While technology is often framed as a great equalizer, access to it remains deeply uneven. The gap is not just about who has Wi-Fi or a laptop. It is about who can fully participate in modern civic, economic, and social life. That is where libraries quietly, but powerfully, step in.
Read More
If an economy were a body and its policies were cells, then the rumoured “Formosan flu” afflicting Taiwan might be best diagnosed not with a stethoscope but with an information scanner. In The Economist’s recent cover story (which dubbed the situation “Taiwanese disease” or “Formosan flu”) it was the persistent undervaluation of the New Taiwan dollar that served as symptom and signal. The magazine’s use of its own Big Mac Index, an informal gauge of purchasing power parity that suggests Taiwan’s currency is around 55 % undervalued relative to the US dollar, turned what might seem like a quirky economic snack into a sprawling public health narrative of economic strain. But what if this isn’t simply about price mechanics or exchange rates? What if Taiwan’s central bank isn’t just a macroeconomic organ but an information gatekeeper, curating the very signals that shape how the domestic body hears itself, thinks about itself and behaves?
Read More
One might expect students of Information Studies to take workshops on Python or metadata. But in an educational adventure I designed and teach, they are busy mastering a different kind of “code”: the interlocking bubbles of charming balloon animals.
Read More
Human–AI Interaction and Collaboration, co-edited by Professors Dan Wu and Shaobo Liang of the School of Information Management, Wuhan University, arrives as a timely and deeply thoughtful contribution. Published by Cambridge University Press, this volume brings together twelve chapters by interdisciplinary scholars from around the world, offering a richly layered exploration of how humans and AI systems interact, collaborate, and co-evolve in contemporary sociotechnical contexts.
Read More
Designers shape far more than products or interfaces. They shape how people act, decide, and relate to the world around them. From recommendation systems to account settings, design quietly guides everyday behavior. Because of this, design is never neutral. It always carries ethical consequences, whether designers intend them or not. This article reworks selected ideas from the author’s research, Rethinking Design Ethics from the Perspective of Spinoza, for a general audience.
Read More
How should people and AI work together in ways that are useful, ethical, and trustworthy? Edited by Dan Wu and Shaobo Liang (Wuhan University), “Human–AI Interaction and Collaboration” maps the fast-moving terrain where users, systems, and information meet—treating human strengths and machine strengths as complements, not substitutes. The introduction frames collaboration as a user-centered endeavor that must balance capability with ethics, transparency, and trust.
Read More
In this special issue we explore the role that libraries, librarians, and information professionals can play in advancing AI literacy in our workplaces and communities. AI literacy is a broad term meant to encompass educating users about AI use, production, and evaluation; however, as we can see there is no commonly agreed upon definition as of yet. The included literature reflects common similarities in the need to incorporate AI literacy into our ongoing work as librarians and educators, while also recognizing that libraries serving such a wide base of communities will need to lead literacy efforts that are uniquely tailored to the populations they serve.
Read More
Are you tired up of travelling across the country to various sites for data collection? Imagine having thousands of eager, geographically distributed volunteers ready to contribute to your research project, and what if these volunteers are people who are already engaged learners, information seekers, and capable of following standard data collection protocols. This resource exists right now in every university library across Sri Lanka.
Read More
Users of GenAI applications need to understand that using GenAI can lead to benefits but also introduces burdens. The benefits and the burdens are two sides of the same coin.
Read More
Artificial intelligence, specifically Generative AI, is a topic that cannot be ignored in education, regardless of the level. As a library director at a four-year private university, I believe it is our duty as librarians to meet the challenge of AI head-on and meet the instructional needs AI creates. Using generative AI is a skill that both students and faculty should be trained in, including the proper uses of AI and how it can be used as a tool, while also being clear how to use it in a positive way. Libraries are uniquely positioned to do oversee this effort on college campuses, because AI literacy is information literacy, and librarians should lead.
Read More
