Working Title: Critical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Librarianship
Editors: Tessa Withorn & Maria T. Accardi
Submission Deadline: October 1, 2025
Publisher: Litwin Books/Library Juice Press
Chapter submissions are welcome to be published in the forthcoming Critical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Librarianship, an edited volume to be published by Litwin Books/Library Juice Press.
Book Description
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to pervade the information landscape, librarians, archivists, and other library workers are grappling with how to assimilate, mitigate, or adapt to the impact. While some embrace AI and others reject it, a critical approach to librarianship offers an opportunity to investigate “the messy middle,” a nuanced gray area marked by uncertainty or precarity, where interacting with AI does not have to be either/or, but maybe, or sometimes, or under certain circumstances. This edited collection proposes to create space for a variety of library voices in this messy middle. These chapters will use a variety of critical lenses to consider the impact of AI on information literacy instruction, how the ethical use of information might be shaped or reshaped by AI, how we might illuminate or mitigate the environmental impact of AI, how the use of AI might be approached in a variety library contexts or settings, who benefits from the use of AI while who is harmed, how concerns about cognitive offloading are being addressed or examined, and more.
Tentative Book Sections
The collection will tentatively be organized into three sections: Lenses, Lay Bare, and Lessons. If your proposed contribution doesn’t fit neatly in one of these categories, we welcome your ideas!
- Lenses: 5-7 chapters that examine AI from one or more specific critical lenses (e.g., critical, feminist, queer, anti-racist, disability justice, etc.).
- Lay Bare: 5-7 chapters that seek to answer questions such as: Who benefits? Who is harmed? What responsibilities do librarians have to shine light on how AI works and the ethical implications thereof?
- Lessons: 5-7 chapters that provide critical applications of AI in different types of libraries, contexts, settings, or audiences.
Submission Guidelines
- A variety of formats, including scholarly and creative pieces, are invited.
- Full-length chapters should be between 3,000 to 9,000 words. Creative works do not have a minimum length but should be substantive and may include an author(s)’ note.
- All submissions must adhere to the Library Juice Press Author Guidelines and use APA Style (7th edition).
- Both individual and co-authored pieces are welcome.
Proposal Guidelines
A 300-500 word proposal for your chapter should include the following:
- A tentative title
- A brief bio for all contributors
- An overview of your argument
- What critical theories you plan to employ
- Which section your chapter might fit in
- Any additional research you plan to conduct, if applicable
- Any sources you plan to consult, if known
- Your intended audience
- If/how you plan to use AI for your proposed contribution
Important Dates
- Proposal Submission Deadline: October 1, 2025
- Acceptance Notification: Mid December 2025
- Full Chapter Drafts Due: March 31, 2026
- Review and Revisions Period: April – June 2026
- Anticipated Publication: Spring 2027
Contact and Submission
Questions and completed proposals should be directed to the editors at critlibaibook@gmail.com as a Word document (.docx) email attachment or in the body of your email.
