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, May topic: Human-centered design and AI. Beneath the text is a white wordmark for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).

Our reading club for May digs into Human-Centered Design – examining how AI systems can reinforce bias and mistreatment, especially toward traditionally feminized professions like librarianship.

Learn more & sign up for 1 of 2 community discussions: ocul.on.ca/may-2026-ai-...

Blue graphic alerting users to a brief service outage for some Scholars Portal services on Monday, April 13 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.

Heads up! Due to an upgrade to our authentication systems, we anticipate a brief service outage (approx. 15 minutes) on Monday, April 13 starting at 12 p.m. ET for the following services:

🔹Scholars Portal Journals
🔹Scholars Portal Books
🔹Accessible Content ePortal (ACE)
🔹Scholars GeoPortal

Lightning talk submissions are due tonight at midnight!

Send us your proposals at oculsp.ca/1rsl8

Call for Participants: 2026 Librarians’ Research Institute - Canadian Association of Research Libraries March 25, 2026 – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is now accepting nominations for participants for the 2026 Librarians’ Research Institute. Participants will attend a four-day In...

📣 Call for Participants: 2026 Librarians’ Research Institute

🗓️ June 22–25 @ University of New Brunswick

Build research skills, develop your research project & connect with librarian-researchers across Canada.

📌 Apply by April 16
🔗 www.carl-abrc.ca/news/call-fo...

#AcademicLibraries #Research

Graphic including a black and white archival photo of a classroom with desks and chairs.

New on the Knowledge Exchange: A closer look at the Day Schools Project at LAC, a four-year initiative to enhance the discoverability of Federal Indian Day Schools records.

👉 Link bit.ly/day-school-p...

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.

Hearty congratulations to all the award recipients and a special shout-out to Sonya for the recognition of all the incredible work she does to ensure students and faculty with disabilities can fully access library resources and course materials!

Looking forward to this year's #SPDays26!

Event registration is now open, and if you have a topic for a lightning talk, submit your proposal by Mar. 27.

#LibraryJobs @uoftlibraries.bsky.social seeks applications for two positions:

Associate Director, Scholars Portal. Deadline: April 9, 2026.
Details: partnershipjobs.ca/job/associat...

Digital Projects Librarian. Deadline: April 12, 2026.
Details: partnershipjobs.ca/job/digital-...

#LibraryJobs @uofguelph.bsky.social seeks applications for the position of Assistant/Associate/Librarian, Head of Collections & Content. Deadline: April 6, 2026.

Details: partnershipjobs.ca/job/universi...

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...

What would change if Canada became the 51st state? Just look what’s happening at Western University | CBC Arts Alberta’s been "liberated," Ivanka Trump is president and Canada no longer exists. In the exhibit Pax Americana, artist Dara Vandor imagines a future that doubles as a warning.

It's speculative fiction — but the questions it raises are anything but hypothetical. Librarian Jennifer Robinson spoke with CBC Arts about Pax Americana, a satirical art exhibit now on at Weldon Library imagining a Canada annexed by the U.S. 🍁

www.cbc.ca/arts/what-wo...

We're hiring! University of Guelph is looking for a Head, Collections & Content. The role reports to me and manages a team of about 20. careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-H...

Iconic. Polarizing. Unforgettable.

Robarts Library has been called many things over the past 50 years. The Unquiet Library podcast explores the voices, tensions, and histories that shaped it.

The first episodes are now streaming. 🎧

open.spotify.com/show/0AjhamY...

A great read from Reece Steinberg on how librarians' core mission makes them "natural leaders" in developing students' AI fluency: forum.academica.ca/forum/why-li...

(Would be remiss not to mention Reece is on the panel for our next AI Exchange on this very topic! Registration & event info ⬇️)

Beyond Topography: Building a Multiliterate Map Collection at the Carleton University Library - Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Topography, a multiliterate” cartography collection that reflects diverse ways of knowing and being in the world at Carleton library.

Loving this piece about @carleton.ca library's map collection and resources!

From 40+ cabinets of sheet maps to numerous online collections and interactive maps to teaching students in map labs, it's an impressive array of tools and support for their campus community: carleton.ca/fass/story/b...

Video Recording of Yesterday’s Research #Libraries UK (RLUK) Forum: “Research Library Strategy For Imagined Futures: The ARL/CNI Futurescape #AI Experience” www.infodocket.com/2026/03/05/v... @rluk.ac.uk @arl.org @cni-org.bsky.social @ocul-libraries.bsky.social #GenAI

Boost your library assessment skills! 📊

Join CARL’s Assessment CoP on March 27, 12:00–1:30pm ET for Writing Effective KPIs with Leo Appleton from the University of Sheffield.

Interactive session with practical examples and breakout discussions. 💬

👉 Register here: www.carl-abrc.ca/event/assess...

What do a first illustrated Frankenstein, Austen first editions, and forged medieval playing cards have in common? All part of our newest acquisitions, on public display for the first time at our Rare Books Open House, March 26. Free, no registration required. #WesternU

www.uwo.ca/events/2026/...

What we're listening to this week: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

A great conversation between @uoftlibraries.bsky.social Chief Librarian Larry Alford and OLA Exec Director Michelle Arbuckle that spans all things leadership and library management.

A blue-green background with semi-transparent circle shapes in the top-left and bottom-right corners. At the top is a white wordmark for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL). Under that are 2 bright green rounded rectangle boxes stacked vertically. The first box has bold black text that reads: AI Exchange Program. The second box has black text that reads: Developing AI Fluency: A Library-Led Workshop Model; Wednesday, April 8, 2-4 p.m. Eastern Time; Online via Zoom.

Join us on Apr. 8 from 2-4 p.m. for our next online session in the OCUL AI Exchange Program!

You’ll learn how @torontomet.bsky.social library team members designed and launched a badged AI fluency workshop series.

Event info and registration: ocul.on.ca/ai-exchange-...

A dark green background with two rounded rectangular shapes that are magenta and lime green, centered on the background and stacked on one another. Text on the lime green shape reads: "OCUL Advances AI and Machine Learning with Major Project Milestones." Below the text are five small white and green icons, each representing a different aspect of AI and library technology. To the right of the icons, text reads "Read the update on ocul.on.ca/news"

Our latest AI and Machine Learning Initiative Update is online ➡️ ocul.on.ca/ai-machine-l...

Highlights include major pilot project milestones and expanded programming that offers professional development opportunities to academic librarians and library workers.

#LibraryJobs @carleton.ca seeks applications for the position of Health Sciences and STEM Librarian. Deadline: March 19, 2026.

Details: partnershipjobs.ca/job/health-s...

#LibraryJobs @uoftlibraries.bsky.social seeks applications for the position of Digital Content Librarian. Deadline: March 21, 2026.

Details: partnershipjobs.ca/job/digital-...

AI Tools for Academic Libraries: AI Speech-to-Text Models - Choice 360 AI speech-to-text models can help librarians and researchers improve accessibility. OCUL examines several options.

Looking to learn about AI-enabled speech-to-text tools and how they can improve access & discovery? Then our new blog w/ @choicereviews.bsky.social is for you!

We reviewed 5 models for their user interfaces, hosting options, customizability and more.

Check it out: www.choice360.org/libtech-insi...

A Year in Review: PKP’s 2025 event recap - Public Knowledge Project 2025 offered many opportunities to share knowledge, build relationships, and reflect on the future of scholarly communication.

🌍 What in the world has PKP been up to? 2025 was an important year of events that have helped shape #OpenAccess #ScholarlyPublishing, free #OpenSource software, global engagement, regional focus, advocacy, research, collaboration and more.

Which events were you at?

pkp.sfu.ca/2026/01/27/2...

Multi spectral imagining of the letetr fragment

image of the fragment of paper

Deep within #UofT’s rare book collections, even the humblest materials can hold extraordinary stories.

A scrap of 📜 from the Robertson Davies Library @masseycollege.bsky.social Library has been identified as part of a 15th-century letter from the court of King Louis XI of France

Our AI Exchange was rescheduled due to illness - which means there's still time for you to join us on the *new date*: Thursday, March 5, 10-11 am ET.

Learn how the McMaster Digitization Centre is using AI apps to enhance accessibility in collections.

Info & sign up: ocul.on.ca/ai-exchange-...

Looking forward to this upcoming event! No cost to join and you'll hear about lessons learned and key themes from bringing the Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit and Workshops to Canada and the US.

Info and link to register: www.rluk.ac.uk/dsf/

We always love hearing about how libraries create equal learning opportunities for students.

Shout out to the libraries at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social
for their accessibility services and commitment to helping students overcome barriers to learning!

library.mcmaster.ca/news/librari...