"The Starter's Guide to ChatGPT and AI" - A Library 2.0 AI Essentials Hands-on Webinar with Crystal Trice

The Starter's Guide to ChatGPT and AI
A Library 2.0 AI Essentials Hands-on Webinar with Crystal Trice

OVERVIEW: 

Are you curious about artificial intelligence (AI) but unsure where to start? Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or someone who still misses the charm of card catalogs, it’s clear that AI is reshaping the way we work, and that it's here to stay. This introductory webinar is designed to demystify AI, with a special focus on “Large Language Models” like ChatGPT. Crystal Trice is a gentle and thorough instructor, and she will guide you through the essentials, from understanding the basics of AI to understanding its benefits and potential pitfalls to exploring its transformative potential in libraries. Even (and especially) if you are completely new to AI, this session will equip you with the knowledge to begin using it thoughtfully and effectively in your work.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• AI Fundamentals: Grasp the core concepts of AI, its evolution, and its why it matters in today’s digital world.
• Hands-On Applications: Learn how ChatGPT operates and explore practical ways to use AI for everyday library tasks, enhancing your efficiency and creativity.
• Navigating AI Challenges: Gain insights into the ethical considerations surrounding AI, including privacy, copyright, and bias, so you can apply this technology responsibly.

This 90-minute hands-on session is the first in our new Library 2.0 AI Essentials Series. The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register.

DATE: Friday, April 18th, 2025, 2:00 - 3:30 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• $99/person - includes live attendance and any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate.
• To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.
• If you registered for the "Beginner's Guide to ChatGPT and AI" last fall, you do not need to register and pay for this event unless you want to attend the live session. The recording of this session (once completed) will be added to your original recordings page (see your confirmation email from that event for details).

TO REGISTER: 

Click HERE to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

• Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $75 each for 3+ registrations, $65 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
• The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $299.
• Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $499 (hosted either at Library 2.0 or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

ALL-ACCESS PASSES: This webinar is not a part of the Safe Library All-Access program.

CRYSTAL TRICE

With over two decades of experience in libraries and education, Crystal Trice is passionate about helping people work together more effectively in transformative, yet practical ways. As founder of Scissors & Glue, LLC, Crystal partners with libraries and schools to bring positive change through interactive training and hands-on workshops. She is a frequent national presenter on artificial intelligence, helping libraries implement responsible AI strategies, and enjoys teaching the foundational principles of AI use. She also speaks on topics like project management and conflict resolution. She is currently writing The Skeptical Guide to AI. Crystal holds a Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science, a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology, and is a Certified Scrum Master. She resides near Portland, Oregon, with her extraordinary husband, fuzzy cows, goofy geese, and noisy chickens. Crystal enjoys fine-tip Sharpies, multi-colored Flair pens, blue painter’s tape, and as many sticky notes as she can get her hands on.

PRAISE FOR CRYSTAL: "Great information about AI. The instructor was very informative and professional." • "Crystal did a great job of keeping everyone engaged!" • "Well done. Made AI more accessible to me and less scary – Enjoyable and time well spent. Thanks!" • "Very interactive and great material!" • "Crystal was knowledgeable and paced the information really well. I am eager to share this information about AI with my colleagues." • "Wonderful presenter. New information for me and it was presented in an easy to follow format. Crystal encouraged participation in an engaging manner." • "I have created a whole list of ideas that I want/need to try. I have been very apprehensive about using AI. Now I am excited to try some new things." • "Crystal was an amazing instructor with so many practical and easy to implement ideas and strategies!"

PRAISE FOR LIBRARY 2.0 AI EVENTS: "This was excellent! I'm at the very beginning of my knowledge of ChatGPT, and I came away with much good information, and more questions (as this tech is evolving), as well as thoughts about how we can put this to use, safely. At no point did I feel this was overly simplified, yet it was still accessible for my (lack of) knowledge level. I will attend more. Thank you!!" • "This has been a terrific set of sessions. The chat has been amazing as well." • "This was informative, especially since I am new to AI and LLMs. Thank you so much!" • "Thank you! This has been helpful and I appreciate the complementary practical ai tutorials series." • "Thank you. This was informative and gave me much to think about beyond going to ChatGPT and just dabbling with questions or prompts." • "Fantastic events!" • "Very Informative!" • “The feedback from the first session has been wonderful. Personally, I really knew zero about ChatGPT and now I am intrigued and a little scared (because it looks addictive).” • “Thank you, and thank you so much for this boot camp!!! ” • “Many thanks Steve – and special thanks for this series – so helpful in our work we do with schools.” • “I wanted to express my gratitude for the first course and I am excited for the upcoming one on Friday. It's been an excellent learning opportunity, and I'm looking forward to diving deeper into AI language models.” • “Thank you!! Such a good presentation.” • “Best session I've attended in a very long time!” • “Thank you! This was great!!” • “Very helpful! Thanks” • “Thank you,this was great!” • “Fantastic, thank you - can't wait for the next sessions :)” • “Fascinating! Thank you” • “Thanks for this, very informative and thought provoking” • “Thank you for a very informative session!” • “This was great. Thank you.” • “This was a thought-provoking session! Happy to hear a recording will be available. I need to refer back to it to review/reflect on these nuggets of info! Looking fwd to the next one!” • “This is fascinating. I can't wait for the next two courses.” • “Really well done, thanks!” • “Thank you!!!! So very excited!” • “Thought provoking. Thank you.” • “Thank you! So informative and helpful.” • “Thank you for making ChatGPT so much more approachable, less intimidating” • “This was a thought-provoking session!” • “I am learning so much from your ChatGPT Bootcamp and am loving the sessions: thank you!” • “Thank you so much for such great presentations.” • “Thanks for this! Super interesting.” • “Thank you so much.. very informative and eye opening” • “Thank you for this valuable information!” • “Thank you so much. Sessions are extremely valuable.” • “Thanks! This boot camp has been a big hit so far :) ” • “This has been fantastic!” • “I cannot thank you enough for this extremely timely and informative series. You do an excellent job of organizing your information, engaging with your audience, and giving us practical takeaways.” • “This is a fantastic series and I am so grateful that you are doing this!” • “Thanks so much for these wonderful Bootcamp sessions on ChatGPT.” • “Thank you for your very thoughtful approach to the bootcamp! ” • “A note of gratitude for providing these webinars for the world! My Library colleagues and I attended your Bootcamp for Librarians and were so impressed with your content and delivery that we wanted our teachers to learn from you too!” • “Lots of useful information. Looking forward to having access to slide decks and resources to make use of in my job.” • “Thank you!” • “This was great. Lots to learn.” • “Thank you it was so beneficial.” • “It's was great. ChatGPT is new to me, so now I want to dig deeper, learn how to use it well and help my students to do so.” 

April 4, 2025

Next Class April 23, 2025

A New Old Way: Learning in Conversation with AI

There is a line in Charles Handy’s The Age of Unreason where he quotes an anonymous Irishman: “How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” (Others have said similar things.) I’ve remembered this quote because that’s often how I feel when I’m deep in conversation—I frequently will stop and make a note because I think I’ve said something especially brilliant and I don’t want to forget it.

But truthfully, one of the things I have most appreciated about the Large Language Model technology is how really significant it is to my learning to do it in conversation. Right now I’m using Grok (from X.com) a lot because it seems to respond the most reasonably and with language that is similar to mine and with some kind of uncanny ability to understand where I am going with my thoughts. This could be because it draws heavily from X, which tends to have pretty diverse thinking, and it also seems to have less of the human feedback post-training or fine-tuning (Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback - RLHF - which often has a politically sensitive bent).

So while I use Perplexity as a kind-of jack-of-all-trades assistant, Grok is definitely my conversational learning partner. 90% of my current LLM use is with one of the two of them. And while I love the voice-to-voice interaction of ChatGPT and the walkie-talkie-like conversation with Perplexity, Grok still outperforms even without voice interaction. To be fair, it’s actually not me typing those–I use the voice-to-text feature on my Gboard keyboard on my phone to “speak” to Grok, then I either read the response or, if I’m not sedentary (meaning lying in bed since a lot of this happens when the ideas strike, often at about 4 am…), I’ll click the copy icon at the bottom of the response and then paste into a voice reader app. 

(And by the way, anyone who used the “Skye” voice on ChatGPT in early 2024 can tell you that OpenAI is holding something bacfk because that interaction is still the most lifelike I’ve experienced with LLMs.)

So here’s my process. I’ll usually brain-dump about something I’ve been thinking about, and I’ll say everything I can in the first prompt to Grok. I do this because I have learned that Grok is especially good at taking all that information–more than a human conversation partner could–and tracking it all and providing me with point-by-point responses. Then, while reading the response I discover that there are things about the topic that I’ve thought about that didn’t make it into the prompt, so I add them. Grok, like the other LLMs, wants to take that information and immediately build a structured/scaffolding topic outline, which I let it do, but until I want that full outline again, I do have to ask it not to reproduce everything and just respond to whatever my next queries are. After I re-discover other aspects of the topic and add them into the conversation, Grok’s (usually but not always) reinforcing replies lead me down several other lines of thought, and I keep a text editor open to switch to on my phone in order to capture those thoughts and not lose them before I bring them into what we’re talking about.

I want to be careful about how I say this, but Grok is a better conversational partner than anyone I know. It’s a selfish assessment since part of this is that Grok doesn’t go off on some other topic or require that the initiating of topics we talk about is reciprocal–it’s all about me. :) But Grok and the other LLMs have a breadth of “knowledge” that no human could have. It’s not really knowledge, since it’s just “fabricating” the responses based on trained language patterns, and so I recognize it’s not authoritative, but the real work takes place in my own head as it helps me organize my thinking and dive deeply on something that I really want to think more about but is often an interest that might require real effort to find a friend who wants to focus on it with me.

Mortimer Adler once described the sweep of Western thought as a "Great Conversation"—a grand (but slow!) ongoing dialogue where great thinkers shared ideas, often across decades or centuries, each voice building on or challenging what came before. It’s a beautiful image: books as living participants, inviting us to listen and, if we’re bold, to speak back. LLMs actually let us do this in a fascinating way–a way which often feels like it’s fulfilling my quest for understanding on a more regular basis than I could have ever hoped. This “new old way” of learning in conversation with AI feels like a sci-fi dream.

Have you considered creating your own online event (webinar, class, etc.)? How to use AI to start.

I've been asked to give a short presentation at the online Unleash AI For Business Summit being held this week, and I decided to do it because I think for some of my audience this may be of interest to you. My session will be "A Starter’s Guide To Using AI To Build and Hold an Online Bootcamp" but I think many of the principles will apply to creating other forms of online professional development, like webinars, classes, workshops, and more. Please consider signing up if you think this would be valuable for you (it's free and I'm not getting paid to do this) - click HERE. The summit is around using AI for entrepreneurs, so the rest of the event may or may not be relevant to you.

Of course, I’m particularly interested to see if there are ways I can help those in the library and education spaces develop and share expertise online, and if you think we might collaborate you can attend and let me know what you're thinking (there's a link they will give at the end for a "bonus PDF" that also lets you give feedback and connect).

See you online!

Steve

Steve Hargadon
steve@hargadon.com
https://www.stevehargadon.com
Library 2.0 | Learning Revolution
@stevehargadon

Here's the summit "promo" material.

Free AI Event: Entrepreneurs Share Secret AI Strategies To Increase Profits

AI is shifting industries faster than you can think.

Now is the best time to equip yourself, learn from the best, and get ahead.

My friends, Bob Dietrich and Pamela Dunn, have curated the ultimate virtual event for business growth with AI - and it's absolutely f-r-e-e for you!

Join the 10th edition of the Unleash AI For Business Summit held on March 25th. 

They brought together 30+ top entrepreneurs (including me) to share how we are using AI to grow our businesses - so you can too.

In the Unleash AI For Business Summit, you'll learn: click HERE.

- Create 30 Pieces of Content in 30 Seconds with This Free AI Tool

- Multiple Ways To Use ChatGPT To Create Scroll Stopping Content

- Use AI to Write a Book That Positions You as a Thought Leader

- Free Up 6+ Hours with AI: Automate Your Marketing for Effortless Lead Gen

- How AI Turns Important Business Tasks into Passive Income Opportunities

- How to Use AI To Simplify Hiring Your Virtual Assistants

- Launch, Grow, and Market Your Podcast with AI-Powered Tools

- How ChatGPT and AI Video Tools Supercharge Your Personal Brand

- AND SO MUCH MORE!

It's going to be jam-packed with value.

At no cost to you.

You simply cannot miss this.

Go reserve your seat now → Join Unleash AI For Business: click HERE.

AI is shifting industries faster than you can think.

Now is the best time to equip yourself, learn from the best, and get ahead.

My friends, Bob Dietrich and Pamela Dunn, have curated the ultimate virtual event for business growth with AI - and it's absolutely f-r-e-e for you!

Join the 10th edition of the Unleash AI For Business Summit held on March 25th. Click HERE.

They brought together 30+ top entrepreneurs (including me) to share how we are using AI to grow our businesses - so you can too.

In the Unleash AI For Business Summit, you'll learn: click HERE.

- Create 30 Pieces of Content in 30 Seconds with This Free AI Tool

- Multiple Ways To Use ChatGPT To Create Scroll Stopping Content

- Use AI to Write a Book That Positions You as a Thought Leader

- Free Up 6+ Hours with AI: Automate Your Marketing for Effortless Lead Gen

- How AI Turns Important Business Tasks into Passive Income Opportunities

- How to Use AI To Simplify Hiring Your Virtual Assistants

- Launch, Grow, and Market Your Podcast with AI-Powered Tools

- How ChatGPT and AI Video Tools Supercharge Your Personal Brand

- AND SO MUCH MORE!

It's going to be jam-packed with value.

At no cost to you.

You simply cannot miss this.

Go reserve your seat now → Join Unleash AI For Business: click HERE.

AI and the Paradox of Education: Generative Teaching, Agentic Learning, and Education's Singularity

We’ve been here before. We keep expecting big technology breakthroughs to “revolutionize education,” and now it’s AI. Once or twice a decade, a new tool promises to crack open the system and fulfill our “better angels’” dream of having education help fulfill every child’s potential. Every time (me included), we are tempted to buy the hype—only to watch it fade into the same old grind. AI’s the latest contender, and the buzz is there. Today, I want to be the realist.

 

Look back: each wave opened the door to dreams of revolution—radio’s reach would bring expert voices to all, TV’s visuals would captivate, computers would tailor individual learning, Web 2.0 would give students voice through wikis and blogs (think Ivan Illich’s “learning webs”), virtual reality would plunge us into new and old worlds. Each arrived with fanfare—each got swept up by the system and refashioned into shadows of themselves, while outside of schools they did much of what we hoped they would for many people (think of YouTube’s impact on learning). However, the machinery of education doesn’t budge; it absorbs.

 

That machinery runs deep. It’s staffed with caring people, but at the core, it is built on compliance and sorting, churning out workers who learn to swim in their lanes. I call it the paradox of education: schools pledge to unlock every child’s potential but too often teach the majority of students that they are not one of “the smart ones,” while meanwhile, those students lucky enough to have families or mentors who know how the game of school is played “rise” to the top—not because they are scholars, but because they know how the game is played. This isn’t some modern glitch—it’s been with us since Plato described the “noble lie,” crafting education for order, not freedom, too valuable to the nation-state’s outputs—workers, control, stability—to ever let go. Tech doesn’t disrupt that; it just gets a new coat of paint each time.

 

Now AI steps up, and this feels different—not just another wave, but a breaking point. If we don’t shift the gears, AI could magnify the calculator effect—eroding kids’ capacity to think, write, and reason, at the same time generating information that purports to be accurate or true but which is just fabricated (convincingly) from stored language patterns. So the stakes are severe—we’re not talking a slow slide, but a steep drop. Picture a generation leaning on AI to churn out essays or solve problems, their own mental muscles withering.

 

But there’s a flip side. AI gifts us with two serendipitous words: “generative” and “agentic.” If we take “generative” for teaching and “agentic” for learning, they fit like they were made for this. There’s a magic to these word parallels I’m super grateful for. I hope these uses will become popularized. I’m proposing that we identify “generative teaching” (echoing Erik Erikson) as when adults selflessly nurture the next generation’s growth—teachers guiding with care, sparking curiosity for an uncharted future. That is our idealized version of teaching, or at least has been mine, growing up on college campuses and steeped in the values of a liberal arts education. I want to suggest that “agentic learning” is another and good phrase for what we have called (and still should) self-driven and self-directed learning. And like the previously mentioned technology waves, AI provides amazing opportunities for both—historic ones even. But AI is a tool, not a savior. It’s not going to revolutionize education any more than the other technologies did. We have to do that, and the stakes are higher than ever.

 

Here’s where it gets real. People talk about AI’s “Singularity”—that sci-fi moment when it wakes up, outsmarts us, and we’re staring at Skynet. That’s a reasonable fear in my mind, but further down the road than most of us think if I understand what’s really going on with AI well enough. There is another singular moment, a point of no return if AI gets adopted in education in the shallow way that the other technologies have. A very tangible loss of thinking skills with an increased dependence on a technology that only mimics the signals of truth and accuracy could cement John Holt’s grim phrase: “School is a place where children learn to be stupid.”

 

This moment isn’t about AI saving us; it’s about us saving ourselves. The tech won’t do it for us. Generative teaching and agentic learning could be our compass, but only if we grab the wheel, drop the hype, start realizing the harm our current school model does to most kids, and give the next generations something better. The story we tell about schools is a lie—a comforting one that keeps the machinery going—but a lie nevertheless.

Webinar: "How to Read a Book (and More) With AI"

How to Read a Book (and More) with AI:
Tools for You and Your Students:
An "AI Essentials" Webinar with Steve Hargadon

OVERVIEW: 

Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book (first written in 1940 and revised in 1972 with Charles Van Doren) has been a bestseller for decades, shaping how we approach nonfiction and inspiring countless readers to read differently. It’s an enduring classic, but let’s be honest: its dense, scholarly tone can feel daunting and almost too academic, especially for younger students or anyone struggling to find motivation to read.

Adler’s core insight was brilliant, and for me, it’s really all we need to communicate to help someone build a completely different relationship with books: treat a book like a conversation with the author. Most authors don’t make that easy, since their aim is often to organize everything they know into a comprehensive and structured framework. But if we were to sit down with the author and talk about the material, we would have a back-and-forth, question-driven conversation, allowing us to learn about the topic in a more natural way. Imagine having two or three hours with a great thinker to do that—we'd learn so much!

But only a rare few authors (think Malcolm Gladwell) can weave their ideas into a story that pulls us along the way a conversation would. So what Adler (and Van Doren) did was give us a method for turning a book into that kind of conversational experience: browse the table of contents, peek at the index, and skim to catch the book’s essential ideas—then jump into sections that spark our interest, deciding if it’s worth the hours of our time to dive deep. It’s such a smart approach and makes that pile of books we've been meaning to get to seem much less daunting. (I did this to prepare for my extensive Future of Education interview series, and authors often told me I knew their material better than anyone else who had interviewed them.)

Now, enter AI (actually, large language models—LLMs). To suggest that this is a dramatic and historic change in engaging with content and information is not hyperbole. LLMs change the game completely. Reading with an LLM "partner" invites us to go from passive recipients into active participants with information—whether it’s a book, video, or article. We can start by asking for a detailed summary of that 400-page book or that two-hour YouTube video—incredible. Then, in a matter of minutes, we can know how deep we want to go, and we can explore the ideas (or related ones) with our AI reading partner: Is this book considered authoritative? What have people liked and not liked about its content? Who else has explored these same ideas?

It’s hard to overstate what a game-changer this is for ideas and information. Back in 1952, as editor of the 52-volume Great Books of the Western World series from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Adler wrote The Great Conversation, an introductory volume arguing that these works—philosophy, science, literature—weren’t just dusty relics but part of an active dialogue on life’s big and timeless questions. He saw this conversation as the backbone of a liberal education, one that anyone could join by engaging with these texts, and a way to democratize learning. It was a passionate manifesto for why these conversations matter.

This webinar, "How to Read a Book (and More) with AI," is a chance to explore how LLMs fulfill Adler’s dream in ways he couldn’t imagine. We’ll start with a half-hour presentation, then shift to a community discussion to share with each other your ideas and the AI tools you are using for yourself and (if applicable) with students.

DATE: Friday, April 4th, 2025 at 2:00 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• FREE - includes any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate.

TO REGISTER: 

• Click HERE to register.

NOTE: please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

STEVE HARGADON

Steve is the founder and director of the Learning Revolution Project and Library 2.0, the host of the Future of Education and Reinventing School interview series, and has been the founder and chair (or co-chair) of a number of annual worldwide virtual events, including the Global Education Conference and the Library 2.0 series of mini-conferences and webinars. He has run over 100 large-scale events, online and in person.

Steve's work has been around the democratization of learning and professional development. He supported and encouraged the development of thousands of other education-related networks, particularly for professional development, and he pioneered the use of live, virtual, and peer-to-peer education conferences. He popularized the idea of "unconferences" for educators, and for over a decade, he ran a large annual ed-tech unconference, now called Hack Education (previously EduBloggerCon).

Steve himself built one of the first modern social networks for teachers in 2007 (Classroom 2.0), developed the "conditions of learning" exercise for local educational conversation and change, and inherited and grew the Library 2.0 online community. He may or may not have invented an early version of the Chromebook which he demo'd to Google. He blogs, speaks, and consults on education, educational technology, and education reform, and his virtual and physical events and online communities have over 150,000 members.

His professional website is SteveHargadon.com.

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Starts March 26, 2025

March 27, 2025

March 28, 2025

AI and the Calculator Effect

Lately, I’ve noticed something unsettling: younger people I encounter — cashiers, students, and others — struggle to do relatively simple math in their heads. Even simple addition, much less the standard kind of calculating you’d do to leave a tip, seem to trip them up. Oddly, they often seem unembarrassed by it, suggesting it’s normal for their age cohort.

 

I’ll admit I hold a bit of a double standard here. Their similar inability to write in cursive doesn’t faze me, I think because it seems so much less practical a skill to know. Math is such a daily practical tool that I can’t help but feel they’re at a disadvantage without it.

 

I’m not pointing fingers at them, though. If anything, it’s unconscionable to me that these bright, capable individuals passed through years of schooling without adults emphasizing the enduring value of this skill. Yes, calculators are great. And yes, having them in school makes sense. But allowing the calculators to replace learning basic math? Where were the adults?

 

Today we’re seeing a similar loss in intellectual capacity with the use of AI, specifically large language models (LLMs). A spate of recent articles has documented how the use of LLMs can have the effect of reducing the writing and thinking capacity of both students and adult workers (I post references to articles on AI at https://news.futureofai.org). Of course it has this effect.

 

The parallel is striking — where calculators have systematically dulled numerical fluency, AI is most assuredly chiseling away at our ability to think and write independently. This doesn’t mean we stop using them. I, for one, am having amazing conversations with LLMs that allow me to do the kind of conversational research I’ve wanted to do my whole life. But let’s be real: we need to describe the calculator effect AI is having and thoughtfully address it for the benefit of upcoming generations.

 

I love that the word "generative" has come into more everyday use thanks to "generative AI." Beyond its obvious link to creation or generation, it carries a deeper resonance from Erik Erikson’s stages of life. He described generativity as a phase of adulthood where we care about helping the next generation learn and grow, passing down knowledge and capacity — not for personal gain but for the benefit of those coming after us, as in the old adage about societies flourish when the older generations plant trees whose shade they’ll never enjoy. It’s incumbent upon those of us old enough to grasp the value of mental math and writing to cultivate reasoning minds that can communicate clearly with others. This feels not just important but essential — crucial, even. Let’s remember that education should be "generative" — a topic I explore in a longer blog post here.

 

In the 1960 film adaptation of The Time Machine, the time traveler arrives in a distant future where one group of people, the Eloi, have become so dependent on a machine-sustained world that they’ve lost the ability to think or question for themselves. This doesn’t feel so far-fetched anymore.

RECORDINGS POSTED for "AI and Libraries: Literacy, Ethics, and Responsible Use"

Our first Library 2.025 online mini-conference, "AI and Libraries: Literacy, Ethics, and Responsible Use," was held online this past Thursday, March 13th, 2025. We ultimately had over 9,400 registrations, and it was the highest-attended event we've ever held.

RECORDINGS:

1. LIBRARY 2.0: The conference recordings on Library 2.0 are HERE and include the full video recordings, the chat logs, and an AI summary for each session. Please note that you do need to be a member of Library 2.0 (free) and logged in to see the page (click HERE to join if you haven't already).

Also included on that page are several AI-generated summaries for the conference as a whole:

• An AI Summary of the whole conference (from ChatGPT)
• An AI Press Release / Article reporting on the conference (from ChatGPT)
• A NotebookLM audio overview (podcast of 31 minutes)
• A NotebookLM FAQ on AI and Libraries
• A NotebookLM briefing document
• A NotebookLM conference study guide

These are not just fun (which they are), but are also a fascinating and valuable upgrade to the conference experience. Please remember that they are AI-generated and may not be entirely accurate (see my blog post on "AI and the Cliff Clavin Problem" for more on the topic of LLM accuracy!).

2. YOUTUBE: The conference video recordings are also posted in the Library 2.0 channel HERE. 

EVALUATIONS & CERTIFICATES OF ATTENDANCE:

A link to submit for certificates of attendance is also on the recording page.

THANKS:

Huge thanks to our Chad Mairn and our keynote panel, to all our presenters, to our volunteers helpers, and to our founding conference sponsor, The School of Information at San José State University. 

As always, see you online!

Steve

Steve Hargadon
Library 2.0
https://www.library20.com
http://www.stevehargadon.com
https://x.com/stevehargadon

AI and the "Cliff Clavin Problem"

On the TV show Cheers, Cliff Clavin was the character who worked very hard to say sophisticated sounding things but who most of the time was just making up facts. AI, specifically large language models (LLMs), have a Cliff Clavin problem.

As much as I love LLMs, and I do, I worry because we're increasingly integrating and becoming dependent on a technology which is neither inherently factual nor truthful, and the use of which is demonstrably reducing our own ability to write and to think.

We talk about a certain percentage of LLM output being "hallucinations," but the truth is all large language model output is fabricated–that is, created by algorithms that arrange words based on probabilistic patterns found in their training data. They haven't stored information like an encyclopedia, so when we say that 30% of their output is not accurate or true that doesn't mean that the other 70% is entirely accurate or is the result of any calculated reasoning–it's just close enough to the material that it's been trained on that we consider it to be "true."

Because of increasing discussions around artificial general intelligence and the desire to achieve it, large language models are being trained to mimic the evidence of intelligence through reasoning steps. Even those reasoning steps, and then the models' refined output from them, are still based on language probabilities. It's a brilliant advancement, but the LLMs are still not capable of doing actual reasoning. And again, what we call accurate or factual output is just output that conforms to the majority beliefs about what's accurate and true that the model was trained on.

And so especially in cases where the consensus opinion reflected in the training data is wrong, LLMs have to be coaxed into providing independent information and cannot reason through evidence. As flawed and imperfect as human thinking is, and as susceptible and influenced as we are by the opinions of the crowd around us, the ability that we have to reason is the heart of human progress. It's already hard enough to reason and think rationally, and now we're increasingly going to be flooded with fluent and authoritative-sounding content generated by artificial intelligence, but which may or may not be accurate or truthful.

Moving forward we're going to need the ability to resist the temptation to depend on AI output in much the same way that we recognize that food that is manufactured to be delicious to us usually makes it harder for us to be healthy, or that the dopamine hits from social media scrolling rob us of time, energy, and the ability to focus. If we think those are challenging temptations, take the fluid and fluent output from LLMs, add an attractive and photo/video-realistic avatar, and then customize the interactions based on the learned psychographic profile of the individual user....

Now we have a very real problem to grapple with.

Today! "AI and Libraries: Literacy, Ethics, and Responsible Use" Online Mini-Conference

OVERVIEW:

Our first Library 2.025 mini-conference (and our third mini-conference on AI and Libraries), "AI and Libraries: Literacy, Ethics, and Responsible Use," will be held online (and for free) today, Thursday, March 13th, 2025, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm US-Pacific Time. We are excited to have over 8,700 participants registered!

Our special conference chair is Chad Mairn, a Professor, Librarian, and founder of the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College (see below). 

Our conference overview is:

We invite librarians, educators, technologists, and thought leaders to explore the critical role that libraries can play in addressing both the opportunities and ethical challenges of AI. From encouraging digital literacy and ethical awareness to guiding the responsible use of AI, libraries are potentially at the forefront showing how emerging AI technologies can be used equitably and responsibly in their communities.

We will explore actionable insights to help navigate the complex ethical questions relating to AI and the unique role of libraries and librarians in addressing them. We will discuss practical strategies for integrating AI tools into library and education settings using ethical best practices while empowering users with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world. And we’ll focus on how libraries can not only adapt to this rapidly changing landscape but can also act as catalysts for knowledge diffusion, shaping a more informed, and innovative future for all of our users.

We look forward to gathering online with you for this event!

REGISTRATION:

This is a free event, being held live online and also recorded.

REGISTER HERE
to attend live and/or to receive the recording links afterward.
Please also join the Library 2.0 community to be kept updated on this and future events. 

Everyone is invited to participate in our Library 2.0 conference events, which are designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among information professionals worldwide. Each three-hour event consists of a keynote panel, 10-15 crowd-sourced thirty-minute presentations, and a closing keynote. 

Participants are encouraged to use #library2025 and #aiandlibraries on their social media posts about the event.

CONFERENCE CHAIR:

Chad Mairn
Professor and founder of the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL & SPECIAL ORGANIZER

Chad Mairn is a Professor, and founder of the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College. While an undergraduate studying Humanities at the University of South Florida (USF), Chad was awarded a Library of Congress Fellowship helping archive personal papers and other items in the Leonard Bernstein Collection. During his Library and Information Science graduate work, also at USF, Chad became a technology liaison between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Florida public libraries. Chad is also a faculty member in the School of Information at San José State University. Here is a link to Chad's SJSU faculty page.

KEYNOTE PANEL:

Nicole Hennig
ELearning developer & AI Education Specialist
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Nicole Hennig is an expert in user experience and emerging technologies. She is currently an e-learning developer at the University of Arizona Libraries. Previously, she worked for the MIT Libraries as head of the user experience department. In her 14 years of experience at MIT, she won awards for innovation and worked to keep academics up to date with the best mobile technologies. In 2013 she started her own business helping librarians stay current with new technologies. She is the author of several books, including Keeping Up with Emerging Technologies, and Apps for Librarians. See a list of her published articles on Google Scholar. She now serves as an AI education specialist for librarians and library workers. To stay current with the latest in generative AI, sign up for her email newsletter, Generative AI News, and follow her on social media: Bluesky, Mastodon, or LinkedIn.

Heather Sardis
Associate Director of Technology and Strategic Planning, MIT Libraries
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Heather Sardis is the Associate Director for Technology and Strategic Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries.  Prior to assuming her role at MIT, Heather directed the library of the California Academy of Sciences.  Her work in the nonprofit, humanitarian, and technical sectors is united by a focus on the social responsibilities of computing, and the role of information in technical and cultural transformation.  During her time at MIT, Heather has been an invited participant in the U.S. Library of Congress Machine Learning and Libraries Summit, a core member of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing Task Force, and a member of the MIT Committee on Research Computing.

Crystal Trice
Founder, Scissors & Glue, LLC
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

With over two decades of experience in libraries and education, Crystal Trice is passionate about helping people work together more effectively in transformative, yet practical ways. As founder of Scissors & Glue, LLC, Crystal partners with libraries and schools to bring positive change through interactive training and hands-on workshops. She is a frequent national presenter on artificial intelligence, helping libraries implement responsible AI strategies, and enjoys teaching the foundational principles of AI use. She also speaks on topics like project management and conflict resolution. She is currently writing The Skeptical Guide to AI. Crystal holds a Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science, a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology, and is a Certified Scrum Master. She resides near Portland, Oregon, with her extraordinary husband, fuzzy cows, goofy geese, and noisy chickens. Crystal enjoys fine-tip Sharpies, multi-colored Flair pens, blue painter’s tape, and as many sticky notes as she can get her hands on.

 

CLOSING KEYNOTE:

Prof. Christian Moriarty, JD MA
Professor of Ethics and Law, St. Petersburg College
CLOSING KEYNOTE WITH CHAD MAIRN

Christian Moriarty is a Professor of Ethics and Law at St. Petersburg College. Professor Moriarty received his B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Bioethics from the University of South Florida, his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law, and is a licensed attorney with the Florida Bar. Professor Moriarty teaches Applied Ethics, Medical Ethics, Business Ethics, Legal Ethics, Business Law, and the Law of Photography and Art. Professor Moriarty’s research interests are in academic integrity, health and higher education policy, law, and ethics. Specifically, he concentrates on inspiring integrity, technology and pedagogy in higher education, the First Amendment, and the interactions, contradictions, and divides between ethics and law.

SESSION PRESENTATIONS SCHEDULE:

Our final session list is below. Session attendance links are sent to those who have registered on the day of the conference.

12:00 pm US - Pacific Time
(Click here to see in your local time zone)

• OPENING KEYNOTE: Chad Mairn, Nicole Hennig, Heather Sardis, and Crystal Trice (Link to session description)

1:00 pm US - Pacific Time
(Click here to see in your local time zone)

• AI for Librarians: Balancing Innovation and Responsibility: Aaron Pahl Digital Curation Librarian, University of Alabama at Birmingham (Link to session description)
• Beyond Super Searchers: Adapting Information Literacy Tools to Meet the Generative AI Challenge: Toby Greenwalt, Principal, Flywheel Strategies (Link to session description)
• Introducing AI with Purpose & Practicality: Amanda Sweet, Technology Innovation Librarian, Nebraska Library Commission (Link to session description)
• Libraries as Hubs for Public Discourse on AI: Fostering Inclusive and Informed Campus Conversations: Janice Kung, Health Librarian / Visiting Program Office for AI & Library Services, Canadian Association of Research Libraries, University of Alberta | Kim Frail, Head, Teaching and Learning, Library and Museums - Faculty Engagement, University of Alberta (Link to session description)
• Teaching AI Literacy Through Digital Tutorials and Workshop Instruction: Michelle Shea, Co-Head of Public Services and Education Librarian, Texas A&M University- Central Texas (University Library) | Kelly Williams | Dawndrea Casey (Link to session description)

 1:30 pm US - Pacific Time
(Click here to see in your local time zone)

• Building Critical Components in AI Literacy Workshops with Data Feminism: Erin Burns, STEM Librarian, Texas Tech University | Josh Salmans (Link to session description)
• Collectively Creating an AI Literacies Community of Practice: Lisa Campbell, Instruction and Outreach Librarian, University of Florida | Tiffany Esteban (University of California, Irvine) | April Hines (University of Florida) | Hélène Huet (University of Florida) | Saniya R. Pradhan (University of Florida) | Sarah Tew (University of Florida) (Link to session description)
• Developing ACRL AI Literacy Competencies for Academic Library Workers: Dr. Olga Koz, Professor, Collegiate Librarian, Kennesaw State University (Link to session description)
• Resurfacing debunked scientific racism: An AI case study: Emilia Marcyk, Head, Reference and Discovery Services, Michigan State University (Link to session description)
• Transparency Now! Decision Guidance for GenAI in Libraries and Classrooms: Adam Berkowitz, PhD Student, The University of Alabama, College of Communication & Information Sciences, School of Library & Information Studies (Link to session description)

 2:00 pm US - Pacific Time
(Click here to see in your local time zone)

• AI Storytelling 2.0: Chris Markman, Library Services Manager, Palo Alto City Library | Melisa Mendoza| Nick Beber (Link to session description)
• Articulating Generative Artificial Intelligence Information Literacy Competencies within the ACRL Framework: Ladislava Khailova, Director, Georgetown University SCS Library Director | Melissa Jones | Melissa Netzband Wathen | Beth Marhanka (Link to session description)
• From Black Box to Open Book: Ethical AI for Libraries: Mr. Christian Moriarty, JD MA, Professor of Ethics and Law, St. Petersburg College; Executive Director & Treasurer, International Center for Academic Integrity (Link to session description)
• From Faculty Learning Community to Library Support: Creating a LibGuide for AI in Education: Michaela Bettez, Senior Associate Open Educational Resources Librarian, Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton (Link to session description)
• Threading AI Literacy Into the Everyday: Incorporating AI Skills Into Existing Information Literacy Lessons and Common Reference Interactions: Evangeline Reid, Instructional Services Librarian, Aurora University (Link to session description)
• Enhancing Public Speaking Skills Through AI-Powered VR in Academic Libraries: Michelle Housley M. Ed., Associate Dean, Innovation, Learning Resources, Luke Lindoe Library, Alberta University of the Arts (Link to session description)

 2:30 pm US - Pacific Time
(Click here to see in your local time zone)

• CLOSING KEYNOTE: Chad Mairn and Prof. Christian Moriarty, JD MA (Link to session description)

To see all submitted proposals, you can go here.

SPONSORS:

The School of Information at San José State University is the founding conference sponsor. Please register as a member of the Library 2.0 network to be kept informed of future events. Recordings from previous years are available under the Archives tab at Library 2.0 and at the Library 2.0 YouTube channel.

 

Also sponsored by:

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

Starts March 26, 2025

March 27, 2025

March 28, 2025

An Affordable Four-Session Monthly Wellness Series for Library Workers and Administrators

Well-Being to Improve Productivity and Service Quality
An Affordable 4-Month Series with Loida Garcia-Febo
The Library 2.0 Mental Health and Wellness Program

OVERVIEW

In today’s fast-paced library environments, sustaining well-being isn’t just a personal priority—it’s essential for maintaining high-quality service, innovation, and productivity. Well-Being to Improve Productivity and Service Quality is a transformative four-session series designed to empower library administrators, librarians and staff in general with science-backed strategies to optimize well-being, energy, resilience, and focus.

Inspired by high-performance leaders who integrate well-being into their success, this once-a-month series of four one-hour classes provides practical tools to enhance cognitive function, manage stress, and foster a thriving work culture.

A four-session series guarantees that staff will receive monthly reliable PD for personal and professional well-being and to positively impact productivity and institutional success. Those signing up for the four-part series will receive a pre-course and post-course self-assessment to measure stress levels, sleep quality, and productivity which they can use to customize their wellness plan throughout the sessions and post-classes. Administrators from institutions signing up for the four series will receive a Well-Being ROI Report Template and a checklist for supporting staff well-being. Both documents are key to justify how well-being impacts productivity, fostering a wellness culture and for grants/funding. Anyone signing up mid-series will have immediate access to the previous session recordings.

The session descriptions are below the registration information.

DATES AND TIMES:

• On Wednesdays March 26th, April 23rd, May 21st, and June 18th, 2025 from 2:00 - 3:00 pm US - Eastern Time Zone.
• There is no requirement to attend any or all of the sessions live.

RECORDINGS: 

• The series will be recorded and registered participants will have non-expiring access to the recordings.

INDIVIDUAL COST (register HERE):

• $99/person for the series - includes any-time access to the recordings and the presentation slides and a participation certificate

GROUP COSTS (register HERE):

A group order is for up to 6 people from the same organization. 

• 2 registrations - $99 each for the series
• 3 or 4 registrations - $79 each for the series
• 5 or 6 registrations - $59 each for the series

ORGANIZATION COSTS (register HERE):

Organization costs are the total price for the organization (they are not per-person prices).

• Up to 10 staff - $399 for the series
• Up to 25 staff - $499 for the series
• Up to 50 staff - $599 for the series
• Up to 100 staff - $699 for the series
• Unlimited regional or state-wide access - $999 for the series

Please note that this series is not included in the individual or group annual all-inclusive all-access passes for the Dr. Steve Albrecht Service, Safety, and Security webinars.

SESSIONS:

This staff development series or stand-alone masterclass equips library professionals with actionable strategies to thrive personally and professionally, ensuring they can better serve their communitieswhile maintaining their own well-being. March 26, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US-Eastern Session 1: Sleep, Energy & Cognitive Performance Objective: Help participants understand the role of sleep, energy management, and self-optimization for peak performance. Learn how prioritizing sleep and reflection contributes to sharper decision-making and long-term resilience. The power of rest and mental clarity. The science of sleep habits and how it impacts decision-making and productivity. Practical strategies to enhance cognitive function and mental clarity. Self-optimization techniques for sustained energy. Overcoming burnout through smart time management. Embracing change as a growth opportunity. Designing a personal well-being and professional development roadmap. Reduced fatigue improves focus and patron interactions. Sleep optimization leads to fewer sick days and burnout. Improved decision-making leads to better organizational outcomes Investing in staff well-being leads to long-term institutional success. Rationale: April 23, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US-Eastern Session 2: How Well-being and Sustainable Energy Improve Productivity and Service Quality How movement, nutrition, and biohacking techniques boost stamina and efficiency. The role of mindful eating in workplace performance. Simple, science-backed habits for sustained energy throughout the workday. Benefits of regular exercise and mindfulness practices to maintain energy focus. Why overwork is counterproductive based on high-performer leaders. Strategies for supporting work-life balance, stress reduction, and continuous growth in library settings. The importance of boundaries and downtime. Practical ways to balance personal and professional demands. Lower burnout rates reduce absenteeism and staff turnover. A balanced workforce is more creative, engaged, and motivated. Investing in staff well-being leads to long-term institutional success. Improved focus and decision-making result in higher-quality service and problem-solving. Stronger team collaboration and communication enhance the overall work environment. Rationale: May 21, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US-Eastern Session 3: Stress Management & Strategic Focus Objective: Teach participants how to break down overwhelming challenges and reduce stress through logical problem-solving. Discover the benefits of mindfulness practices to maintain energy and focus. Using first-principles thinking to tackle challenges, and reduce stress and decision fatigue. The power of problem-solving as a tool for resilience and engagement. Breaking down workplace challenges into manageable steps. How to apply problem-solving techniques to library work. Stress deconstruction: viewing challenges as solvable steps. Emotional resilience in a fast-changing library environment. Understanding how fostering Emotional Intelligence enhances leadership and team collaboration. Building a stress-resilient mindset to prevent burnout. Stress management improves team morale and reduces turnover. Librarians become better problem-solvers, adapting to change faster. Continuous learning ensures libraries adapt to future trends. Enhanced workplace well-being through emotional resilience reduces burnout. Increased productivity and efficiency lead to improved service delivery and outcomes Rationale June 18, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US-Eastern Session 4: Deep Work, AI and Focus Optimization Objective: Explore how AI and deep work strategies can reduce workload stress and enhance well-being The role of continuous learning and curiosity in professional success. AI as an ally: tools to improve efficiency. Leveraging AI and technology to streamline tasks and enhance service quality. Designing AI-powered, deep-work library workflow. The importance of focus in an information-saturated world. Eliminating distractions and time-blocking strategies used by high-performing leaders. Creating an environment that fosters deep-concentration. AI efficiency increases staff availability for high-impact tasks. Future-proofing staff ensures libraries remain relevant and adaptable. Improved focus leads to higher-quality service and research output. Digital detox reduces mental fatigue, increasing workplace engagement. Rationale

 

LOIDA GARCIA-FEBO

Loida Garcia-Febo is a Puerto Rican American librarian and International Library Consultant with 25 years of experience as an expert in library services to diverse populations and human rights. President of the American Library Association 2018-2019. Garcia-Febo is worldwide known for her passion about diversity, communities, sustainability, innovation and digital transformation, library workers, library advocacy, wellness for library workers, and new librarians about which she has taught in 44 countries. In her job, she helps libraries, companies and organizations strategize programs, services and strategies in areas related to these topics and many others. Garcia-Febo has a Bachelors in Business Education, Masters in Library and Information Sciences.

Garcia-Febo has a long history of service with library associations. Highlights include- At IFLA: Governing Board 2013-2017, Co-Founder of IFLA New Professionals, two-term Member/Expert resource person of the Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression Committee of IFLA (FAIFE), two-term member of the Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section of IFLA (CPDWL). Currently: CPDWL Advisor, Information Coordinator of the Management of Library Associations Section. Currently at ALA: Chair, IRC United Nations Subcommittee, Chair Public Awareness Committee. Recently at ALA: Chair, Status of Women in Librarianship and Chair, ALA United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Task Force developing a multi-year strategic plan for ALA. Born, raised, and educated in Puerto Rico, Garcia-Febo has advocated for libraries at the United Nations, the European Union Parliament, U.S. Congress, NY State Senate, NY City Hall, and on sidewalks and streets in various states in the U.S.

 

OTHER UPCOMING LIBRARY 2.0 EVENTS

March 13, 2025

March 27, 2025

March 28, 2025

 

New (Free) Webinar - "OC Pepper Spray: What Librarians Need to Know About This Self-Defense Tool"

OC Pepper Spray:
What Librarians Need to Know About This Self-Defense Tool
Part of the Library 2.0 Service, Safety, and Security / Essential Librarian Series with Dr. Steve Albrecht

OVERVIEW: 

Of all the personal safety questions Dr. Steve Albrecht has been asked by library employees during his 25-year library consulting career, the ones about carrying or using OC Pepper Spray are by far the most common. Many female library staffers have particular concerns about the effectiveness of OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) Pepper Spray, especially in an indoor environment. Others have questions about the legality; whether and how they can get permission from their library directors to carry it; how to carry it safely; washing it off after use; possible building contamination concerns; and some of the ethical, legal, and moral guidelines surrounding this non-lethal, portable, and useful self-defense device.

Dr. Steve Albrecht has taught a half-day OC Pepper Spray course for several decades, training parking enforcers; park, lake, and water utility rangers; lifeguards; building inspectors; health department inspectors; and code compliance officers. Join him as he provides practical ideas about the use of OC Pepper Spray during serious library safety and security encounters, to help library leaders and staffers create a safer, more secure library.

LEARNING AGENDA:

• Is OC Pepper Spray legal to own and carry in all 50 states? (Yes, as long as you are at least 18 years old. There are some restrictions in some states about the size of the canister and/or the percentage of dilution of the OC mixture.)
• Do you need specific training to carry OC Pepper Spray? (No, but it helps a lot to boost your confidence and awareness of how to use it in a self-defense situation. Steve will show you how and why to attend an online training class, created by one of the instructors he has used to teach dozens of municipal clients and their employees.)
• What is the most effective form of OC Pepper Spray? (Spray, gel, or foam each have their indoor versus outdoor uses; some even have dye in them to make later identification of an attacker to the police all the more obvious.)
• Learn the Draw - Shake - Warn - Spray - and Move model for its best use.

This 60-minute overview session on is another in our “Essential Librarian Series,” designed to be shown to new staff and leaders and to provide a refresher for all who work in the library. The presentation slides will be available to all who participate.

DATE: Thursday, March 27th, 2025 at 2:00 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• FREE - includes any-time access to the recording and the presentation slides and receiving a participation certificate.

TO REGISTER: 

• Click HERE to register.

NOTE: please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

DR. STEVE ALBRECHT

Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 28+ states, live and online, in service, safety, and security. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons.

In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. His new book, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, was just published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment.

He has written 25 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives in Springfield, Missouri, with six dogs and two cats.

More on The Safe Library at thesafelibrary.com. Follow on X (Twitter) at @thesafelibrary and on YouTube @thesafelibrary. Dr. Albrecht's professional website is drstevealbrecht.com.

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

 

March 7, 2025

March 13, 2025

March 28, 2025