The March 2026 issue of the open-access journal Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL, a publication of the American Library Association’s Core division) is now available. This issue contains the following peer-reviewed articles:
Librarian Leadership in the Age of AI, by Jeremiah Rood, Librarians have managed and lived through many seismic shifts brought by technology. How should librarian leaders approach the coming anticipated AI workforce disruption?
Refusal as Instruction, by Hannah Cyrus, This column explores the ways in which library workers can better align technology use and instruction in library settings with library values, through championing the refusal of technologies that conflict with values like privacy and intellectual freedom. Drawing on experiences with individual patron instruction, class design, and passive programming, the author shares practical steps for helping patrons to understand and fight back against exploitation by digital technologies. Rejecting the myth that any technology is “neutral,” the column argues that libraries as values-driven organizations have a role to play in facilitating patrons’ rejection of technology, just as much as in their adoption of it.
Navigating the Future of Library Systems, by Sean Carte, In 2024, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Library conducted a comprehensive review of its library system to assess whether its current platform, Future of Libraries Is Open (FOLIO) hosted by EBSCO, and its discovery tool, EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), aligned with its evolving needs.
How Many Public Computers in the Library?, by Scott Goldstein, Computer workstations have been an integral part of libraries of all types since the 1980s, but the optimal number of workstations that should be deployed in a space has not been directly studied in the last 20 years. During that time, laptop computer and other mobile device ownership has continued to increase, and there is some reason to think that behaviors and preferences first seen during the recent coronavirus 2019 pandemic have further shifted how students use public desktop computers in libraries.
Making Access Possible, by Carly Garzón Vargas, This paper explores the impact of digital initiatives on access services workers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and draws on the expertise and experience of non-librarian titled staff operationalizing “digital first” policies. Digital initiatives have been strongly prioritized by libraries to promote equitable access, cost-effectiveness, and technological growth at many libraries in California. The term digital initiatives commonly refers to efforts that support the creation, preservation, access, discovery, and use of digital library resources. This term can encompass multiple interpretations and a variety of tasks.
An Analysis of Revisions to OAIS and the “Designated Community” in Digital Preservation, by Nathan Moles, In digital preservation, the concept of a “Designated Community” from the Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS) is used to articulate the group or groups of prospective users for whom information is preserved. Concerns have been raised about this concept and its potential implications. However, OAIS has recently undergone a major revision. This study examines the extent to which these revisions address or mitigate concerns regarding the Designated Community. Issues from the literature are grouped into three areas: the concept’s implementation, its potential misapplication, and its incompatibility with the mandates of institutions that serve broad and diverse communities. Major changes related to the Designated Community are identified and considered in relation to these issues. The analysis reveals that the revisions productively contribute to concerns in the first two areas but fail to address the third. The conclusion is that the process of revising OAIS has not drawn from insights into this topic in the literature.
Metadata for Storytelling, by Emily Baldoni, This article describes a case study in which a small metadata team at Illinois State University Milner Library produced a digital humanities project supporting Collections as Data (CAD) and linked data principles. Despite initial sparse descriptive content, the team recognized great potential for experimentation in a significant World War I archival collection to highlight lesser-known stories, including those of the Pioneer Infantry, women, and noncombatants. Discussion focuses on the strategic approaches in creating granular but scalable metadata for the large digital collection, and application of the data with various tools such as ArcGIS and Wikidata to construct interactive data visualizations, mapping, and digital storytelling for the Illinois State Normal University World War I Service Records collection. The article argues that even institutions without a dedicated CAD initiative can incrementally implement principles from the CAD model to add value to their digital collections. The authors first presented the project in 2024 at the Digital Library Federation Forum and the American Library Association Core Forum.
Automatic Classification of Subjects and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Documents with Generative AI, by Francisco Tadeu Gonçalves de Oliveira Foz, This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Artificial Intelligence for Theme Generation tool (original Portuguese acronym name: IAGeraTemas), developed with generative artificial intelligence (AI; Google Gemini), for automating thematic classification and the assignment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in documents. The methodology combined quantitative analyses (metrics of precision, recall, and accuracy) on 50 articles published by authors from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), using classification from the SciVal database and qualitative analyses (analysis of the relevance of terms indexed by librarians from the Unicamp Library System in 40 articles available in the Unicamp Institutional Repository), comparing them with manual indexing performed by librarians.
Connecting the Dots, by Ms Ee Min Hoon (Min), The National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore has made significant strides in leveraging data to enhance public access to its extensive collection of physical and digital resources. This paper explores the development and implementation of the Singapore Infopedia Widget, a recommendation engine designed to guide users to related resources by utilizing metadata and a Linked Data Knowledge Graph. By consolidating diverse datasets from various source systems and employing semantic web technologies such as Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Schema.org, NLB has created a robust knowledge graph that enriches user experience and facilitates seamless exploration.
From Card Catalogs to Semantic Search, by Carolyn Caizzi, The first phase of the Reimagining Discovery project at Harvard Library sought to address the challenge of fragmented search experiences of special collections materials using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as embedding models and large language models (LLMs). The resulting platform, Collections Explorer, simplifies and enhances the search experience for more effective special collections discovery. The project team took a user-centered and trustworthy approach to implementing AI, grounding the choices of the platform in user empowerment and librarian expertise. The development process included extensive user research, including interviews, usability testing, and prototype evaluations, to understand and address user needs.
