Events

Events

Tue, Feb 17, 2026 / 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Many public librarians seek to make career changes by transitioning into academic libraries. This panel will feature four academic librarians that have all also worked for public libraries. During this panel discussion, presenters will discuss their career paths and how their skill sets developed in the public library.

This presentation aims to demystify the process, share valuable insights, and offer practical advice based on our journeys from public to academic librarianship.

Presenters:

Kayla Kuni is the Associate Director of Libraries at the Pasco-Hernando State College Spring Hill campus. She has been with PHSC since 2018. Prior to working with PHSC, she worked at the New Port Richey Public Library for just over 5 years. She has an MLIS (USF), MBA (USF), and EdD (FSU). In addition to working in the library, Kayla also serves as the subject matter expert for the first-year success course at PHSC and is an adjunct for the course as well. 

Andrew Beman-Cavallaro is a Faculty Research and Instruction Librarian for the Social Sciences at the University of South Florida. Andrew earned his bachelor’s degree in Geography from Florida State University, his first master’s degree in Library and Information Science from University of South Florida, and his second master’s from University of Nebraska in History. Andrew was a public librarian before becoming a college library director for a decade. He teaches periodically in USF’s library and information science graduate program and is an affiliate faculty member at USF’s School of Information. Andrew’s research and publications include efforts regarding community college librarianship and AI/information literacy. Andrew’s further work includes research for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Cassandra Baker is a Librarian at the Pasco-Hernando State College Spring Hill campus. She joined PHSC in 2023 after receiving her MLIS (USF) in 2022. Her past experience includes working as a paraprofessional in the USF Libraries ILL department for 3 years and various roles at the Hernando County Public Library System for 4 years.

Mary Beth Isaacson has been the Assistant Director of Libraries at the Pasco-Hernando State College West Campus since 2023. She was previously a Regional Branch Manager for Pasco County Libraries and a Librarian for the Highlands County Library System, with a total of 10 years experience in public libraries. She has an MLIS from the University of South Florida and is a graduate of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Program and the Next Level Library Leadership Program. Mary Beth was the 2023-24 President of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium and is the current Chair of FLA’s Professional Development Committee. 

Register to attend.

Sponsored by FLVC
 

Wed, Feb 18, 2026 / 10:00am to 12:00pm

The CARLI Discovery Primo VE Committee meets monthly via Zoom. Contact the committee chair or CARLI staff with questions.

Wed, Feb 18, 2026 / 10:00am to 11:00am

The Public Services Committee meets monthly.

This virtual meeting is held via Zoom / Conference Call.

Contact  for attendance details.

Wed, Feb 18, 2026 / 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Save the Date! Join Devin Savage, Dean of Libraries at Illinois Institute of Technology and past chair of the ACRL Editorial Board of the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey, for a virtual discussion on completing the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey!

Registration will be announced soon.

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 / 11:00am to 12:00pm

Technology Loan Programs are fundamental for supporting distance, online learners, and others who need access to the tech. The upside? They are evidence of an equitable and accessible campus culture. The downside? They are challenging to manage.

Join us for a panel discussion about library policies related to technology lending.
Come ready with your questions, and sharing is encouraged!

Our panelists include:

  • Julia Venetis, Manager of Public Services, College of DuPage Library
  • Thomas Mantzakides, Circulation Librarian, Morton College
  • Marissa Ellermann, Head of Access Services, Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The panel portion of this discussion will be recorded and posted to the CARLI website.

To Register: Use the "Register" tab at the top of this page.

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 / 12:00pm to 1:00pm

In this webinar Ninh Tran and Greta Bahnemann share their experiences using AI transcription for digital collection items. TranscribeAI is a new tool developed at Minitex that uses Google Gemini to transcribe typed, handwritten, and mixed-text documents. By automatically downloading items from digital repositories (e.g., Minnesota Digital Library) and using metadata to provide context, TranscribeAI produces highly accurate transcripts while reducing staff time and costs. This session will highlight the challenges of traditional OCR and manual transcription, demonstrate how TranscribeAI addresses them, and share best practices for integrating AI-generated transcripts into library workflows. Attendees will learn how AI-driven transcription enhances accessibility, improves discovery through keyword-searchable text, and preserves the cultural integrity of historical documents. We will also discuss lessons learned from recent pilot projects, including the importance of human review and quality assurance. Join us to explore how TranscribeAI can transform your library’s digital collections by increasing discoverability and broadening access for all users.

Register to attend

Hosted by Minitex
 

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 / 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Once you understand the basics, the real work begins. This webinar is Part II of a two-part series on usage statistics, designed for public and academic library staff who already collect usage data and are ready to dig deeper into analysis and decision-making.

Building on the foundational concepts introduced in Part I on February 5, this advanced session explores strategies for working with data from multiple sources, including NC LIVE resources and locally funded databases, and addresses common challenges such as manual cleanup and normalization. The session takes a closer look at metrics like cost per search, examining both their usefulness and their limitations, and discusses why low usage alone should not automatically trigger cancellation conversations.

Participants will learn how to analyze usage in context, identify patterns across different types of databases, and develop more intentional, values-driven approaches to evaluating and promoting e-resources—especially in an era of tightening collections budgets.

Learning Objectives:

  • Analyze usage statistics from multiple sources (including consortial and locally funded resources) while accounting for differences in platforms, metrics, and data quality.
  • Evaluate common decision-making metrics, such as cost per use, by identifying their strengths, limitations, and appropriate use in collections assessment.
  • Apply a contextual approach to e-resource evaluation, using usage patterns, qualitative factors, and institutional priorities to inform renewal, promotion, and budget decisions.

Presenter: Anna Allen is the Electronic Resources Librarian at the State Library of North Carolina

Register to attend

Hosted by NC LIVE

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 / 1:00pm to 2:30pm

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

Register to attend.

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 / 2:00pm to 4:00pm

The Instruction Committee meets monthly. This virtual meeting is held via Zoom / Conference Call. Contact for attendance details.

Fri, Feb 20, 2026 / 10:00am to 11:00am

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.

The CARLI Instruction Committee invites you to join our discussion on Algorithmic Literacy.

To spark discussion, we have selected a short article, Michael Ridley’s “Explainable AI: An Agenda for Explainability Activism.”. If you can read the article (linked below) in advance, wonderful; if not, please still come! We will begin the discussion with a summary of the article for those who may have not had time to read it and invite all to participate.

We hope you will also come with your own perspectives and questions to ask; in addition, Instruction Committee members will moderate the discussion, and offer questions to guide our conversation.

Please register using the link above.

When: Thursday, February 20th, 10:00am-11:00am
Article Title: Explainable AI: An Agenda for Explainability Activism
Author: Michael Ridley
Link: https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/26733/34650

Summary:
Ridley argues that the opacity of how generative AI works makes the work of explanation crucial for librarians, who must serve as "explainability activists," creating actionable and contestable explanations of how AI functions. To allow this relationship, Ridley argues, interactions with AI should be "seamful": the limitations and boundaries of the system should be clearly visible to the user, encouraging their "active self-explanation" in explaining systems as they use them. Focusing on this agenda of human-centered explainable AI (HCXAI) will create an "action-agenda" for libraries, Ridley argues, including critical information AI literacy initiatives for staff and patrons, supporting explainable AI research, demanding explainability and, perhaps, seamfulness, from vendors, and advocacy work for federal and international regulation to require explainability in AI and information providers. Doing so will address a shifting power dynamic in which, currently, technology designers are shaping the ways n which we understand the "authority, credibility, and accuracy" of the information we receive.

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