Libfocus Link-out for September 2025

Welcome to the September edition of the Libfocus link-out, an assemblage of library-related things we have found informative, educational, thought-provoking and insightful on the Web over the past while.

Images from this month's link-out articles

Scholarly Publishing Won’t Be Saved by Incremental Change.

In Katina, Melissa H. Cantrell and Lauren Collister discuss the (rocky) evolutionary path of library-publishers agreements and point out the wicked problems of the scholarly publishing system, reasoning that, finally, radical action should be taken. "We see one way to solve the wicked problem and escape the moribund ecosystem: deliberate acts of resistance and refusal by academic researchers and faculty."

How Libraries Stand the Test of Time.
In this JSTOR article Maria Papadouris reminds us that, for millennia, the core mission of libraries to curate, provide and democratise information has endured. "If knowledge is power, then it’s no wonder libraries have become spaces of struggle and social inclusion."

Explore urgent issues through open access reading.
This post by Bristol University Press and Policy Press offers a selection of open access books and articles tackling some of the key global social challenges of our time - from climate grief and AI ethics to food insecurity, migration and political representation.

Who Controls Knowledge in the Age of AI?
This article is by Amy Brand, Dashiel Carrera, Katy Gero, Susan Silbey for the Scholarly Kitchen. They report widespread concern about the unlicensed use of in-copyright scientific and scholarly publications for AI training. A survey found that most authors are not opposed to generative AI, but they strongly favour consent, attribution, and compensation as conditions for use of their work.

Supporting Governance, Operations, and Instruction and Learning Through Artificial Intelligence: A Survey of Institutional Practices and Policies 2025.
A WCET report examining how higher education institutions are adopting and governing AI.

The Vital Role of Sustainability in Academic Libraries.
A blog post from Sarah Tribelhorn for ARL Views discussing various sustainable practices academic libraries can engage in and how to go about it

Google Scholar is Doomed.
On her weblog Hannah Shelley leads us through the Google Graveyard. Digital tombstones mark products that millions of people once relied on including Google Reader (2005-2013), once the premier RSS/Atom feed subscription service and Google Notebook (2006-2011), the early research organisation tool. 297 products currently rest in this graveyard, each representing someone's essential workflow that stopped working one day. She predicts that Google Scholar is heading straight for this graveyard, and that academia is not prepared.

Alberta needs to 'take a step back' on book bans: library association.
In this short CBC news clip, Laura Winton, vice-chair of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations, talks about the Alberta government's book ban. She explains the impact of their removal on the children's ability to think critically about literature in schools.

Richard Ovenden, Oxford's librarian on Donald Trump's war against knowledge (Podcast).
Donald Trump is fighting a war against knowledge. In his second term, he has fired the Librarian of Congress and the Archivist of the United States, and government websites have been altered to remove facts about climate change and Black history. Haven't we seen this kind of war against knowledge before?

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones.
Jacob Krupa for The Guardian looks at the launch of a new library in a Polish Metro Station that aims to get commuters off their phones and to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world war.

Books by Bots: Librarians Grapple with AI Generated material in collections.
Reema Saleh writes for American Libraries Magazine on the appearance AI generated materials in collections, librarians reactions, and the presence, or lack thereof of policy to address AI generated materials in collections.

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Prison Education Programme

Guest post by Helen Fallon. 

It’s almost three years since I retired from my post as Deputy Librarian at Maynooth University Library, having worked there for 22 years.  Prior to that I worked at Dublin City University (DCU) Library.  While at DCU I took a career break and spent two years with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) teaching librarianship at the University of Sierra Leone.  This was a wonderful experience and gave me a real insight into how difficult it is to provide library services in a country where a book frequently costs a week’s wages or more. I’ve written about that experience (Fallon, 1994, 2003, 2006, 2017) and maintained a real interest in libraries in Africa. I  feel very strongly that libraries underpin education, which is key to development in African countries.   

 At the moment I am involved in a project to help develop a prison library in Malawi, in South East Africa, one of the poorest countries, in the world. I got involved in this through my sister’s  brother-in-law, Fr. Martin Reilly, who has worked there for a number of years. He is based in Mzuzu, the main city of the northern region and is actively working with various projects including the Prison Education Programme in the local Mzuzu Prison Service. Schools were established in Mzuzu Prison in 2003 for both men and women, and aim to give people the opportunity to create a better life when they are released. Some people cannot read or write so both primary and secondary education is provided. The programme also  offers the possibility of public university education, with successful candidates from Mzuzu Prison recently selected to study at Mzuzu University.  

Providing library and related resources presents major challenges, including lack of teaching and learning materials like textbooks, chalk, exercise books, pens and paper.  Nevertheless there have been significant achievement including admission of both female and male prisoners into various public universities and colleges; a number of  prisoners have learned to read and write; people have found jobs after release and importantly education gives prisoners a sense of achievement and self-worth.  

I  am raising funds to buy much needed books and other resources for the libraries in the male and female schools. I am working with Samuel Mwandira (Prison education coordinator), Fumbani Gondwe (prison chaplain) and Fr. Martin Reilly (St. Patrick’s missionary Society, Kiltegan, Co.Wicklow).  To date over €2,000 has been contributed and this has been used to purchase books. Some images are included. 

A book, which can be sourced locally, costs approximately €20. Please contact me on helenfallon@gmail.com, if you are interested in sponsoring a book. 

Margaret Shaba, Shop Assistant with
Fumbani Gondwe, Prison Chaplain in local shop

Samuel Mwandira,  Prison education co-ordinator   
with some of the new books purchased with Irish donations

 Rose Chitowe, Restorative Justice Facilitator, Fumbani Gondwe,
Prison Chaplain, Samuel Mwandira,  Prison education
co-ordinator in the Library

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