The Case for Curiosity: Humanities Approaches to Emerging Technology

As technologies evolve at a rapid pace, libraries can offer spaces for exploring what these changes mean for our work, research, and communities. In this keynote, Dr. Mary Borgo Ton will examine how curiosity, critical thinking, and community can help librarians engage with emerging technologies thoughtfully and intentionally – whether that means experimenting with new tools, questioning their possibilities and limitations, or deciding when a technology may not be the right fit.

We’ll consider how curiosity can turn uncertainty into exploration, how critical thinking can help us look beyond the hype, and how community can help us make sense of change together. Come away with practical ideas for navigating technology overwhelm. Learn how to ask better questions about AI and emerging tools. And last but not least, get ready to bring thoughtful conversations about technology to your library and community.

Dr. Mary Borgo Ton is an Assistant Professor and Digital Humanities Librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She delights in helping librarians, researchers, and artists imagine new possibilities for their work through thoughtful engagement with digital tools. For her AI literacy efforts, she received Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers Educator award in 2025.

University of Limerick (UL) implemented LibMaps in Autumn 2025. The product came along at the perfect time as the library building had undergone significant change and development in the previous few years. A major extension to the library, opened in 2018, created a variety of new spaces for study, collaboration, and learning. As the building evolved, there was a growing need for a tool that would help users navigate the library and discover these spaces. LibMaps provided an effective solution, not only for wayfinding but also for improving access to the library's print collections through its "Map It" functionality. This presentation will share UL's experience of implementing LibMaps, how it is in use today, and the impact it has had on helping users find their way around UL Library.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibMaps

Anne McMahon is the Electronic & Web Services Librarian at the University of Limerick. With more than 20 years' experience in academic libraries, she has helped implement a number of Springshare products and supports electronic resources, web services, and library systems. Although much of her work happens behind the scenes, she focuses on improving how users discover and access library resources, making their experience as smooth and straightforward as possible. 

Louise O'Shea is Library Spaces Manager at the University of Limerick's Glucksman Library. A Chartered Librarian with over 30 years of experience across academic, special, and public libraries, she has managed projects including the operational rollout of Europe's first library-based Automated Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS), the development of a Library Makerspace, media production facilities, technology lending services, and HeadSpace wellbeing areas. Louise's interests include technology-enhanced learning and the creation of diverse, innovative, inclusive spaces that support student learning and wellbeing. 

Even the best library resources are only useful when users can find them. That's where LibGuides A-Z Lists and Sublists come into play. In this interactive panel, we'll hear from three different libraries who have customized their A-Z Lists in interesting and creative ways. Curious about how to organize an unconventional item, like seeds? Do you wish students could sort and filter library tutorials? How about organizing available software with relevant FAQs? Learn how these librarians crafted solutions with LibGuides CMS!

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibGuides

Angela Brcka is a web developer and content strategist at Western Michigan University Libraries in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is responsible for the strategy, content, administration, and reporting of the Libraries’ website and administration of other online platforms, including Springshare’s LibApps. Her LibApps work includes launching new features, adding users, providing training, troubleshooting issues, and managing select content. Angela serves as president of WMU’s Web Users Group, a campus-wide network of web and social media managers and content creators. Before joining Western in 2018, she spent 14 years as a corporate communications specialist for a healthcare system.

Anne Marie Watson is the Virtual Student Experience Coordinator at Red Deer Polytechnic Library in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Her experience with Springshare goes back to 2008 when her library was an early LibGuides adopter. She enjoys finding innovative ways to enhance the user experience in her campus library.

Brittany O'Neill is a Research & Teaching Librarian and the Information Literacy Coordinator at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition to providing research support, instruction, and outreach to the UCSB community, she promotes information literacy through pedagogical training and development for peer library instructors, faculty, and teaching assistants. In her spare time, she enjoys trying new recipes, dancing, and hanging out with her partner and their cat, Snickers.

Learn how Georgia Gwinnett College uses LibInsight Dashboards to streamline data collection for monthly assessment reports. The dashboard allows them to quickly see data from tools like LibAnswers and LibCal, as well as multiple custom datasets. This speeds up the process and makes it easier to compile everything into monthly reports. This presentation is geared toward assessment librarians who are interested in using a similar system.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibInsight

Jillian Collier is the Assessment and Patron Experience Librarian at Georgia Gwinnett College. She earned an MSLIS degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has worked in academic libraries for eight years, focusing on library instruction, information literacy, assessment, and data analysis.

By the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, Chesnutt Library's overall engagement statistics had doubled compared to previous years, including a steadily increasing online presence. Through experimenting with various products within LibApps, most notably LibWizard, the team at Chesnutt Library is expanding programming and feedback opportunities to reach patrons both inside the library and online. Examples of this process include building digital escape rooms out of tutorials and promoting online voting via surveys for the library's most popular passive programming, This vs That.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibGuides, LibCal, LibAnswers, LibWizard

Nicole Mackowiak is an early-career librarian serving at Fayetteville State University as its Student Engagement Librarian. Her role includes implementing student programming, managing the Charles W. Chesnutt Library's social media outreach and public calendars, and acting as the chair of the Short Editions Committee and co-chair of Displays Committee. She obtained her master's degree in library and information science from Drexel University and has previous library experience working at the University of Pennsylvania's Leon Levy Dental Library, where she assisted in student programming and scholarly communications research.

Discover how Excelsior University Library uses LibAnswers to collect, track, and manage user-generated broken link reports from its discovery service, leading to better recognition of patterns and issues, improved access to e-resources, and demonstrated impact on the student experience. Incorporating Reference Analytics let the team evaluate the results. Attendees will learn how to set up a similar system for their own library.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibAnswers

Regina Seguin is the Electronic Resources Management Librarian at Excelsior University, where she oversees the electronic resource lifecycle and works to ensure seamless access to library collections. Throughout her career, she has focused on supporting adult learners and is passionate about making library experiences more welcoming, accessible, and intuitive so learners can focus on learning. She enjoys problem-solving, iteratively improving library services, and helping students build confidence as library users.

Academic libraries teach students to find and evaluate information, a skill that directly applies to conducting an effective job search. Careershift is an all-in-one tool where students find jobs and professional contacts as well as research employers and labor market data. It's also a powerful resource for librarians when helping students research employers and industries.

Shelley has collaborated with the undergraduate nursing research course for 18 years to teach information literacy. Initially, this involved printable professor-created instructions that guided students step by step through navigation of the library website and incorporated information searching exercises with questions encouraging observation, reflection, and critical thinking about the search process.

Over time, collaboration with the library morphed the assignment into two sequential LibWizard Tutorials that lessen confusion during the assignment while collecting data the library can mine for assessment. The latest modifications and updates have resulted in guided activities that better target past areas of confusion, in improved questions to measure student understanding of information literacy concepts, and in considerably fewer student questions about searching during the remainder of the semester.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibWizard

Shelley Arvin is a Research & Engagement Librarian at Indiana State University, specializing in science, health, and business information. She is also a member of the Teaching & Learning Department of the Bayh College of Education. She has served on the university Senate and on the assessment council for many years. She has been a professional academic librarian since 2002 and has worked at Indiana State University since 2007. She has used Springshare products for 18 years, utilizing LibGuides, LibWizard, LibAnswers, and LibCal.