Developing RDM expertise: A Librarian’s Review of the Introduction to Data Stewardship Micro-Credential

This guest post is by Margaret Irons, Librarian, School of Celtic Studies, 

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5589-5601 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelly-irons/

Figure 1: Data Management Plan. The Turing Way project illustration by Scriberia

Good data governance is a core component of high quality research. Researchers are now being asked to produce robust DMPs (data management plans), to comply with funder requirements, apply FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles, select appropriate repositories and ensure that research outputs remain accessible, secure and reusable.  

As librarian at Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, RDM (research data management) has become an important part of the library’s contribution to research excellence, open scholarship, institutional policy, funder requirements, data and metadata management and compliance.

If you are increasingly being asked to assist with and advocate for RDM or Open Research best practice, and you are looking for formal accredited training whilst also working full-time, then look no further than the Sonraí DH5001 Introduction to Data Stewardship micro-credential which meets these challenges head-on, with a thoughtfully designed programme that is both academically rigorous, seriously practical and conveniently accessible for busy professionals.

Figure 2: Sonraí Irish Data Stewardship Network logo

Micro-credentials are accredited courses available to improve skills you already have or to develop new skills in relevant emerging areas. Delivered by Sonraí, the Irish Data Stewardship Network, and hosted by University College Cork, this thoroughly practical level 9 micro-credential provides an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to RDM and data stewardship. Delivered in a flexible hybrid format over 13 weeks it is aimed not only at current and aspiring data stewards but also at researchers, research support staff, librarians, knowledge managers, research administrators and technical staff supporting research infrastructure.

Figure 3: University College Cork logo

Over thirteen weeks, myself and the 25 or so other students on DH5001, engaged with topics including research data and data stewardship, data management planning, metadata and organisation, data curation and preservation, FAIR principles, policy and compliance, rights and licensing, ethics and governance, and GDPR. Guest lectures provided valuable real-world perspectives on subjects such as Open Research, reproducibility, research security, copyright and licensing, and research ethics.

The course delivery method is particularly effective for working professionals. Lectures and guest presentations are recorded and released alongside transcripts, slide decks and comprehensive reading lists, making the course highly accessible and flexible. I particularly enjoyed the optional online Q&A sessions hosted by the Sonraí team, which offered an informal and supportive environment for all students, whilst also knowing that the Sonraí team were available regularly via email to answer any questions. I also enjoyed the timed release of each module on a weekly basis which helped to keep me working at a steady pace and on schedule.

The course is assessed through a combination of practical assignments and online learning activities. Continuous assessment consists of the completion of an initial version of a data management plan, followed by a final revised research data management plan. Between the first and the final assignment I could really see how my expertise in the area had developed and I now feel even more qualified to offer advice to researchers in my home institution.

In addition, participants complete six online e-tivities in the form of self-assessment exercises and discussion board contributions, which encourage reflection, engagement with course content, and peer learning. These online self-assessment exercises, offered insights into other students’ interesting and varied projects and also offered a supportive forum for learning and expansion of knowledge through active engagement.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course, not only as a professional development opportunity but also because RDM and open research have become a professional passion of mine and to be able to practically expand my knowledge around the subject was both rewarding and exciting. Combining critical thinking with a directly relevant and comprehensive course was both stimulating and challenging in equal measure. It was definitely a bonus to be able to develop my expertise without the added commitment of undertaking another Postgraduate Degree or Masters.

The Sonraí team should be commended for developing and delivering such a high-quality programme. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Dr Aoife Coffey, whose dulcet lecturing tones became something of an unexpected highlight of the course. Aoife’s lecturing style is enthusiastic, engaging, and calming all at once. The programme was enriched by the contributions of many excellent Sonraí lecturers and a diverse range of guest speakers, all of whom brought valuable expertise and perspectives.

In a time where institutions, funders, and publishers increasingly expect robust data practices, this course has further equipped me with skills that are immediately transferable and professionally valuable. I believe this micro-credential represents an important advancement in the professional development landscape for data stewards nationally and it offers the opportunity to remain relevant in rapidly evolving research data management environment.

The next intake to the course will be January 2027 and registration will open in the autumn. Follow Sonraí on LinkedIn for further information.

Acknowledgements:

• I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to refine my original text and to correct spelling and grammar.
• Thank you to The Registrar, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies for providing funding to participate in this course.

References:

1. UCC Micro-credentials courses https://www.ucc.ie/en/dh5001/
2. Sonraí – The Irish Data Stewardship Network https://datastewards.ie/
3. The Turing Way Data Management Plans https://book.the-turing-way.org/reproducible-research/rdm/rdm-dmp/
4. Data Management Plan. The Turing Way project illustration by Scriberia. Zenodo. The Turing Way Community & Scriberia (2024) https://zenodo.org/records/13882307
5. Coffey, A., Joy, C., Hayes, A., McCabe, G., O'Dwyer, L., McCarney, E., Clarke, R., Madden, F., Stokes, D., Quinn, C., Dalton, M. and Noonan, E. (eds.) (2025) Navigating Open Research - A guide for early career researchers. CONUL Research Group. https://doi.org/10.33178/10468/17586
6. National Action Plan for Open Research https://norf.ie/national-action-plan/

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Literacy for the future: Review of the LIR Annual Seminar 2026

This guest post is by Cathal Madigan, Library Assistant at TU Dublin.

On Wednesday May 13th, 2026, I had the privilege to attend the LIR Annual Seminar 2026. Hosted in the ASIERA Offices in Dublin and recorded over MS Teams, the Seminar had a theme of “Supporting Emerging Literacies,” and asked the question of how libraries design and deliver new literacy programmes. The presentations had a shared idea of literacy, with each presenter showcasing how libraries could hope to use these programmes to bolster services and assist clients.

LIR Group logo, from LIR Group website

The Seminar opened with a keynote from Dr Andrew Cox, Senior Lecturer at the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, University of Sheffield. Focusing on the emerging use cases of AI and how librarians could integrate it, Dr Cox provided an examination of the potential costs and benefits of AI integration in libraries, exploring the importance of knowing how best to safely integrate it into library structures and be aware of how students are using it in their daily activities.

Ann Byrne, Digital Librarian for Hibernia College, spoke about “digital literacy for all” and reflected on the process of creating a course in digital literacy for Hibernia College, a process that began in 2023 in the aftermath of COVID-19 as staff realised that students had no real instructions for how to use digital literacy. This made it a good choice for an open course system as it is a universal need. The pilot programme launched in 2023 and was deemed a success as part of UNESCO's Global Media and Information Literacy Week and Be Media Smart campaign from Media Literacy Ireland. The success prompted a second phase in 2025, which added new lessons and incorporated feedback like a dedicated module on AI.

ASIERA Offices, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, where the event was hosted, from archdaily.com

Ronan Madden, Learning & Teaching Team Lead at UCC Library, discussed the new Digital and Information Literacy Framework that UCC had begun developing. A new team, the Framework provides tailored classes on request with a focus on increasing awareness of the different forms of literacy across the university, such as information, digital, media and AI literacy. Ronan outlined how the Framework had been developed and used by students and faculty at UCC, how students assisted with peer review, and how it is intended as a living document that is always innovating and expanding.

Siobhán Dunne,Teaching, Research Support and User Experience, TCD, spoke about the concept of Sustainability Literacy (i.e. the knowledge of the relationship/conflicts between humanity and the environment), discussing the Sustainability Action Plan that Trinity had launched in February 2026 after a survey for students requested sustainability awareness. One of the major components of the plan was that Sustainability Literacy would provide a new opportunity to position the library as a trusted information resource for students and staff. As an example of this, Siobhán shared how part of the Action Plan involved creating a space where students could learn about AI and its impact on the climate, and share their concerns.

A still from Siobhan Dunne’s presentation showing TCD’s Sustainability Action Plan for 2026

Patrick Keegan, Learning Specialist Librarian at RCSI, discussed a pilot workshop for postgraduate learners which included AI Literacy, or learning when would be an appropriate time to use AI. The concept of "cognitive offloading" was discussed (i.e. how the brain can only process so much information so steps must be taken to know ways to offload). Patrick emphasised how important it was to train graduates to be ready to avoid detrimental offloading when in the workplace, and that being able to retain cognitive prowess when working with patients is a key skill. The workshop he worked on provided three examples of issues healthcare students may face as AI usage becomes more commonplace; how to critically evaluate suggestions from AI, how it can disrupt learning journeys, and how to explain the choices one makes in their day-to-day operations. Patrick ended with the key takeaways from the workshop and suggested a “human in the loop” style of AI oversight where suggestions made by AI are always run by a skilled professional first before being implemented.

Dr Simone Fühles-Ubach, Library and Information Science at TH Köln, and Professor Elisabeth Kaliva, Computer Scientist and Educational Researcher at TH Köln, opened the final stage of the Seminar with a shared presentation on a research project they had been undertaking since 2020, based on the “Data Literacy” research project at TH Köln. They presented the progress and research findings of their project, focusing on the contribution and collaboration of academic libraries and the impact this had on students. The Data Literacy Initiative (DALI) at TH Köln has become a centralised shared working space for students and staff, creating an infrastructure to advise students on data literacy and usage of it while researching.

Ben Lee from Shared Intelligence, speaking about future literacy at the LIR Seminar 2026

The final speaker of the day was Ben Lee, director of think-tank consultant group Shared Intelligence. His event was named “Come Rain or Shine: futures literacy for libraries, and the role of libraries in building futures literacy among their users and communities.” Ben discussed how a report was made in 2023 to discuss the challenges facing public libraries in the United Kingdom and how to increase awareness and usage in local communities. The report suggested finding new ways to reverse declining attendance rates in libraries, and to beware the retirement cliff. Ben spoke of Futures Literacy, i.e. the concept of using the ideas of the future to inform the actions of the present. This led into a group exercise where Ben asked those in attendance to combine two uncertain future concepts on a graph to create different versions of the future, showing the different paths an uncertain future can generate, before the Seminar concluded.

The LIR Seminar proved to be a stimulating day. I was pleased to get to attend and found the experience very enlightening. The overall questions raised in the introduction of the Seminar of how libraries design and deliver new literacy programmes was appropriately answered and elaborated on. Each of the different representatives discussed how their own libraries oversaw new programmes to increase awareness of digital literacy among their clientele, providing a wide variety of alternate perspectives that showed how each of the guest speakers came to their conclusions. This allowed for improvements in their offered services and allowed for each facility to be more adept at handling queries asked by the modern library customer. 

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Demystifying Joyce - A reflection of the Ulysses Book Club at Dublin City University Library

This guest post is by Alana Mahon O'Neill who is a library assistant based in the Research and Teaching directorate in DCU Library.

Please note: This article gives examples of the language in Ulysses that led to the novel being banned in several countries. 

Ulysses is considered one of the most important texts of Irish Literature and it is celebrated as a pinnacle of English modernist literature. Celebrants mark the occasion annually on Bloomsday by walking Dublin's streets, reenacting scenes from the book, and turning fiction into living history.

James Joyce's mark on Dublin City. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons.

Joyce echoes in our culture, referenced in literary works from Flann O’Brien to Sally Rooney and resonates within the musical ambitions of Kate Bush, Lou Reed, and Fontaines D.C., to name a few. Widespread literary consensus holds that Joyce has influenced much of modern literature and art, and that Ulysses alone challenges narrative structure, experiments with language, and introduces stream of consciousness.

Ulysses inspired musicians Kate Bush, Lou Reed and Fontaines D.C. who reference lines from the text in their song lyrics. Image credits: Photographs by Columbia Records via Wikimedia Commons, Garry Gross and Simone Joyner/Getty Images.

So, why haven’t more people read it? Last year, the Dublin City University (DCU) Arts and Culture department announced a Ulysses book club. The objective: meet once a month (with a break for the summer) and discuss two chapters over some tea and biscuits? Yeah, sure.

The gathering was successful thanks to Jen and Claire. Inspired by their own book club, they facilitated this reading of Ulysses as James Joyce “enthusiasts”, rather than as academics, and invited an assembly of Drumcondra residents and DCU staff. We conversed at meetings and between sessions shared links to articles, podcasts and interesting tidbits. We all had very different approaches to engaging with the material: some read the text, others preferred the audiobook. Personally, I opted for full immersion by consuming the two at once, like a VR headset. This was particularly engaging for chapters like Circe, where Joyce uses onomatopoeia for inanimate objects, which the audio production conjured up into an eerie chorus of voices.

Examples of onomatopoeia from 'Circe', chapter 15 of Ulysses

If you haven’t read Ulysses, the pictured quotes might be surprising. It was for me. Popular sentiment is that it has been rigorously analysed by prestigious academics and therefore becomes “inaccessible” for the vast majority. This negates the most fascinating aspect of the book: it’s silly.

Ulysses is full of word plays, tongue-in-cheek allegories and crude language. It’s shameless, rude and transgressive in its religious, political and social allusions. When people gush incredulously about the book being banned in Ireland, believe them.

A sample of the 'highbrow' language used in Ulysses.

Also, don’t believe them. It was never banned. Irish authorities believed so few would read the novel that there was no need to submit it to the censorship board.¹

In hindsight, it was a miracle that the book was ever published. Joyce went through incredible lengths to make Ulysses true to life. While living in Paris, he wrote back letters to family members in Dublin to confirm the minutest of details, from the time it takes for a piece of paper to float down the river Liffey,² to whether one could jump the fence at No. 7 Eccles Street,³ and the presence of a shooting star in the night sky on June 16, 1904.⁴

“I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book.” - James Joyce.⁵

Jen and Claire shared some of their “rabbit-hole” deep dives into references within and between the lines of the text. Businesses mentioned on O’Connell Street led to an elaborate unfolding of the origin of Elvery’s Elephant logo.⁶ In Drumcondra, the Goose Tavern pub may have taken its name from the flocks of Brent Geese that flock to the area in the winter months. There are many more examples, but I do not have the word count to start unpacking. It felt like every line of the book had some deeper meaning, some way to spin it to illustrate secret and nuance, a reality to the unreality. After all, more than 600 people were referenced in the text, from Irish historical figures such as Charles Stewart Parnell and Daniel O'Connell, to real people such as pub owner Davy Byrne and National Library of Ireland director Richard Irvine Best.⁷

I would also like to acknowledge that we didn’t always enjoy the process. Some of us expressed frustration at its meandering narrative, its sizeable chapters, and the likability of its protagonists. ‘Do you like Bloom, yet?’ was a frequent topic at each meeting. I think such dialogue is important because in a typical book club setting, with contemporary texts, we get to express our frustrations and delights at surface-level impressions. If a book published last year has something unlikable about it, then why not a classic, too? Joyce is thoughtful in his detail, but also rather pedantic and self-indulgent, and this is also what made Ulysses so intriguing and mysterious to his critics.

Jen and Claire’s conversations at the book club were heavily inspired by the text “Ulysses and Us”,⁸ which argues that Ulysses is written about the people of Dublin and for the people of Dublin, but only for those who are willing to seek it out.

“It is not my fault that the odour of ashpits and old weeds and offal hangs round my stories. I seriously believe that you will retard the course of civilisation in Ireland by preventing the Irish people from having one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking-glass.” - James Joyce.⁹

Joyce initially had quite an incredulous reception in Ireland, and only started seeing recognition posthumously. With that, his most lingering legacy appears to be the preconception that his works are not made to be read by just about anyone.¹⁰

So, what are we missing out on?

It sounds like the challenge has been set; most don’t engage because they don’t think of themselves as the target audience. Self-exploration involves challenging preconceptions. Let me assure you that Ulysses is for you.

If there is one thing I could take away from this experience, it is that, one, we need more book clubs focusing on demystifying classic novels, and two, everyone should try to read Ulysses cover to cover at least once. Well, this is what I would personally declare; other passionate readers have assured me that I will read it again.

The final gathering of the Ulysses Book Club in Belvedere Library DCU, March 2026. Image credit: Kyran O'Brien/DCU, 2026.

I also want to declare my thanks to Jen and Claire, whose passion and dedication made the experience so enjoyable for everyone involved. 

¹McCourt, J. (2023). From hostility to homage. The reception of Joyce’s Ulysses in Ireland. Journal of Irish Studies, 37, 4–14. https://www-jstor-org.dcu.idm.oclc.org/stable/27301718
² Joyce, J., & Murray, J. (1922). Letter from James Joyce, in Paris, to his aunt, Josephine Murray. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000743146/HierarchyTree#tabnav
³ Joyce, J., & Murray, J. (1922). Letter from James Joyce, in Paris, to his aunt, Josephine Murray. https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000743153
⁴ Olson, D. W., & Olson, M. S. (2004). The June Lyrids and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Sky & Telescope, 108(1), 76–77.
⁵ From a conversation with Frank Budgen, circa 1918-1919, Zurich. Budgen, F. (1960). James Joyce and the Making of 'Ulysses'. Indiana University Press. pp. 67-68.
⁶ Rodgers, J. (2025, Jul 11). The colourful story of the Elephant House on Dublin's O'Connell Street. RTÉ. https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0711/1495830-elephant-house-dublin-sackville-street-oconnell-street-elverys-supermacs/
⁷ Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "and Charybdis"? (2024, Mar 28). Blooms and Barnacles. https://www.bloomsandbarnacles.com/blog/who-were-the-real-men-in-the-library-from-scylla-and-charybdis
⁸ Kiberd, D. (2011). Ulysses and us: the art of everyday living. Faber.
⁹ James Joyce, on his collection of short stories ‘Dubliners’ in letter to his publisher, Grant Richards, on 23 June 1906, in Joyce, J., & Gilbert, S. (Ed.) (1957). Letters of James Joyce. Faber and Faber. pp. 63-64.
¹⁰ McCourt, J. (2023).

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Discover the Latest Issue of the Health Sciences Libraries Journal (HSLJ)

This is a guest post by the HSLJ editorial team about the latest issue of the Health Sciences Libraries Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1, (2026)

The Health Sciences Libraries Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026)

The theme throughout the current issue of HSLJ is Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion (DEBI). 

Dr Deborah Reed reflects on her career in librarianship across the UK and Ireland, exploring accessibility in Further Education and the importance of creating truly inclusive environments. Walsh et al. continue this conversation with an insightful examination of accessibility and belonging for neurodiverse librarians and library workers. While Jane Burns explores Graphic Medicine and its power to portray trauma across and between communities.

Readers will also discover the impact of the Human Library project through O’Neill and O’Connor’s account of a successful event at Dublin City University, where human “Books” and “Readers” come together to challenge stereotypes and foster understanding.

The issue also features a diverse range of contributions, including a dissertation summary by Annmarie Whyte on Australia’s role in the development of library and information science, a scaffolded model used to train librarians in systematic and scoping review services from Murphy and Adydan of Vanderbilt University, and Penny Wiggle’s engaging career journey across public, health, and school libraries.

Rounding out the issue are Mairéad Mooney’s historical exploration of James Wilkinson’s leadership of Cork City Libraries, Mc Keown and Lombard’s practice‑based insights on AI, and a report from the Health Sciences Libraries Group (HSLG) Conference in March, ensuring valuable insights are shared with the wider library community.

Whether you are interested in inclusion, professional practice or the stories of librarians past and present, this issue has something for every library and information professional.

Read the full issue here: https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/hslj/issue/view/388.

Call for Winter 2026 submissions: The HSLJ editorial team invites new and returning authors to submit their work for our next Issue. We welcome submissions from students, researchers, and practitioners across all areas relevant to the journal. For submission guidelines and further information – https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/hslj/about/submissions 

Research Articles - Submission Deadline: 10 July

General Submissions - Submission Deadline: 1 October

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Why publish in An Leabharlann?

Guest Post by Hugh Murphy, interim editor of An Leabharlann. 

This month marks the (counts on fingers) twenty ninth anniversary of me becoming a qualified librarian.  In some ways it doesn’t feel like that, but by most professional metrics I am a probably well into dinosaur territory.  What that brings of course is experience and (hopefully) a degree of professional, if not necessarily personal maturity.  And our profession needs that – I hope.  

However, our profession also needs freshness of perspective.  This is critical as library and information studies in Ireland are shaped not only by theory and practice, but also by the ideas, research, and voices of those within it.  One of the most powerful ways we can contribute to our wonderfully varied field is through academic writing and publication in professional journals.

Publishing may seem daunting at first, but it is underpinned by a diversity of perspectives. And for our more recent graduates, a fresh perspective and outlook is a strength. You are uniquely positioned to question established practices, explore emerging technologies, and reflect on the changing role of libraries in Irish society. Whether your interests lie in digital literacy, community engagement, unique and distinctive collections, or open access and scholarship, your insights can add really meaningful value to discourse within the profession.

More than that, engaging in academic writing also strengthens your own professional development. It should sharpen your critical thinking, deepen your understanding of key issues, and hopefully enhance your confidence as a practitioner. Writing for journals such as An Leabharlann (or other LIS publications) can really enable you to compare and contrast your local experiences to a national or even global conversation.  And importantly this can help ensure that Irish librarianship (in all its aspects) is visible and influential on a wider stage.

Publication in An Leabharlann is not reserved for seasoned professionals - we actively welcome contributions from early-career library staff and we have a wonderfully supportive review process. And the great thing about working in libraries is that much of what you could write about is practice based – writing about a project you have done can be an accessible starting point.

In our last two issues of An Leabharlann we have seen voices from students and early career staff through to the full cretaceous era dinosaur. But we need to ensure that this breadth continues, and is also represented in terms of diversity of library experience.  Academic libraries, public libraries, special libraries – all are part of the national experience and we need all voices. An article may be too intimidating, so perhaps review a book or give a conference report. And for those of you who have delivered blog posts on platforms such as this, perhaps an article, with its greater length and rigour might be a really beneficial next step.

By choosing to write and publish, you are not only building your own career—you are helping to shape the future of our profession. Your voice matters. Your experiences matter. Ireland’s library sector benefits when its newest members contribute thoughtfully and confidently to its shared body of knowledge.

Take the first step: write, submit, and become part of the conversation. Send us an abstract at editor@libraryassociation.ie 

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Libfocus Link-out for May 2026

Welcome to the May 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.

Stitching History Together: The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Quilt Research Collections and the International Quilt Museum.
Ella Shoenberger looks at the Quilt Research Collections at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries and its relationship to the International Quilt Museum.

Observing Collections a Micron at a Time: A Tools of the Trade Post.
As part of Library of Congress’s Tools of the Trade series, Megan Zins introduces us to how microscopy is used in preservation and conservation.

Cork public library set for Counting House complex after €35m purchase.
A new public library for Cork city is set to open in the restored Counting House complex on South Main Street, with plans for expanded study, cultural, music, and community spaces in a landmark €35m redevelopment project.

Decolonizing the Community-Centered Library: Making Way for Radical, Decolonized Librarianship.
Edgardo Civallero explores how libraries can move beyond “neutral” institutional models to become collaborative, community-led spaces that centre marginalised voices, local knowledge, and social justice.

From Open Access to Preprints: Are We Repeating the Same Mistakes in Scholarly Publishing?
In this Guest Post on the Scholarly Kitchen blog, Jonny Coates argues that the next few years will prove pivotal in determining whether preprints become a stable part of the scholarly ecosystem or drift into the same patterns of fragmentation and inequity that have complicated the open access transition.

Big publishers are ripping off our public libraries.
Barry Andrews reports in the Irish Examiner that the public library model is in danger due to extortionate pricing and licensing terms for the lending of e-books by major commercial publishers.

Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library.
In this article for The Guardian, Rory Carroll describes the discovery of the earliest surviving poem in the English language by two scholars from Trinity College Dublin.

University Libraries names first Indigenous Knowledges faculty librarian.
Katie Randall has become the first Indigenous Knowledges Librarian in The University Libraries at CU Boulder. She speaks about how her role aims to build a more inclusive and accurate understanding of the histories and futures studied in the University.

“We’re Good at Search”… Just Not the Kind That the AI era Demands - a Provocation.
Aaron Tay reflects on how a lot of us (librarians) struggle with the impact of AI on search.

The AI detection delusion.
James O'Sullivan hits the nail on the head! “...the solution to one form of technological recklessness cannot be another. Detection tools give their users the feeling of objective certainty while delivering probabilistic guesses, and in doing so, they can cause real harm to real people — students who lose marks or face disciplinary action, professionals whose reputations are damaged, and writers whose command of English is held against them by an algorithm that mistakes simplicity for artificiality.”

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What does Librarianship mean to A&SL Conference attendees? A summary of thoughts

Guest post Stephanie Chen, Learning and Teaching Librarian, Academic Services, UCC Library

For the A&SL 2026 conference, I facilitated a session titled: “What does Librarianship mean to you? Putting your values into practice.” This was neither a presentation nor a case study and could easily have been a dud so I do want to extend a massive thank you to the conference organisers for being open to including this in the programme and to all the attendees for participating. 

My aim for this session was to give attendees an opportunity to reflect on themes from previous sessions and, importantly, to give them a space to reflect on their own values and personal understanding of librarianship through participation in online polls, Padlet, and individual reflections.  

This blog post brings together the responses shared from attendees during the session. I have also included the questions and activities used, along with some context, for those who were unable to attend. If you would like to work through the questions and activities yourself, please know there are no right or wrong answers. 

Professional Values 

I began the session by introducing values. Values can exist at multiple levels: societal, values of the community and users libraries serve, our own personal values, and professional values. For the purposes of the exercises, I asked attendees to try and focus specifically on their professional values. Examples of professional values include Gorman’s enduring values (stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of access to recorded knowledge and information, privacy, democracy) and Lankes’ new librarianship (service, learning, openness, intellectual freedom and safety, intellectual honesty). 

To help attendees get into a reflective mindset and identify a professional value, I asked them to complete the following exercise: 

Think of a time when you felt proud of your work or a sense of achievement in work. What was the situation, what did you do? What was the underlying value.

Attendees were asked to share this underlying value in an online poll. 

Here is a word cloud of what was submitted: 

 Broadly speaking, responses could be categorised into the following themes: 

• Service
• Connection and collaboration
• EDI (Equity, Diversity, and inclusion)
• Access and openness 
• Learning and development 

The next exercise explored how strongly attendees related to professional codes of ethics from various library associations. While some associations do have explicit statements of professional values, most do not and instead have professional codes relating to ethics or conduct. An analysis of 60 code of ethics sourced from the IFLA website revealed the following broad values:

• user service & quality
• objectivity & impartiality
• privacy & confidentiality
• intellectual freedom & anti-censorship
• professional integrity & ethics
• access to information
• social responsibility
• cultural & heritage preservation
• equity & non-discrimination
• professional development

 

Values from Library Associations

The majority of attendees did relate to these values, although for a number of attendees, there does appear to be a disconnect. 

To try and explore this further, I asked attendees to engage in a sorting exercise in Padlet. From the list of values from library associations, attendees could sort these into four columns: non-negotiable values, important but flexible, aspirational values, and not important to me at all. 

Access to information and user service appeared most often as a non-negotiable value while professional development was typically viewed as being important but flexible. 

Some values, like social responsibility and cultural and heritage preservation, appeared in multiple columns. This demonstrates values do not always align between individuals and other values will take priority. 

While code of ethics can help articulate shared expectations, they can also fail to address any tensions in values, especially when our own values do not align with what these codes might say. When such conflicts arise, there is rarely an easy solution. However, I would suggest understanding our own values and reflecting on where we place importance and priority can act as a useful guide. 

Values into practice 

To give attendees something practical to take away from the session, I asked attendees to consciously foreground one value they wanted to put into practice. With this one value in mind, I asked them to consider the following: 

• One tiny action I can take next week 
• One medium-scale change I can influence this year (project, service, policy)
• One big/aspirational change I’d love to see 

Attendees were invited to share their actions on a Padlet if they were comfortable doing so. Some of the smaller actions that emerged included checking in with fellow colleagues, prioritising staff wellbeing, and approaching work with more intentional positivity. Medium-term actions focused on increasing open access, improving practices, advocacy for librarianship, and professional development. Finally, some aspirational changes from attendees centred around achieving 100% open access, starting new initiatives, and the development of new library spaces or even a new library building (a hope many of us can probably relate to!)  

Defining librarianship

To conclude the session, I asked attendees to reflect on a final question: What does it mean to be a librarian today?

I asked attendees to complete the sentence: Librarianship is…

While many responses were positive, framing librarianship as essential and even “badass”, it’s important to also acknowledge the complexity involved in the profession, as highlighted by some attendees: “Being a Jack of all trades,” “hard work,” and “tiring.” Overall, responses showed librarianship as being a collaborative, people-focused profession centred on sharing knowledge and helping others.

To finish, I’d like to highlight some definitions that personally resonated with me, but I would encourage everyone to view all the responses: 

“Advocating and enabling for social justice and lifelong learning for everyone through collections, spaces, and research”

“Fostering a love of learning new things, while also learning new things yourself”

“A great career – be a contributor not an extractor” 

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the A&SL committee for giving me the opportunity to facilitate this session and thank you to my fellow UCC Library colleagues Ronan Madden, Learning & Teaching Team Lead, and Martin O’Connor, Communications Coordinator, for supporting me in developing the session. 

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Finding Strength in Difference: Reflections from the HSLG Annual Conference 2026

In March 2026, library and information professionals from across Ireland came together for the Health Sciences Libraries Group (HSLG)Annual Conference, held in person and centred on the theme Finding Strength in Difference. As a professional librarian working on behalf of the Irish food and drink industry, the day offered timely insights into how libraries can navigate rapid technological change while staying grounded in human judgement, ethics and collaboration.

Across the programme, speakers explored artificial intelligence (AI), professional identity, collaboration models and visibility. A consistent message emerged: our collective strength lies not in tools alone, but in how we design for connection, build shared understanding and support one another across diverse roles and settings.

Human judgement in an AI ocean

The conference opened with a keynote from Brendan Kelly, Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, who spoke about navigating “an AI ocean” while retaining human responsibility and judgement. He highlighted that while AI can augment decision-making, it introduces four tensions: epistemic (black-box systems), ethical (bias), relational (loss of human connection) and legal (accountability). 

Drawing on how society has historically reacted to new technologies, Kelly argued that panic is understandable but unhelpful. Instead, he advocated for responsible, transparent and human-led use of AI. Accountability, he stressed, always remains with the user, not the tool. Declaring AI use openly and questioning outputs critically are essential steps towards trust. This framing resonated strongly with librarians, whose professional values already centre on evaluation, context and stewardship of information.

Supporting one-person libraries through connection

The challenges faced by solo and small-team libraries were explored by Tony Linnane, Regional Library Manager at the HSE. One person libraries, he noted, develop wide-ranging and highly transferable skills, but often at the cost of professional isolation and increased risk of burnout. 

Rather than relying solely on individual resilience, Linnane emphasised the importance of intentional peer networks and shared practice. He suggested that carefully managed use of generative AI could help ease administrative workloads and service continuity, while human oversight remains central. Crucially, connection to expert networks can reduce isolation and strengthen confidence, particularly for those working alone.

Collaboration as a force multiplier

Collaboration was another strong theme, particularly in a session on HSE Library Partner Organisation collaborations delivered by Niamh Walker Headon, Library Resources Manager at the HSE. She demonstrated how formal consortia models can expand access to high quality resources, improve equity and avoid duplication of effort across organisations. 

The success of these partnerships relies on shared infrastructure, clear agreements and trust built over time. Where licensing limits access, the curation of credible free sources – such as national statistical agencies and expert blogs – can help bridge gaps. This model offers useful lessons for government and semi state bodies seeking to scale knowledge services more sustainably.

Visibility builds value

Several sessions reinforced the idea that impact depends not just on what libraries provide, but on whether people know those services exist. Bennery Rickard, Regional Librarian at the HSE, shared insights from HSE Library Day, a national awareness campaign designed to celebrate library staff and services. 

Human-centred storytelling, early promotion and shared narratives helped increase engagement, pride and visibility across dispersed teams. Key takeaways included planning impact metrics in advance, promoting library spaces as well as collections, and featuring staff voices to make the service relatable. These lessons apply widely, particularly for specialist or embedded library teams seeking to demonstrate value.

Equitable access and awareness

The importance of national infrastructure was further explored in a session on the case for a National eHealth Library for Ireland, presented by Aoife Lawton and Louise Farragher. They argued that removing barriers to trusted information supports lifelong learning and professional development at scale. 

However, access alone is not enough. Many users are unaware of existing resources, highlighting the ongoing need for promotion, training and information literacy. Libraries cannot assume people know what is available or how to use it responsibly; awareness must be continually rebuilt.

Preparing future talent

Mairéad Mc Keown and David Lombard from Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board, reflected on preparing future food industry talent through their graduate Co-Pilot Skills Programme. Their programme was underpinned by adult learning and knowledge management principles. It encouraged a culture of experimentation, critical and creative thinking and community connections 

Social learning, ethical skills and respect for differences were identified as essential foundations for a psychologically safe learning environment. 

Mairéad Mc Keown and David Lombard, Bord Bia, presenting on preparing future talent in the AI era. Picture credit Lauren Sneyd 2026.

AI literacy as a shared community skill

Aphra Kerr, Professor of Digital Media and Communication at University College Dublin, reframed AI literacy not as a technical skill, but as a community capability grounded in dialogue, critical thinking and shared learning.

She highlighted initiatives such as the EU funded ADAPT programme and AlgoWatch, which aim to make algorithms more visible and understandable to the public. Learning by doing – through workshops, labs and discussion – helps demystify AI and builds confidence without panic. These programmes emphasise empowerment over fear and align closely with librarians’ educational roles. 

Key conclusions

Across the day, three clear conclusions emerged:

1. Design for connection first if you want capability to scale and last.
2. Make AI literacy and responsible use a daily habit, not a one‑off training exercise.
3. Visibility and partnerships multiply value, especially in dispersed or specialist settings.

For librarians across different sectors, these insights reaffirm the profession’s role as a connector, guide and critical partner. In a rapidly changing world, our greatest strength remains our collective commitment to people, trust, shared understanding and progress.

Microsoft Co-pilot was used in the brainstorming for this blog post.

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Review of The Academic & Special Libraries Conference 2026

Guest post by Dina Gorelik. Dina is an MLIS Student at University College Dublin

At the end of March, I had the pleasure of attending the LAI Academic and Special Libraries Conference 2026: Reimagining Librarianship: Purpose, Practice, and Possibility as one of the A&SL Bursary recipients. Throughout my MLIS coursework, professors and students have discussed the changing nature of the library profession and the challenges of this time. I was excited to be able to attend the conference to hear from professionals on the ground on what they consider the challenges and core fundamentals of librarianship today, and I was pleasantly surprised with the recurring themes discussed throughout the day, including the importance of reflective practice and using data to justify decision making in libraries and information settings.

The morning keynote speaker, Liz Jolly (University College Cork), set the tone and brought up themes which recurred throughout the day most notably speaking on the importance of reflective practice and relentless optimism as a tool for the onward journey. I was surprised to hear about reflective practice so early in the day; the concept of reflective practice has been an unexpected recurring topic of conversation throughout my MLIS coursework, and its early reference in the day solidified the importance of reflection in my future professional work.

After the morning keynote, there were two parallel sessions, and I chose to attend the one on Open Scholarship, a topic new to me but one I am interested in learning more about. The speakers discussed initiatives in individual universities as well as national initiatives to promote open access scholarship and publishing. Margaret Irons (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) and Colm O’Connor (Innopharma Education) were particularly inspiring in their talks on spearheading new projects. Irons spoke about her project to create an open access repository of CELTICA, the publication of the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Her internal advocacy began in 2016, and the repository launched in 2025, a reminder that patience and thinking long-term are vital to these sorts of projects. Colm O’Connor also shared a librarian led initiative at Innopharma Education to support student publications. O’Connor identified that students were producing high quality work but were intimidated by traditional academic publishing so he began Innopharma Insights, a journal to highlight the promising student research he was seeing. Now in its second volume, the journal is produced with the available resources of the team; for example, the journal is formatted in-house using Microsoft Word.

The afternoon session had a variety of speakers talking about collections and metadata initiatives, redesigning services, and career reflections. Two speakers spoke about evaluating and reevaluating services at their academic libraries: Genevieve Larkin (Marino Institute of Education) and Francisca Silva (Dublin Business School). Larkin spoke about the development of a five year operational plan to address tensions between the ambitions of library employees versus available resources. She discussed the power of prioritisation in assessing capacity of staff and resources. Silva led the library website redesign project at Dublin Business School. She discussed pulling in user experience and information architecture principles in conducting user research and testing, as well as developing a more cohesive library website layout. I was excited and surprised that these talks solidified the importance of using research and data to demonstrate and justify decision making in libraries, as it has been a recurring topic in my coursework.

Ultimately, I came away inspired by the commitment of professionals to their work, finding ways to serve their users and themselves as thoughtfully, resourcefully, and sustainably as possible. Throughout the day, speakers discussed identifying issues and taking initiative to create something better, often collaborating with colleagues and users to come up with the best solutions. Attendees were open to discussion and chatting with people they did not know, creating a warm and approachable atmosphere throughout the day; I met a lot of lovely librarians and students and left feeling reassured that, despite the uncertainty of the current moment, librarians and information professionals will continue to provide the best service they can, and I am excited to join in the work. The afternoon keynote speaker, Niamh Tumelty (London School of Economics and Political Science), said that she is confident about the future of libraries, and so am I.

Author’s note: Thank you to the Academic and Special Libraries Committee for the bursary to attend the 2026 Conference.

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Libfocus Link-out for April 2026

Welcome to the April 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 featured in this month's link-out posts

Marion Stokes and the Archive of Resistance.
In this blog post, Naomie Tessier-Antoine writes about Marion Stokes’ television archive as a form of media preservation and resistance, highlighting the role of physical media in maintaining an unaltered record of events.

How to Make a Library Promotional Strategy.
In this blog post, Angela Hursh writes about developing a library marketing strategy, focusing on setting clear goals, identifying audiences, using storytelling, and aligning promotion with organisational objectives.

Manipulating the Law: Dismantling the Miller Test and Exploiting the “Government Speech” Doctrine.
In this Bookriot artice, Kelly Jensen and Sarah Lamdan look at how two legal concepts are being misused in the U.S. to make it easier to ban books in public schools and public libraries. The first is the Miller Test. The second, the “government speech” doctrine.

Hachette yanks horror novel Shy Girl from shelves after accusations of AI use.
Hachette Book Group has removed a novel from bookshops in the U.K. following accusations of AI use by the author. Following an investigation, the publishing group concluded that author Mia Ballard used AI to generate large sections of her book 'Shy Girl.'

Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done?
Miryam Naddaf & Elizabeth Quill report in Nature that tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI.

The outputs we don’t count: making talk-based research contributions legible.
Ben Kaube asks in Research Information why research communication is not measured in a similar way to other research outputs.

An Unexpected Influence: Photostats in Special Collections Libraries.
Hannah Alpert-Abrams documents the influence of the introduction of Photostats on Special Collections Libraries since their inception in this Open Access article.

Are LGBTQIA+ Voices Being Pushed Out of Kid Lit?
Marlaina Cockcroft for Student Library Journal looks at how the publishing sector may be quietly rejecting LGBTQIA+ voices, as well as LBGTQIA+ voices self-censoring. An interesting look at how book bans in libraries may be forcing a chance in what is being published before it ever makes a library shelf.

When the archive breaks.
Elissa Malespina looks at why the threat to the Wayback Machine is really about disappearing data and who controls the public record.

Airport libraries take off.
Rosie Newmark highlights the emerging trend of having a public library space within airports stocked with physical books.

Operationalizing Minimal Computing Values Through Shared Computing-Platform Development: A Case Study of DigitalArc and Opaque Publisher.
Kalani Craig, Michelle Dalmau and Sean Purcell explore how minimal computing principles guided the parallel web development of two related but distinct publishing platforms, DigitalArc and Opaque Publisher.

Breaking Down Data Silos: SPARQuLb, An RDF Ecosystem to Mutualize Humanities Research Projects Needs.
Sébastien de Valeriola and Anthony Leroy present an original solution to effectively managing structured data collected or produced as part of their humanities research projects.

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The Lower Decks 2.0: A Symposium on Janeway and Open Access Publishing: 21–22 May 2026 at DCU Library

This entry connects to an earlier post from 26th September 2025.

Janeway is an open-source scholarly publishing platform that has become the software of choice for editors, librarians, and publishers at universities worldwide. Our inaugural 2023 symposium celebrated the Janeway team's tenth anniversary; this second event broadens that scope to explore how users and community inform Janeway's development.

Co-organised by the Open Library of Humanities, Michigan Publishing Services, and Dublin City University Library, The Lower Decks 2.0 brings together the Janeway community in the historic city of Dublin to explore how real, idiosyncratic scholarly communities helped establish the platform and continue to shape its direction. Presentations address users and user experience, alongside updates, innovations, and use cases from institutions worldwide.

The symposium programme is now published and available here.

 

 

 

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