We are pleased to announce the round table discussion “Academic Libraries Between Their Critical Mission and Institutional Constraints” as part of the KRIK Conference programme! 

Bringing together scholars and practitioners from Croatia, Norway, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the panel will explore how digital transformation, AI, marketisation, and changing higher education policies are reshaping the professional role, autonomy, and democratic mission of academic librarians.

The discussion will address the tensions between service-oriented expectations and the broader civic and educational roles of libraries, as well as the everyday realities of academic library work and possible strategies for strengthening the position of librarians within higher education.

Find out more about the round table and panellists here.

We invite researchers, practitioners, and doctoral students to submit abstracts for presentation at the conference!

More information is available here!

Guiding us through a deep dive into the philosophical and sociopolitical implications of technology, the KRIK conference is joined by Mario Hibert from the University of Sarajevo.

Mario Hibert is a Full Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature and Information Science, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. He has written in Bosnian and English numerous articles on different aspects of critical librarianship, information society, digital culture, media literacy, information ethics. In 2018 he published a book „Digital degworth and postdigital commons: critical librarianship, disruptive media and tactical education“.

Keynote address title: The Postdigital Condition and Critical AI Literacy

Check out the KRIK Conference Programme outline! Two days packed with keynote lectures, a round table discussion, short paper and poster sessions and lots of networking!

See the full outline here.

We are also happy to host the KIKZ.02  Doctoral Workshop as a co-located event on Saturday, 19 September! More information here.

Btw., did we mention DANCING? Join us at the KRIK Conference party on Friday and connect with conference attendees in a casual atmosphere!

What happens when technology makes things too easy? Our second Keynote speaker, David White, is here to challenge the status quo. 

David‘s career began with online innovation for the BBC Natural History Unit and has led to his current role as Dean of Academic Strategy at the University of the Arts London (UAL). He has taught and researched at the University of the West of England and managed the development of the University of Oxford’s first online courses. In his current role David is responsible for leading thinking on emerging technologies, such as AI. He is also the academic lead for UAL’s new fully online Postgraduate courses. Through this work he supports the university to constructively respond to the educational opportunities and risks of digital technologies. David is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and President of the Association for Learning Technology.

Keynote address title: The Inconvenient Library: Friction and Dissonance as Central to Developing Critical Literacy

We are extremely happy to be able to host our colleague Laura Saunders as one of the keynote speakers at the KRIK Conference! Laura is a Professor and Associate Dean at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science as well as the Director of the Simmons Center for Information Literacy. Her teaching and research focus on the areas of information literacy including news/media literacy and mis- and disinformation as well as reference services, and academic libraries. More info on Laura's biography here!

Keynote address title: Information Literacy and Intellectual Freedom at the Nexus of Social Justice: Imagining a Path Forward

Don't miss a beat about this event and save the dates from our Important dates page!

We invite researchers, practitioners, and doctoral students to submit abstracts for presentation at the conference!

More information is available here!