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Library Journal Posts An Introduction to Triptych

As part of the partnership with Library Journal in the publication of my new book, Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship, they are posting excerpts from the book. The first one is now online here. In the book it is titled TL;DR an Introduction.

As the title implies it is an encapsulation of the key themes of the book including libraries moving from serving to saving communities, the need to find joy in a time of hardship, AI, and the need for librarians with and without degrees.

In the coming weeks we’ll be posting additional content, and are planning webinars on these topics as well. Stay tuned.

Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship is now available via Amazon.

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R. David Lankes Releases New Book on Libraries, AI, and Democracy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2025

R. David Lankes Releases New Book on Libraries, AI, and Democracy

Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship reframes the future of libraries of all types as a lifeline for community and connection.

Philadelphia, PA — R. David Lankes, in association with Library Journal, proudly announces the release of Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship—a daring, deeply personal, and visionary work that confronts the most urgent challenges facing libraries today.

In an era marked by deep social divides, technological disruption, and growing isolation, Triptych offers a transformative vision: that libraries can—and must—do more than inform; they can save lives. Joined by Jain Orr and Qianzi Cao, Lankes presents three bold lectures that challenge librarians to embrace their role as catalysts for community, justice, and human resilience.

“Triptych is a manifesto,” says Lankes. “It’s a call for librarians to resist despair, champion equity, and guide communities through the ethical complexities of artificial intelligence and rising authoritarianism—not by standing apart, but by standing together.”

Library Journal will feature a series of exclusive excerpts, author interviews, and companion essays on its digital platforms. In addition, LJ will partner with Lankes to host webinars throughout the coming year exploring each of the book’s major themes—from AI ethics to joy as resistance and the emergence of “feral librarians.”

Inside Triptych, readers will find:

  • A radical redefinition of librarianship rooted in mission, empathy, and action
  • A critical look at AI’s impact on trust, literacy, and community cohesion
  • A passionate defense of libraries as democratic, transformative spaces
  • A post-industrial vision for libraries centered on agency, adaptability, and radical inclusion

“Dr. Lankes’ reputation as a provocative and compassionate library thinker is reinforced in this latest work,” said Library Journal Editor-in-Chief Hallie Rich. “Triptych presents a vision for librarianship grounded in the issues libraries grapple with today, and we’re excited to help bring these ideas into the center of the profession’s conversation.”

Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship is available now through Amazon, and soon through major booksellers.

The first of a series of excerpts from Triptych: Death, AI, and Librarianship, can be found on the Library Journal website.

Media Contact:
rdlankes@utexas.edu

Author Website: https://DavidLankes.org

Library Journal Website: https://www.libraryjournal.com/

About Library Journal:
Founded in 1876, Library Journal is the leading voice of the library community, providing trusted reporting, reviews, and insights to help libraries and librarians thrive in a changing world.

About R. David Lankes:
R. David Lankes is the Virginia & Charles Bowden Professor of Librarianship at the University of Texas at Austin and a leading advocate for community librarianship. His work explores how libraries can empower communities to confront real-world challenges with knowledge, empathy, and hope.

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Don’t Look Away

On a recent trip to Europe, I was repeatedly asked the same question, “what can we do?” The European library community (and I’m sure the larger global library community) are looking at developments in the United States with confusion and anxiety. How can the federal government close agencies, target the Institute for Museum and Library Services, cut budgets at the National Agricultural Library, stop research at the National Institutes of Health, fire the National Archivist and undo decades of work in libraries and cultural heritage? How can a country so self-identified with freedom and the freedom of speech create a list of banned words that are used indiscriminately to purge websites of collections, data, and documents?

The first fear was that cultural institutions would be closed. The new reality is that they will be transformed, once again, into agents of propaganda and indoctrination. The Institute for Museum and Library Services is not being closed. Instead, the new director wants to use the institute to “restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”

Beyond the federal government how can EU librarians and institutions, I was asked, respond to a continuing wave of book banning, firing of librarians consider “too liberal,” and opening librarians up to prosecution for doing their jobs and supporting their professional organizations?

I have one simple answer: don’t look away.

Continue reading “Don’t Look Away”
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Demons, Determinism, and Divining the Future of Information Science

“Demons, Determinism, and Divining the Future of Information Science,” ASIS&T Inaugural President’s Lecture

Abstract: A demon in science is a conceptual device used to illustrate a theory or pose a question for interrogation. For example, Laplace’s Demon was a creature that could know every action occurring across the universe in an instant and thus perfectly predict the future and divine the past. Laplace used this construct as the basis of what would come to be known as determinism-a logical, causal, clockwork universe.

Let us posit an information demon. A creature that could reach out and hold the entirety of information science in its hands. Would information science have soft or hard edges? Would the shape and inner forms be fixed or constantly moving? How big of a factor is AI in this whole? Of course, the biggest question might be why would a demon do this in the first place? What could one learn from grasping the whole of the field versus picking up components one by one?

Video (Script below the slides):

SlidesDownload in PDF

Script:

Demons, Determinism, and Divining the Future of Information Science

R. David Lankes

September 19, 2024

Let me start by thanking Crystal and ASIS&T for inviting me to give the inaugural President’s Lecture. I’ve prepared about 30-40 minutes of remarks that should leave us plenty of time for questions, disagreements, and conversation.

Continue reading “Demons, Determinism, and Divining the Future of Information Science”
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My 6th Second Birthday

The mind is an amazing thing. Today is the 6th anniversary of my second bone marrow transplant. I can say that and my family laughs about how many birthdays I have and which one requires gifts. I joke about leaving blood evidence at the scene of a crime to frame my son.

My mind has taken the whole experience, put it in some nice little box marked “survivor” and moved on.

But every so often the lid of the box slips. I see in that box the times my thirteen year old son had to help me up a flight of stairs, or the time I had to tell my youngest that I had cancer. I see in that box crying in the shower as I pulled the beard off my face, cut free by chemo.

I can remember the promise I made to my wife that we would have only one conversation about what happens if I died.  Crying as we wrote down passwords and talked about cremation versus burial. 

Stuffed in that box is the fear of dying and the guilt of the burden I placed on those I love the most. Hidden away in that box is the realization that my sons and I were repeating a pattern of growing up with illness that my sister and I had done with my father and his heart surgeries.

In that box was my wife and I crying outside a Georgia hospital where an oncologist’s second opinion made clear I needed a second transplant. A kind nurse came up to us and told us that God loved me and would make it right. I told her that I would love God tomorrow, but at that moment I was mad that he could let this happen to me.

To be sure that box also contains riches. The outpouring of support and love from friends and colleagues and the well wishes of those I didn’t even know. The blood drives that saved lives. Lighting the Night. 

We all have boxes where we tuck away trauma. For some the kids never fully shut. For most it takes a lot of help and hours of people willing to listen and guide.

Today I’m opening that box and letting myself remember. I remember for those that are facing cancer and feeling the blackness that they will not have the chance to recover from. Today I ache for my uncle Johnny. I ache for Joanne where this scourge took her far too soon and for Ciaran the colleague I met all too briefly. 

Fuck cancer. 

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Lankes to Present 1st Annual ASIS&T President’s Lecture

I’m honored to give the inaugural President’s Lecture to ASIS&T September 19 at 10 am Eastern Time.

From the ASIS&T site:

ASIS&T is delighted to announce the launch of the Annual ASIS&T President’s Lecture. The Lecture will be open to the public and delivered via Zoom to ensure that all who wish to may attend.

The inaugural ASIS&T President’s Lecture will take place September 19 at 10 am Eastern Time (find your time here) and be presented by R. David Lankes, Virginia and Charles Bowden Professor of Librarianship at the University of Texas at Austin.

Click here for more information and to register: https://www.asist.org/2024/07/24/lankes-to-present-1st-annual-asist-presidents-lecture/