Skip to content

Affiliated Organization News, January 2026

2026 Oxford-Berkeley Summer Doctoral Program

The UC Berkeley School of Information is again partnering with the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM) on the Oxford-Berkeley Summer Doctoral Programme (SDP) in 2026. The SDP will be held in Oxford in 2026 after a highly successful year in Berkeley in 2025 and will be in Berkeley again in 2027. The SDP brings together outstanding doctoral students from around the world for two weeks of study at the world-leading universities with faculty from Oxford, Berkeley, and guest experts.

Click here for more information and to apply.

ALA Award Opportunity: Best Emerging Technology Application Award

Have you used technology in an innovative way to enhance your library or patron services? If so, you are encouraged to apply for one of two RUSA/ETS Best Emerging Technology Application (BETA) Awards. The awards offer $3,000 each to an individual or group in recognition of a technology project that directly benefits library users. The awards are generously co-sponsored by Chatstaff and LibraryH3lp.

Refer to the Award Rubric on the website for a more detailed description of the criteria
To apply for the award, please visit the BETA website here.

BRASS Research Grant Award

The BRASS Research Grant Award, sponsored by RUSA, provides $2,000 to an individual or team seeking support to conduct and (or) disseminate research in business librarianship. We invite proposals that advance knowledge and practice in this field, including studies on business information literacy, data sources, user behavior, and other areas relevant to business library services. Winners will be announced by the RUSA Office in late March or early April.

Submission Deadline: February 20, 2026
Application Form: Submit via Google Form

If you do not have a Google Account, please email your submission as a PDF to the committee chair at jiebei.luo@nyu.edu, using the form as a guide for submission. Click here for Application Guidelines

CAIS Conference Student Research Forum
For the CAIS conference's Student Research Forum, Masters and Doctoral students are invited to apply to participate by filling out this form by March 31. The Student Research Forum will take place at the beginning of the conference and will feature peer discussions about research and academic pathways.

CHIIR 2026
The 2026 ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (CHIIR – pronounced “cheer”) will take place in Seattle, WA, USA, between 22 and 26 March 2026.

Click here for more information.

Data Literacy in Action Webinar Series II

The ACRL, CJCLS and UNT are cohosting the Data Literacy in Action Webinar Series II - three free sessions exploring practical strategies, tools, and teaching approaches for integrating data literacy into instruction and research support.

  • Dates: Wednesdays | February 4, 11, and 18, 2026
  • Time: 12:00 PM CT (1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT)
  • Who should attend: Academic librarians at community colleges and four-year institutions seeking practical strategies to launch or scale data literacy initiatives. Librarians from other settings are also encouraged to attend.

Click here to register.
Click here for details.

Global Network of Libraries and Local Impact: A Policy Roadmap to Build an Inclusive Digital Future

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is excited to announce this major step forward in realising the critical role of libraries in achieving meaningful connectivity for all. UNESCO's Information For All Programme and IFLA have recently published the new Issue Brief: Global Network of Libraries and Local Impact: A Policy Roadmap to Build an Inclusive Digital Future. This is a practical tool with recommendations for both national governments and libraries to unlock sustained collaboration to foster inclusive knowledge societies in the digital age.

UNESCO has shared this Issue Brief with its 50+ field offices. This is an important moment for Library Associations to connect with national and regional UNESCO offices, discuss the recommendations in the Issue Brief, and explore collaborative actions to bring the policy roadmap to life. Join this webinar to learn how to get started.

Please contact Claire McGuire (Claire.mcguire@ifla.org) with any questions.

How to Unlock Digital Inclusion Collaboration with Your Local Government

Join the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) on 28 January at 15:00-16:00h CET for an exclusive opportunity to discover a new UNESCO Issue Brief on achieving inclusive digital futures with libraries, hear from the authors, and ask questions about how you can use it in your own advocacy and activities.

Click here to register.

Linked Data and Archives: The SNAC State of the Cooperative FREE and Open to All!
Interested in linked data, archives, or unique conversations around information seeking? Social Networks and Archival Contexts (SNAC) is a free, online resource that helps users discover primary source documents, such as photographs, letters, and sound recordings, from all over the world and connections across time and place.

The SNAC State of the Cooperative, the SNAC annual meeting, makes a comeback this Spring after a brief hiatus and some restructuring. They are planning a program chocked full of news, plans and recaps of our productive 2025 and what's to come in 2026 and beyond! This year they are planning to open the event to broader networks and have decided to open the event to the public. Visit the website to learn more about SNAC, or get a brief intro by watching this video.

When: March 11, 2026, 1-4 pm EST
Where: Virtual
Cost: FREE!
Registration: Click here to register.

New Field Guide Available for Libraries to Prepare to Serve Their Communities During Crises
A new national resource is now available to help libraries prepare for major community emergencies-including pandemics, natural disasters, and societal crises-before they hit. Centering Community: Library Staff Responding to Crisis – A Field Guide, developed through the Ready NOW project, provides practical strategies and examples to help libraries support their communities before, during, and after disruptions of varying scale.

Click here to download the Field Guide. In addition to the Field Guide, the Ready NOW project has developed design session plans and facilitation materials that allow library teams to work through the guide collaboratively.

QQML2026

The 18th Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference (QQML2026) which is organized under the umbrella of ISAST (International Society for the Advancement of Science and Technology)., will be taking place in Bucharest, Romania (Faculty of Sociology and Social Work of the University of Bucharest, 26 -29 May 2026).

The conference invites Special and Contributed Sessions, Oral Papers, Best Practices, Workshops and Posters. Plenary talks, Workshops and Special Sessions are included in the related page of the website. The conference both physically and virtually.

Click here for more information.

RDMLA: AI for Librarians

RDMLA team is thrilled to announce the launch of their newest course: RDMLA: AI for Librarians! Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the landscape of data and information services-and librarians are at the forefront of this change. AI for Librarians is a practical, hands-on course designed to help you build AI competencies in ways that directly support library services and workflows. No prior RDMLA coursework is required-this course is free and open to all learners around the world!

Click here to enroll in the course.

SEASON (Search Engines and Society Network) Conference

Search Engines and Society Annual Conference (SEASON 2026) brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the societal impact of search technologies. The conference offers keynotes, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities.

Location: HAW Hamburg – Finkenau Campus | Hamburg, Germany
Date: 15 – 17 September 2026

Click here for more information.

Calls For Papers:

 

Back to Inside ASIS&T, January 2026