Let’s stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and look around at the world that we humans have created and that we inhabit. Here’s a snapshot of what it's like to live day to day in 2026 with smartphones, the Internet, Web, AI, social media, augmented reality, and all the other digital systems that we rely on in various aspects of our lives - work, social relationships, entertainment, politics, communications & information.

In this episode, we consider the nature, joy and despair and the challenges and opportunities that we deal with every day in the digital age. Are we in control? Are we merely pawns in their game? Are we caught up in mindless compulsions and addictions? Or is this the moment where institutions like libraries can help us become neither victims nor isolated users, but informed communities who collectively decide what these technologies should do for us?"

In this groundbreaking crossover episode, two podcasts (with Syracuse roots) – Libraries Lead and Infoversity – unite to explore the future of library education. Dr. Beth Patin, Associate Professor and newly appointed Program Director for the MS in Library and Information Science program, sits down with Dean Jeff Hemsley for an in-depth conversation about preparing the next generation of information professionals for an uncertain and rapidly changing world.

As fellow University of Washington iSchool alumni, Beth and Jeff bring shared values and complementary perspectives to urgent questions facing the profession. How do we balance traditional library foundations with emerging technologies like AI? What does it mean to be "information first responders" in communities facing compounding crises? And how can library education center justice, equity, and community resilience while maintaining technical excellence.

Beth shares her vision for the MSLIS program, one that moves decisively from managing collections to building community capacity. Drawing on her award-winning research on epistemicide (the systematic silencing and devaluing of knowledge systems) and her experiences rebuilding libraries after Hurricane Katrina, she makes the case that librarians don't just steward books: they steward what communities remember and forget. In an era of AI hallucinations, misinformation epidemics, and social isolation, libraries matter more than ever as trusted anchors of information access and community connection.

The conversation explores concrete initiatives transforming the Syracuse MSLIS curriculum: embedding AI literacy throughout coursework, preparing students for crisis response, developing community partnerships like the 10th Mountain Division archive project, and teaching students to recognize and interrupt epistemic injustice through frameworks like the Sankofa Intervention. Beth introduces key concepts including "parasitic omission" and "beneficent gatekeeping", mechanisms through which knowledge gets systematically excluded from collections and curricula.

Jeff and Beth also tackle the AI moment in libraries, discussing Leo Lo's framework for AI literacy.

Whether you're considering library school, working in the field, or simply curious about how libraries are evolving to meet 21st-century challenges, this crossover episode offers both inspiration and practical insights into reimagining library education for a world that desperately needs what librarians do best: building informed, engaged, resilient communities.

In case we don't have enough to worry about, in May 2025, a Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge dismissed free speech claims in a public library book removal case in Texas. The Court ruled that library collection decisions are “government speech” and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

This is a very very serious ruling. If it stands, there are far-reaching control issues and effects on all types of libraries, education institutions, and communities. The library plaintiffs supported by library administrations, publishers, literary groups, and intellectual freedom advocates have petitioned the Supreme Court of the US to hear the case and hopefully overrule it.

In this episode, we explain the issue in-depth, discuss the implications of the case and ruling, and sound the alarm as to why this is so important for libraries and librarians to ensure freedom of information protections in our country.