Libraries Lead‪!‬ Beth Patin, Dave Lankes, & Mike Eisenberg

In this episode, we return to one of our favorite topics– the new AI. But rather than focus on the latest “gee whiz” or OMG capabilities, we turn to the societal implications and impact side of the topic. Dave raised this topic wondering if it’s another case of, “this is why we can't have nice things anymore.” Why is it that for world-changing technologies over the past half-century that held great promise for the betterment of humanity (e.g., personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide ...

What could be less controversial than school libraries? School libraries - dedicated to children and American values. School libraries- keeping school information collections & technology up-to-date and secure. School librarians - seeking to promoting literacy and ensuring that students gain essential information & technology skills. Mom, apple pie, and school libraries, right? Wrong. School libraries are being challenged across the country with politically-motivated, organ...

Information and technology are a ubiquitous part of our lives. We cannot escape. Many of us walk around with multiple devices, receiving hundreds of notifications, emails, alerts, texts each day. Much like the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once we are all navigating a multiverse of devices and information sources. We used to talk about and experience the world in real life (IRL) through our digital presences. But is it now the opposite? Do we experience our lives digitally more...

ContentWarning: This episode includes discussions about mental health, addiction, and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling with these issues, please seek professional help. It is important to prioritize your well-being and the well-being of those around you.In this episode, we get serious about a serious problem: despondency and despair across all age groups – middle age, young adults and seniors too. For example, going against all the statistical ...

In recent weeks, Dave's gone down the AI rabbit hole and, in this episode, we’re following him. Besides using AI for creating graphics, Dave’s is using an AI app called Poe to create “answer bots” – AI chats based on one's own content. This differs from ChatGPT and others which are based on large language models of massive amounts of general content from the web. With Poe, Dave used transcripts of this podcast (Libraries Lead) to create a Libraries Lead "bot" - Lib_Leader bot - https://poe.co...

We - Beth, Mike, & Dave - are educators, so naturally we all believe deeply in the value of learning at all stages of life. We advocate for “education” as an answer to many if not most questions, problems, concerns, and issues that people face individually and collectively. But, let’s get more specific about what this really means today and tomorrow specifically in library and information science education, in formal school settings, and even more broadly in society. In this episode we de...