CARLI News December 10, 2025

ILDS Holiday Information

The CARLI office will be closed Wednesday, December 24 through Thursday, January 1. Regular hours will resume on Friday, January 2.

The CARLI Office will also be closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on January 19, 2026.

The following is the list of days that ILDS will not provide service:

• Wednesday, December 24–Christmas Eve
• Thursday, December 25–Christmas Day
• Wednesday, December 31-New Year's Eve
• Thursday, January 1–New Year's Day
• Monday, January 19–Martin Luther King Jr. Day

While the CARLI office is closed, please send an email to CARLI Support or call toll free 866-904-5843 to report any problems or concerns. CARLI staff will respond to all reports when regular business hours resume.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season!

2025 Annual Meeting

Thanks again to everyone that joined us this year for the CARLI Annual Meeting and 20th Anniversary Celebration. There were almost 170 library workers that attended as well as staff from 7 vendor sponsors who joined us for the day.

The recordings from the day are now available on the meeting agenda page. 

If you weren’t able to join us for this celebration of our 20th Anniversary, take some time to enjoy Scott Carlson’s fabulous keynote, listen in as many of the people important to the formation of CARLI talk about our history, and Anne Craig wraps us up with her talk about

"Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going".

Preserving and Providing Access to Historical Newspapers in Illinois Library Collections

Join us on December 11 from 1:00–2:00 p.m., as we learn about preserving, digitizing, and providing access to historical newspapers in your library collections. Jessie Knoles and William Schlaack of the Illinois Newspaper Project will discuss preservation and digitization best practices, how to undergo a newspaper digitization project, and what to do with newspapers once they have been digitized. INP staff will also highlight the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections as a statewide repository for digitized Illinois historical newspapers and will discuss opportunities for collaboration.

This webinar is sponsored by the University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the CARLI Preservation Committee.

Please register for this event.

Instruction Committee Hosts Grumble & Grow

As we look to wrap up the semester and the calendar year, join the CARLI Instruction Committee on December 12 for "Grumble & Grow", a lightly facilitated event for instruction librarians to come together, reflect, share challenges, and celebrate small wins.

As part of this year's theme, "Trust Us: The Role of Library Instruction in Transforming Landscapes", the Instruction Committee is exploring how trust shows up in our instruction work. As librarians, we navigate a complex information landscape shaped by declining trust in institutions and expertise, alongside habitual reliance on platforms such as AI, social media, influencers, and search engines, while striving to earn the trust of those we serve and work with.

This year many of us may have wrestled with instructional missteps, shifting student expectations, or the ever-present hum of imposter syndrome, experiences that can shake our confidence and make us question our roles as educators. Grumble & Grow offers a space to process those moments together as a community of practice through the lens of our theme, and to leave with a renewed sense of connection and possibility.

Please register for this event. To encourage conversation, this session will not be recorded.

Collection Management Committee Community Chats

The CARLI Collection Management Committee invites CARLI members to informal Zoom discussions on two collections topics.

Materials Promotion: CMC Community Chat

January 15, 2026, 10:00–11:15 a.m.

Join this chat session to learn what other CARLI libraries are doing to promote materials and how they are tracking the success of those promotional efforts. Come to prepare your own promotional activities! This is a great way to share ideas and to learn something new.

Please register for this event on the CARLI Calendar event page. 

Collecting Non-Traditional Materials: CMC Community Chat

February 26, 2026, 10:00–11:15 a.m.

This community chat will focus on sharing ideas on the funding, collection, storage, and management of materials not commonly part of the collection of a CARLI library. This can be anything from games to accessibility devices to educational aids. Learn from your colleagues about the non-traditional materials that they have available.

Please register for this event on the CARLI Calendar event page.

These community chats are open to all CARLI Members. To encourage open discussion, the chats will not be recorded.

CARLI Archives Committee Announcements

Introduction to Appraising Born-Digital Records

The CARLI Archives Committee is sponsoring a webinar titled "Introduction to Appraising Born-Digital Records" on December 12 from 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

The session will include an introduction to the types of born-digital materials, an overview of the importance of preserving born-digital content, development of archival appraisal workflows, and an overview of various open-source tools to assist with archival appraisal tasks. The webinar will focus heavily on workflows and decision-making for approaching archival appraisal and will provide an overview of resources for further consideration.

This webinar will draw heavily on the Digital POWRR approach to archival appraisal of born digital content.

If you are not familiar with Archival Appraisal, the CARLI Archives Committee encourages you to watch “The Power of Appraisal: Selecting Archives.” This recording is available in the training section of the CARLI Archives and Special Collections Resources page.

Our presenter for this CARLI program is Danielle Taylor, Digital Preservation Librarian at Indiana University–Bloomington. She oversees overall strategies and workflows for digital preservation needs on campus. She manages the Born-Digital Preservation Lab, which migrates and handles born-digital content. She has served as an instructor with the Digital POWRR Program for over 10 years.

Please register to attend.

Save the Date! Archives Committee Open House

Illinois State University and the CARLI Archives Committee will be hosting an in-person open house for CARLI members on April 16, 2026.

Attendees will get an up-close glimpse of Special Collections at Milner Library, including the Circus & Allied Arts Collection, which is one of the three largest of its kind in the United States.

More information and registration details will be coming soon.

Society of American Archivists 250 for the 250th

The CARLI Archives Committee encourages CARLI member libraries to participate in the Society of American Archivists (SAA) commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, The SAA is creating a collection of digital/digitized archival materials held by institutions across the United States. The organization is viewing the 250th anniversary as a chance to highlight documents that individually share a small piece of the story, but in proximity create a richer picture of our shared history. The intention is to showcase at least 250 items, and it would be great to have widespread representation from institutions across Illinois!

Institutions do not need to be members of SAA to participate in 250 for the 250th. Simply register by visiting SAA's 250 for the 250th information page and completing the linked form. This will put you on a list to be notified when the submission portal goes live. Then comes the fun part: Comb through your archives to select a document, photo, A/V material, ephemera, etc. that showcases some aspect of U.S. history. The focus is up to you!

Several of the SAA listservs, including the announcements list, are available to anyone. Visit the discussion lists page for more information if you would like to stay abreast of future opportunities.

Updates to the CARLI Electronic Resource Management Documentation

The CARLI documentation for Electronic Resource Management is getting an overhaul. There are currently two new sections for "Priority Documentation," and a section for "Newly Added Documentation."

Two new webpages have also been developed.

1. Re-syncing an Electronic Collection in Alma – this documentation walks through the steps of what to do when your Alma IZ e-collection is out of sync with the Alma CZ e-collection.
2. Using Overlap and Collection Analysis – this documentation presents a plethora of uses for the Alma Overlap and Collection Analysis tool.

CARLI staff are also hard at work updating the existing documentation to ensure that images and videos are accessible and that the information is current. A page on the uses for the Alma Extended Export download is forthcoming.

The Managing EBSCO E-Collections in IZ's project is also ongoing this winter. Electronic resource staff at I-Share institutions have been contacted about next steps.

If you have feedback about existing documentation and/or suggestions about future documentation you would like to see, send an email to CARLI Support.

GLAM 2026 Virtual Career Fair

The Government, Library, Archive, and Museum Employees (GLAM) Virtual Career Festival presents a unique opportunity for students and alumni from twenty-one of the most prestigious library programs in the United States to engage with recruiters from leading employers and professional organizations. If you are seeking to connect with exceptional talent to fill internships, practica, or full-time positions, or if you wish to enhance your organization's visibility, this event offers you the chance.

This year GLAM is offering a series of virtual pathway panels. Organizations interested in serving on a panel are welcome to fill out a volunteer form.

For questions about GLAM, please contact the iSchool at Illinois.

OER Updates

Exciting New OER Development Program to be Offered by CARLI!

In an effort to continue the momentum begun with the Illinois SCOERs grants and OER funding from the Illinois Secretary of State/Illinois State Library grants, the CARLI Board approved the use of $300,000 to be earmarked for OER program development and OER creation awards. The program details will be announced in early 2026.

January 2026: Virtual Course: Understanding and Promoting Open Educational Resources

CARLI is pleased to offer a 3-week synchronous and asynchronous course on open educational resources in January 2026 with the live sessions on January 14, 21, and 28 from 9:30–11:00 a.m. Attendees should plan to attend each live session.

This virtual course is designed to help the novice person learn about open educational resources to apply the information from this program to build their own local programs and workshops. The program is open to all CARLI members.

The virtual program will contain both synchronous (three live 90-minute Zoom sessions) and asynchronous (readings, videos, etc.) to be completed before each live session. The live sessions will include presentations, but the aim of the program planners is that these will incorporate a flipped classroom model to build community among participants as all share and discuss the topics.

Registration is available until January 13 or until the course is full. Course materials will be sent to registrants beginning January 7.

CARLI OER Faculty Workshop: Supporting Academic Success: OER and Equitable Course Materials 

February 19, 1:00–2:30 p.m.

The CARLI OER Committee invites institutions to share with their teaching faculty this opportunity to attend a webinar to learn about open educational resources including open textbooks.

This workshop will identify:

• what are open educational resources (OER)
• benefits and motivations for using OER
• how to find and evaluate OER
• how to integrate OER into your class

After attending, CARLI-member teaching faculty will be invited to write a short review of an open textbook in the Open Textbook Library.

Presenters include Joslyn Allison, City Colleges of Chicago; Robin Harris, Northeastern Illinois University; Elizabeth Clarage, Michele Leigh, and Nicole Swanson, CARLI.

Please register for this event.

CARLI Open Pedagogy Workshop 

March 4, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

When you use open pedagogy in your classroom, you invite students to be part of the teaching process, participating in the co-creation of knowledge. In this online workshop, you will learn the definition and context of Open Pedagogy, view innovative examples being applied in a variety of subjects and formats, and work with other attendees to create an assignment that you can use in your own class.

Presenters include Kelly Hallisy, DePaul University; Lauren Kosrow, College of DuPage; Elizabeth Clarage, Michele Leigh, Nicole Swanson, CARLI.

Please register for this event.

Save the Date: Community Chat on Libraries and Student Belonging

March 5, 9:00-10:00 a.m.

Save the date for a CARLI OER Committee and Public Services Committee joint Community Chat on Libraries and Student Belonging with Dee Anna Phares, Northern Illinois University, and Devon Blumenshine, Illinois Central College.

Partial Registration Support for Creative Commons Certificate

Partial registration support is available for up to five library workers at CARLI member institutions to participate in the Creative Commons Certificate Program.

Creative Commons (CC) licensing is a type of license commonly used with open educational resources. The course delves into the Creative Commons licenses and open practices. This 10-week certificate course is asynchronous, online training, with options for synchronous discussions.

To qualify, members must register for a course that begins prior to June 30, 2026. In return for CARLI's financial contribution to your registration fee, we ask that you provide CARLI with at least two of the resources you created during the certificate program so that all of CARLI may benefit from these projects.

For complete details on how to register for the course and receive the MHEC discount, please visit the program web page.

Professional Development Alliance Events

The following programs from the Professional Development Alliance are currently on the calendar. Programs are offered on a wide variety of subjects. Check out everything the alliance is making available to our libraries!

• December 11: Developing the Collection: Advocacy and Alliances with Small Presses
• December 11: Harnessing AI for OER: Bridging Content Gaps with Microsoft Copilot
• December 12: Introduction to Appraising Born-Digital Records

• January 22: AI + Accessibility: Why Keeping Humans in the Loop Matters
• January 28: Cultivating the Living Room of Campus: Lessons from Tredway Library′s Wellness Initiatives

• February 4: Archives in Action: Empowering Student Workers and Community Volunteers
• February 19: AI for Transcription in Digital Collections
• February 19: CARLI OER Faculty Workshop: Supporting Academic Success: Open Educational Resources and Equitable Course Materials

• March 4: CARLI Open Pedagogy Workshop

To register, visit the CARLI Event Calendar.

Recordings of past CARLI-sponsored PDA events are available on the Professional Development Alliance website  when permitted by the presenter.

Are you interested in presenting a topic for CARLI members and the Professional Development Alliance? Or would you like to moderate a follow up discussion for an upcoming program? Email us to become more involved in CARLI's continuing education efforts!

Cultivating the Living Room of Campus: Lessons from Tredway Library′s Wellness Initiatives

January 28, 10:00–11:00 a.m.

Augustana College′s Tredway Library takes pride in its moniker of being the living room of the campus. However, like many others, the library faced a decrease in student engagement in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic; moreover, situational factors such as reduced campus communication outlets and several curriculum redevelopments compounded the situation by limiting both messaging opportunities and library capacity to respond to student needs. Survey data collected from senior students over the past five years underscores an initial decrease and steady regrowth in self-reported sense of belonging within the library, aligning with the pandemic and post-pandemic library engagement data.

Tredway librarians prioritized the development of targeted wellness-related collections and programming centered on giving students resources and spaces to simply be, rather than be in an act of becoming, in response to expressed gaps in student support. These projects, ranging from the expansion of a leisure collection to include self-care materials to curating Lego sets for passive community programming and even to the present reimagining of a defunct computer lab into a wellness lounge, have each invited and engaged students throughout the development and realization processes. Presenters Kaitlyn Goss-Peirce and Garrett Traylor will share an overview of Tredway Library's path to developing wellness initiatives with this active student buy-in, along with some pros, cons, and advice regarding each of the projects they have undertaken so far.

Other Library News

ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey

The 2025 ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey is now open! The survey provides a comprehensive portrait of the impact that academic libraries have across the United States. The data you submit facilitates effective benchmarking, assessment of impact over time, tracking new trends, and demonstration of the value of academic libraries.

Since 2024–25 was the last reporting year for the IPEDS Academic Library Component (for FY 2024 data), it is more important than ever for libraries to report to the ACRL Trends & Statistics Survey.

You can find the full details of the survey launch here.

Complete the survey by Jan. 22 and receive an early bird gift! All participants also receive complimentary access to online dashboards showing survey results by national average as soon as they are available.

Congratulations to Eric Edwards

Please join us in congratulating Eric Edwards, Interlibrary Loan Librarian at the Illinois State Library, on receiving the Health Science Librarians of Illinois President's award at the HSLI annual meeting in Champaign, IL.

This award recognizes a member of the HSLI whose contributions have left a lasting and meaningful impact on the organization. Eric has been a dedicated and active member for many years, notably serving as President from 2022 to 2024. His commitment continues through his involvement on both the Conference Planning Committee and the Newsletter Committee, where he collaborates closely with Joyce Pallinger. On this year's conference planning committee, he is a key contributor to Continuing Education and Speakers and the Exhibitors subcommittees.

Upcoming CARLI Events and Meetings

Consult the CARLI calendar to view the current list of meeting times and locations.

Contact Us

If you need disability-related accommodations to participate in any of the events mentioned below, please email the CARLI Office. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.

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