golden State Killer's multi-decade run across jurisdictions that weren't sharing data, to the Nancy Guthrie abduction case and the stark disparities it reveals about whose stories get resources, this episode explores how the architecture of information systems shapes who gets justice, and who gets erased. NOTE: This episode discusses true crime cases and includes discussions of violent crime, sexual assault missing persons cases, and the systematic failures that leave victims and families without justice.

Episode 48 (February 2026): Can Mad Libs be Masterpieces? AI and The Arts!

Some say it’s theft, some call Generative AI a collaborator, many see the underpinnings of AI as simply remixing what is. Yet, the ideas of theft, remixing, and collaboration are all firmly founded in the arts. From pop art to hip hop, the idea of creation through imitation and derivation has a long tradition. Renaissance painters learned and made a living from copying their masters. Song covers like Luke Comb’s Fast Car and, yes, even The Beatles “Twist and Shout” have become more well known than the originals. In this episode we look at AI filling our playlists, our literary magazines, and gulp, even our library shelves. Does an embrace of AI alienate institutions like libraries from their communities, or is it an embrace of a new creative medium? How do you draw the line between AI slop and AI assist?

Episode 47 (January 2026): Life in the Digital Fast Lane: Who's Drivin' and Who's Ridin'?

Let’s stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and look around at the world that we humans have created and that we inhabit. Here’s a snapshot of what it's like to live day to day in 2026 with smartphones, the Internet, Web, AI, social media, augmented reality, and all the other digital systems that we rely on in various aspects of our lives - work, social relationships, entertainment, politics, communications & information. In this episode, we consider the nature, joy and despair and the challenges and opportunities that we deal with every day in the digital age. Are we in control? Are we merely pawns in their game? Are we caught up in mindless compulsions and addictions? Or is this the moment where institutions like libraries can help us become neither victims nor isolated users, but informed communities who collectively decide what these technologies should do for us?"

Special Episode 46 (Dec 15, 2025): Libraries Lead! xInfoversity Crossover Episode- From Collections to Communities: Reimagining Library Education

In this groundbreaking crossover episode, two podcasts (with Syracuse roots) – Libraries Lead and Infoversity – unite to explore the future of library education. Dr. Beth Patin, Associate Professor and newly appointed Program Director for the MS in Library and Information Science program, sits down with Dean Jeff Hemsley for an in-depth conversation about preparing the next generation of information professionals for an uncertain and rapidly changing world. As fellow University of Washington iSchool alumni, Beth and Jeff bring shared values and complementary perspectives to urgent questions facing the profession. How do we balance traditional library foundations with emerging technologies like AI? What does it mean to be "information first responders" in communities facing compounding crises? And how can library education center justice, equity, and community resilience while maintaining technical excellence. Beth shares her vision for the MSLIS program, one that moves decisively from managing collections to building community capacity. Drawing on her award-winning research on epistemicide (the systematic silencing and devaluing of knowledge systems) and her experiences rebuilding libraries after Hurricane Katrina, she makes the case that librarians don't just steward books: they steward what communities remember and forget. In an era of AI hallucinations, misinformation epidemics, and social isolation, libraries matter more than ever as trusted anchors of information access and community connection. The conversation explores concrete initiatives transforming the Syracuse MSLIS curriculum: embedding AI literacy throughout coursework, preparing students for crisis response, developing community partnerships like the 10th Mountain Division archive project, and teaching students to recognize and interrupt epistemic injustice through frameworks like the Sankofa Intervention. Beth introduces key concepts including "parasitic omission" and "beneficent gatekeeping", mechanisms through which knowledge gets systematically excluded from collections and curricula. Jeff and Beth also tackle the AI moment in libraries, discussing Leo Lo's framework for AI literacy. Whether you're considering library school, working in the field, or simply curious about how libraries are evolving to meet 21st-century challenges, this crossover episode offers both inspiration and practical insights into reimagining library education for a world that desperately needs what librarians do best: building informed, engaged, resilient communities.

Episode 45 (December 2025): What’s a Library—And Who is in Charge?

In case we don't have enough to worry about, in May 2025, a Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge dismissed free speech claims in a public library book removal case in Texas. The Court ruled that library collection decisions are “government speech” and therefore not protected by the First Amendment. This is a very very serious ruling. If it stands, there are far-reaching control issues and effects on all types of libraries, education institutions, and communities. The library plaintiffs supported by library administrations, publishers, literary groups, and intellectual freedom advocates have petitioned the Supreme Court of the US to hear the case and hopefully overrule it. In this episode, we explain the issue in-depth, discuss the implications of the case and ruling, and sound the alarm as to why this is so important for libraries and librarians to ensure freedom of information protections in our country.

Bonus Episode 44+: Saskia Scheltjens, Head of Research Services, Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands.

Saskia Scheltjens is the model of the curious information guru. She has worked in the university and museum world in Belgium and the Netherlands, and is currently Head of Research Services at the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands. Her work at the Rijksmuseum has set the standard for accessibility, data management, and creating truly hybrid cultural heritage institutions. In this episode she talks to David about how AI is another tool to manage information, and how a dedication to open access might need to be rethought in an era of generative AI.

Episode 44 (November 2025): It’s Mutual! Communities Supporting Libraries and Libraries Supporting Communities

From natural disasters to social unrest to ongoing political and cultural attacks, libraries have consistently stepped up as safe havens, hubs for reliable information, and anchors of resilience. Yes, communities turn to libraries in moments of crisis. But, libraries too face crises – especially right now when our very mission is threatened. There’s a rising tide of book bans, ideological attacks on intellectual freedom, and the politicization of education. Libraries need community advocacy, trust, and sustained support. It's past time for action – for both libraries and communities! In this live podcast episode at the Library Journal 2025 Directors’ Summit we focus on the relationship between libraries and the communities they serve, especially during troubling times. How can libraries step up even more to provide essential information services and infrastructure - particularly in times of crisis - and to play essential roles in strengthening communities? In turn, how can communities in all settings ensure that the people who lead and sustain these institutions are supported and protected to carry the work forward?

Bonus Episode 43+: Erik Boekesteijn

Erik Boekesteijn, Senior Advisor National Library of the Netherlands, is a self-described Global Library motivator and Library Pirate. In this bonus episode, Dave and Erik talk about story telling and future thinking. Recorded at the AI in Cultural Heritage Institutions September 9, 2025 Meeting.

Episode 43 (October 2025): You Need a Master's Degree to be a Librarian?

Today, we’re diving into a topic that’s near and dear to us: the pathways into librarianship and the broader information professions—the credentials, the professional development, and, honestly, the things we didn’t learn in library school. Right now, higher education is being squeezed from every direction. Financial pressures are mounting with cuts to research and development funding, and uncertainty around international student enrollment is making things even more complicated. This has ripple effects for library and information science degree programs, continuing education, and the critical training we need for support staff who are the backbone of library and information services. We all bring perspectives from both sides of the desk. We’ve been librarians, taught in highly ranked LIS programs, and worked directly with librarians, library staff, and information workers on the ground every day. In this episode, we explore what’s happening on campuses and in libraries, how professional pathways are shifting, and where the future of librarianship and the information field might be headed. Stick around as we unpack the challenges, opportunities, and maybe a few surprises about what it really takes to build and sustain a career in the library and information world.

Bonus Episode (Sept 2025) Aaron Chaote is Director of Research & Strategy, University of Texas Libraries

This semester (Autumn 2025), Dave is teaching a course off AI in Cultural Heritage Institutions. For that he is talking with global experts in libraries and museums about AI and its impact. We offer some of these conversations as bonus episodes, and here’s the first: Aaron Chaote is Director of Research & Strategy at the University of Texas Libraries. He focuses, “on research and innovation in libraries, archives, and museums - working with and studying the impact technology innovations have on systems and services and the people that rely on them.” Aaron and Dave talk about creating AI catalog records with “confidence scores.” The result is (perhaps) better access, but without human validation or sign off. Hmmm...we wonder, will libraries and librarians now have to to accept more randomness and less authority in our work.

Episode 42 (September 2025): Dumb and Dumber: The Year of Being Dumb

There has been an assault on knowledge institutions in the past 8 months. Added to attacks on libraries are attempts to shape and control universities, museums, and federal agencies like the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the National Institutes of Health. Besides executive actions, there have been important judicial decisions that have massive implications for libraries, such as defining libraries as government speech and challenging book banning laws. The goal of these attacks on our knowledge institutions is "enDumbification." "Dumbification" refers to the act or process of making something less informative or someone less intelligent, often to the point of decline in critical thinking skills. The prefix "en-" generally means "in," "into," or "cause to be" indicating a state of being or transformation. In this episode, we dig into this ongoing enDumbification, aka epistemicide, playing out across our cultural and educational institutions. From the Smithsonian framing history through a sanitized, white-centered lens, to school curricula that erase Indigenous, Black, and marginalized perspectives, we’re seeing a dangerous pattern of knowledge destruction. It’s showing up in the surge of book bans targeting authors of color and LGBTQ+ voices, and in political moves from the Department of Education that suppress critical inquiry. We’re also living in a media landscape where celebrity fitness trainers like Jillian Michaels are bizarrely asked by major news outlets to comment on the legacy of slavery, while PragerU’s agenda-driven videos are floated as replacements for trusted information sources like PBS. It's time for us to talk about how we respond when truth itself is under siege.

Episode 41 (May 2025): IMLS The Little Agency That Could

Aughhhh!!! We knew this was coming, but it still hurts – even more. As part of the chain-saw destruction of much of the US federal government, the Institute for Museum and Library Services has been eliminated to the maximum extend of the law and ordered to reduce services and personnel to the minimum required by law. All budget requests from IMLS are rejected except those to shut down the agencies. And yes, the Executive Order usurps the intent of Congress. According to ALA, “[l]ibrary funding draws less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget yet has enormous impact in communities nationwide.” The Libraries Lead team knows this firsthand having received R&D funding from IMLS and through working with libraries of all kinds across the US. It’s a tsunami and the effects are massive. In this episode, we share our disgust and anger at the devastating actions by the Tump administration. This is a gut punch and we need to catch our collective breaths, celebrate this outstanding agency, and then figure out what we can do individually and together to fight back.

Episode 40 (April 2025) March Madness - Info Style

With Dave on vacation, Beth & Mike also take a break from the challenges and issues facing the library & information field. Since both are both avid sports fans and since it’s “March Madness” (college basketball’s post-season extravaganza) time, they build on last month’s “information perspective” by taking a look at the entire phenomenon while wearing their library & information-colored glasses. So, fill out your brackets, grab a beverage and snacks, root for your favorite teams, and join Beth & Mike as they share and challenge each other’s perceptions and predictions.

Episode 39 (March 2025): Looking at the World Through Information-Colored Glasses

All three of us are hopelessly biased. We look at the world through “information-colored glasses.” This means that when we engage in any and all aspects of human life – work, play, learning – we can’t help but consider what’s going on from an information perspective. In any situation or in relation to any “person, place, or thing,” we almost unconsciously begin to identify and ponder the nature and influence of all things information including (but not limited to ) information systems, processes, artifacts, resources, management, behaviors, and ethics. We find this information perspective to be incredibly valuable and interesting as we try to make sense of “life, the universe, and everything else.” We’ve studied, taught, presented, and applied an information perspective in many many settings. Therefore, in this episode of the Libraries Lead podcast, we share the information perspective in terms of what, why, and how it may be useful for you too to put on “information-colored glasses.”

DeepSeek AI Watch Feb 2025 Episode 38 bonus

From the Libraries Lead Podcast - February 2025, AI Watch Segment. In this 12 minute video, Dave Lankes explains why DeepSeek is such a big deal. Then, he blows our minds by demonstrating how DeepSeek works and maybe even ... thinks(?) because DeepSeek includes its "chain of thought reasoning and prompting" as it answers questions. Take a look and listen for "under-the-hood" insights into DeepSeek and other AIs. Audio only is available here. For the full video of this bonus episode, please go to - https://librarieslead.libraryjournal.com/2025/02/02/ai-watch-feb-2025-deepseek/

Episode 38 (Feb 2025): Stop Calling Them Customers!!

Library & information science for decades has focused on the “user” perspective in systems and services. This includes HCI (human-computer interaction), interfaces, features in search and catalog systems, and ways of improving services (e.g., online/chat reference, maker spaces, events). We provide systems, resources, and services and users use them. Furthermore, "users (or customers) know best," so we should develop and improve systems primarily through user feedback. But maybe it’s time to move on from piecemeal innovations or improvements for customers, and consider people as whole persons and their places in "community." A customer orientation implies short-term interactions while people in communities are there for the long haul. In this episode, the Libraries Lead team considers this alternative approach and discusses what this might look like for all types of libraries as well as the major information and social media systems used extensively today.

Episode 37 (Jan 2024): Show Me the $$

In the beginning … of our dot com digital age (roughly from the late 1970s) … there was a expectation that information and computer technology (ICT) would be a boon to society. Technology could be liberating rather than oppressing. The hope was that new products and services (e.g., personal computers, the Internet, the WWW, search engines, smart phones, social media) would lead to a more equitable, open, and free society. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Instead, the pervasive goal in ICT became monetization—to make a buck and to maximize profits as much and as quickly as possible. In this episode we’re not going to argue whether this is good or bad thing. We accept that the dominant characteristic in ICT was and still is the drive for commercial triumph. And with an information economy estimated to be around $5.5 trillion today (and growing), there is success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Instead, we want to examine the implications of all this profit-seeking in the information sector. We’ve become aware of a disturbing trend: the decline of the quality in online products and services over time. This phenomenon is described in a Wikipedia entry as “Enshittification” where vendors and entrepreneurs initially “create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders.” How big of a concern is enshittification in relation to the nature and quality of information resources and services in the commercial and public sectors? And of course, do we see this trend in the library world as well?