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Project 2025 and Its Consequences for Libraries
Libraries face unprecedented political attacks targeting their very existence. States across the country have introduced legislation directly targeting school and public libraries, librarians, and the materials they provide. While academic libraries may not be the immediate focus, policies impacting education, research, funding, and DEI programs will have a profound impact on their operations and services.
Understanding the political landscape and the implications of policies like Project 2025 is crucial. This initiative threatens to dismantle the First Amendment, reshape the public sphere, and undermine the fundamental principles that support libraries. By targeting libraries, this project aims to limit access to information, suppress diverse perspectives, and erode the foundations of a democratic society.
To safeguard our libraries, we must actively engage in advocacy and support initiatives that protect their independence, diversity, and essential services. By mobilizing our communities and working together, we can ensure that libraries continue to thrive and serve as vital resources for all Americans.
Bring your questions to this timely and informative presentation.
OER Ancillary Creation with Generative AI
In this webinar, we will consider strategies for using AI to generate ancillary materials from OER texts. Rebecca McNulty and Lily Dubach, University of Central Florida, will begin with sharing questions to consider before using AI in conjunction with OER, including current guidelines on Creative Commons licensing. With those questions in mind, we’ll workshop approaches to using a variety of AI tools to support content creation and revision while still prioritizing human oversight and expertise in all steps of the generative process. We will also discuss current complexities surrounding copyright, ethical uses of AI, and associated questions as they continue to evolve. By the end of the webinar, participants will gain practical skills for selecting and using AI tools to create ancillary materials, along with strategies for considering licensing through content development.
Presenters:
Lily Dubach is the Textbook Affordability Librarian at the University of Central Florida Libraries. She holds a Master of Science in Information from Florida State University and co-chairs UCF Libraries’ AI Interest Group. Lily collaborates with teaching faculty, instructional designers, librarians and library staff, and pertinent campus units to promote and transition traditional course content to affordable textbook alternatives such as open educational resources (OER) and library-sourced eBooks and materials. Her main research interests include leveraging technology, such as artificial intelligence tools, for discovering or enhancing open educational resources, as well as analyzing student outcomes and perceptions of open or library-sourced material course adoptions. Lily is the 2024 recipient of the UCF Excellence in Librarianship Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions and support given to the university’s faculty and students.
Rebecca McNulty is an instructional designer at the University of Central Florida's Center for Distributed Learning, where she focuses on artificial intelligence, personalized adaptive learning, and open education. She holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Florida, where she designed, developed, and taught a wide variety of courses in various modalities. At UCF, she contributes to the design and development of adaptive learning courses as well as to projects on integrating artificial intelligence into workflows for instructional design. Her main research interests include the intersection between narrative theory and electronic course design as well as the changing ways that artificial intelligence influences student learning outcomes. Rebecca is the 2024 recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association's Janet McMahill Rising Star Award, which recognizes exceptional promise in the field of distance education.
Library Grant Writing Basics: An Overview
This program will assist participants to:
- identify sources of grant funding from private and public funders;
- highlight the essential elements of grantsmanship;
- complete a grant proposal application package according to a Notice of Funding Opportunity;
- take action on the proposal based on the results of the funder’s decision;
- understand the most common missteps in preparing an application package.Themes:
- Review of the grant submission process;
- How to avoid common pitfalls;
- Tips to help your application shine.Objectives: To have a basic understanding of the grant application process and to be a more successful grant author.
Presenter:
Since July of 2016, Anne Craig has had the privilege of serving as the Senior Director at CARLI, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, a unit of the University of Illinois System. CARLI counts 125 academic and research libraries as its members. Anne has also been an instructor for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign iSchool since 2018, teaching “Grant Writing for Libraries” and “State Libraries and Library Consortia.”Current grant projects:
- In August 2024, the University of Illinois System/CARLI was awarded a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian planning grant for $140,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
- In January 2024, the Secretary of State/Illinois State Library awarded $300,000 to the University of Illinois System/CARLI for programmatic administration of their Open Educational Resources grant program.
- In September 2021, the University of Illinois System/CARLI was awarded a three-year $2 million grant from the US Department of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program.
- Prior to July 2016, Anne was the Director of the Illinois State Library for 11 years under Secretary of State Jesse White, holding various roles at the ISL since 1989.