We’ve been developing best practice guidance for usage metrics associated with generative and agentic AI. Today, we're delighted to say that they're live at www.countermetrics.org/code-of-prac...
Our work is community led. Huge thanks go to our dedicated working group for getting us to this point!
As I wrote in a recent blog post/unhinged rant (which was inspired by the same Future of Resource Sharing event as this great article), even things that look like technology problems are usually people, systems, or money problems at the end of the day. wp.me/pf5uio-2s
This!!!
"In interlibrary lending, shared expectations, trust between partners (or networks), and a willingness to coordinate across consortia and software limitations determine whether standards-based communication, including messaging protocols such as ISO 18626, can succeed at scale."
This project is fantastic and inspiring (and inspiring a lot of jealousy in me as a Canadian of the idea of once again having a national library with capacity & willingness to take leadership on interlibrary loan...).
But the article also did a great job of underscoring the human component.
🧵 The Canadian federal government’s 2025 budget has allocated:
More business tax breaks including for fossil fuels sector
$925 million for AI
$81.8 billion over 5 years for military
However, this comes at the expense of cultural heritage.
Jack Pine at the Station
Peter D. Harris
2025
Three to four westbound trains for every eastbound train on line 2 this morning, not a great sign.
“Students aren’t great at asking questions well “
This is basically a tenet of reference work in libraries. We get a masters degree in how to understand an information need when the person in need can’t or won’t articulate it.
Screenshot of the website of Internet Archive Canada displaying the top of an article titled COPPUL Joins the Global Movement to Protect Digital Rights for Memory Institutions. First paragraph reads: We are pleased to share that the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) has signed the Statement on Digital Rights for Protecting Memory Institutions Online, joining a growing international coalition of libraries, archives, museums, and advocacy organizations committed to protecting the digital future of our shared cultural heritage.
🇨🇦 Canada’s Council of Prairie & Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) has joined a global movement to protect digital rights for libraries, archives & museums supporting access, preservation & heritage online.📚
Learn more ⤵️
internetarchivecanada.org/2026/04/07/c...
@internetarchiveca.bsky.social
Another really thoughtful piece about publishing and AI from the Scholarly Kitchen!
Nasty work Tim 🤮
In literary analysis, if you find a new way to read a text that is interesting and consistent within that text, but, you know, is not the author's intent or physical reality - well the author is dead and you've done great scholarship.
In history...well that's just called 'being wrong.'
This can be a frustrating thing with historical fields that border narratology: there's quite a lot of crossover of subjects and methods but fundamental epistemological differences.
Historical interpretation is anchored to a set of realities outside the text in a way that literary analysis is not.
Graphic styled like cross stitch canvas with a lace border advertising a call for lightning talk submissions for Scholars Portal Days 2026. Submissions are due April 5 at 11:59 p.m. Submission details and suggested topics are available at the link in the post.
DEADLINE EXTENDED!
We're looking for 5-7 minute talks about the common thread that connects us as academic library workers for #SPDays26. Nous acceptions également les soumissions en français !
Submit your talk by this Sunday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET: oculsp.ca/1rsl8
Relistening to one of my favourite québécois songs, this incredibly catchy number about deciding what to wear this time of year by looking out the window and seeing how warmly dressed the passersby are (and whether they seem happy or miserable about their clothing choices)
youtu.be/_whvVXX0hCk
I spent the late 2000s as a student worker at a library info desk and let me tell you, sooooo much of my job was showing people how to take a citation for an article and look it up in the pre-Summon catalogue to find the electronic version (as powered by SFX). My classmates thought I was a magician.
I first started as a academic librarian in the late 2000s. Here's a look back at how I experienced changes in search technology. Your experience might be different if you were in medical/law etc (1)
(2) you are not your user. A powerful tool only you can use may not be as useful as one that is easy to use with reasonable performance! And remember the librarian law is "save the time of user" not "teach users so they can save time" :)
I End by saying, when new technology emerges (1) resist saying just cos it cant do exactly as older tech it is useless. Maybe. But maybe inspite of that people will still use it for things older tech cant do - aka different types of tools do different things
(29)
Lightning talk submissions are due tonight at midnight!
Send us your proposals at oculsp.ca/1rsl8
The program for the 2026 CRKN Virtual Conference: Creative Collaborations, Collective Momentum is now available! 🎉
Le programme de la conférence virtuelle est maintenant disponible!
www.crkn-rcdr.ca/en/conferenc...
The old joke: whenever there's a crisis, librarians respond with a LibGuide. Covid misinformation? LibGuide. AI panic? LibGuide. Management asks "what are we doing about X?" Box ticked. Crisis managed. Like all good jokes, it contains a serious diagnosis. (1)
Our reading club discussions are coming up next week - Mar. 30 and 31! Sign up for one of the Zooms and join the conversation ➡️ ocul.on.ca/march-2026-a...
As our special guest, Bo Wandschneider, put it: let's talk about AI sycophancy and what it means for truth, trust, and the future of knowledge.
ICYMI - Registration for SP Days 2026 is now open and we're accepting lightning talk submissions!
Si vous l’avez manqué ! Les inscriptions pour SP Days en français 2026 sont ouvertes et nous acceptons les propositions de présentations éclairs !
Go back to pouring out bottles of Crown Royal please
White fabric canvas with lace banner and a graphic of a needle and thread. Text reads: Scholars Portal Days 2026: The Common Thread. June 3 and 4 from 12:30 to 3:30 Eastern Time, online via Zoom. Registration now open! Call for lightning talks!
Scholars Portal Days 2026: The Common Thread.
Join us June 3 & 4, 2026 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. EDT to talk about the underlying fabric of academic library work & weaving our way forward together.
Register now! oculsp.ca/vkc6p
Event details & lightning talk submission information: oculsp.ca/0g2an
This former librarian is opening Ottawa's first romance-only bookstore ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-...
1/2
A brown background and in the bottom-right corner is a row of three books upright and with colourful spines. On top of the books rests a pair of white over-ear headphones. To the left of the books and headphones is the text: Beyond the Algorithm Reading Club, March topic: AI sycophancy - programmed to please. Beneath the text is a white wordmark for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).
For this month's reading club, we've got a curated article on the harms of overly agreeable AI tools and *two* community discussions you can register for to share your insights on the hot-button issue of AI sycophancy.
Discussion registration and article links: ocul.on.ca/march-2026-a...
