Take a trip over to Words & Money, a new outlet looking at the intersection of publishing and librarianship. There you’ll find the first review of my new book Triptych, and a piece I wrote on how I published the book, and how I really feel about AI.

Scholar | Speaker | Writer | Teacher | Advocate
Stuff about AI
Take a trip over to Words & Money, a new outlet looking at the intersection of publishing and librarianship. There you’ll find the first review of my new book Triptych, and a piece I wrote on how I published the book, and how I really feel about AI.
I am a huge fan of audio books. I eat through them on my daily commute. I also appreciate that many folks either want or need audio books to access content. So, I’ve just finished recording, editing, and submitting an audiobook version of Triptych. It should be available in a week or so, after it gets reviewed by Audible’s quality control process.
This is not the first time I’ve made an audio book version of my work. Both Boring Patient and Expect More (the first edition) are available in audio format. This is, however, teh first time I’ve had to think about AI and audio book production.
Triptych is published using Amazon’s KDP platform. When I uploaded an ebook version, Amazon asked if I wanted to make it an audio book. Yes, I said after hearing folks would be interested in one. Great, here’s a link to upload audio files, or find a voice talent to record it for you (normally for a percentage of sales)…or try our new beta of “virtual voice.”
Virtual voice? Yup, you guessed it, an AI produced audio version. You pick the “voice” and it makes the narration. You can even go in and edit the pronunciations. So in minutes, you have an audio book, with a nice little disclaimer about the use of AI.
I thought about it. My main goal with an audio book is to make it more accessible, particularly those who have trouble reading text. But, in the end, I thought I had already included as much AI in the book as I was comfortable with. Also, folks on Facebook said they wanted my voice.
So, down to the first floor of the iSchool I went to use one of two recording rooms we have set up.
While I sat in the small room reading text into my laptop (and marking all the edits I needed to make) next door Quinn was recording a screencast of a new software rollout. Quinn is the school’s long standing IT/instructional tech guru. He talked as a screen of the software in use was captured.
Here’s the big difference. One he was done he had AI create a transcript of his narration, fed that transcript into a new AI system that used it as a script to create a virtual avatar providing the blow-by-blow. When I messed up a line it was a process of editing and re-recording. Same for looking for breaths and bad pacing. He found an error, he just edited the text of the transcript, and the video avatar just re-rendered.
While folks asked for my voice, he wanted to use a voice without his Texas twang. Also, if he wanted it in Spanish, or French, of Japanese, that was a click away (BIG grain of salt on the effectiveness of AI language translation).
So folks wanted my voice, but did they care if it was really me in the recording room. There are services that will actually clone my voice and my image. When my wife asked me if I was OK to have some AI company have a copy of my voice (Little Mermaid anyone), my initial thought was no. Then I remembered the hundreds of hours of video presentations I have across the internet, it seems like they already had it if they wanted it.
Let me go back to my original reason for making the audio book. Accessibility and format preference for my readers. Does it matter that I sweated in a room with a microphone (foam walls and computer equipment in a small space equals hot)? Was it better to be able to quickly fix errors? Or was this another step in dehumanizing the connection between author and reader? Or professor and student? Are the audio equivalent of typos more desirable than listening to a soothing AI voice?
I don’t have a final great moral answer here. I will note, however, that all the books Amazon lists as using virtual voice are in the self-published genre…not a Steven King or John Scalzi to be found. Perhaps this is an option for the small fry author that simply can’t afford to have great voice talent enrich their book.
I have my choice – my voice and sweat instead of yet another AI coated bit of content. Still, I know me. I’m guessing a virtual Virtual Dave is coming so I can play and poke and try. Just not reading my book.
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.
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:
“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.
“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):
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”“Developing a Library Strategic Response to Artificial Intelligence,” Western Council of State Libraries. San Diego, CA.
“The Reality of Artificial Intelligence” Keynote. Southeast Collaborative Online Conference
Abstract: A examination of AI and it’s uses in a library context.
February 1, 2024
AUSTIN, TX—The Collaborative Institute for Rural Communities & Librarianship (CIRCL) today announced the launch of the SLAAIT Project. The State Libraries and AI Technologies Working Group is a joint project of 14 state libraries and the Gigabit Libraries Network to understand the opportunities, challenges, and risks associated with AI and the library sector.
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already profoundly changed the way people find information, communicate, produce media, and learn about the world. AI will continue to change work; from automation in manufacturing, to how energy is distributed across a smart grid, to the use of generative AI to produce marketing, the workforce of our states will change,” according to the SLAAIT web site.
Participating state library agencies to date are from: Texas, Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio. Participation remains open and more states are anticipated to join. “It feels like we are at another seminal crossroads in libraries and access to information,” says Jennifer Nelson, New Jersey State Librarian.
Following the release of a federal executive order in October, an increasing number of state governments are also proposing or implementing new regulations and guidelines for the use of AI. This is creating a demand for strategic response from the state library agencies. “We’re so appreciative of Don and David’s leadership to ensure that Delaware Libraries, and all libraries,
can continue to stay ahead of the curve as technology evolves!” says Dr. Annie Norman, State Librarian of Delaware.
More information on the project can be found at https://slaait.circl.community
Coordinated by The University of Texas at Austin, the Collaborative Institute for Rural Communities & Librarianship is a think tank by, for, and of the rural library community and aligned partners including universities, government agencies and companies. https://circl.community
“Book Bans: Changing the Narrative in Libraries” Leadership Staff Meeting. Central Arkansas Library System. Little Rock, AK
Abstract: While librarians should never surrender the fight for intellectual freedom, there is utility in changing the narrative of the conversation. Rather than fighting a charged reactionary “battle” against censorship, we should use local narratives that emphasize the professionalism of librarians and the larger societal benefits of public libraries. AI and workforce development provides one such opportunity.