Last Updated on May 21, 2026, 2:49 pm ET
The ARL Daily Intelligence is the trusted source of news and analysis for library leaders and advocates.
Released Monday through Thursday, the ARL Daily Intelligence is curated by Gary D. Price, co-founder and editor of Library Journal’s infoDOCKET, and edited and produced by Kaylyn Groves, ARL’s director of Member Communications.
You may subscribe to the email of ARL Daily Intelligence and the ARL Weekly News Roundup, released on Fridays. Both the ARL Daily Intelligence and ARL Weekly News Roundup are available on LinkedIn as well. Thank you for subscribing, reading, and sharing!
Do you work for an ARL member library and have news you want us to share in our Daily Intelligence and Weekly News Roundup? Please email your news link(s) to daily@arl.org.
Schedule note: The ARL Daily Intelligence will be on hiatus Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day in the US. We will return Tuesday, May 26.
Jump to: Tuesday, May 19 | Wednesday, May 20 | Thursday, May 21
Monday, May 18
Top o’ the Day
AI Research Papers Are Getting Better, and It’s a Big Problem for Scientists
(The Verge)
See also: Send the arXiv AI-Generated Slop, Get a Yearlong Vacation from Submissions (Ars Technica)
CRKN Virtual Conference 2026: Creative Collaborations, Collective Momentum—Presentations Online
(CRKN: Canadian Research Knowledge Network)
For First Time, NYC’s Libraries to Have Permanent, Baseline Funding
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
Learnings from Our AI Conference—Building Confidence, Competence, and Context
(University of Liverpool)
The Economist Prepares for a Two‑Track Internet: One for Humans and One for AI Agents
(Digiday)
The Fifteen: May 15, 2026
(Higher Education Strategy Associates)
The Prehistory of AI Slop
(The New Yorker)
Archived version
The Role of Information Systems and How They Create Healthy Communities (webinar on demand)
(Next City)
See also:
- The Civic Information Index
- Why Lack of Civic Education Is Making US Politics Toxic (op-ed) (Knox News)
US Copyright Register Perlmutter Addresses Law and Policy Issues During Oversight Hearing
(ARL: Association of Research Libraries and LCA: Library Copyright Alliance)
What Will It Take to Rebuild Trust in Higher Education?
(ACE: American Council on Education)
ARL Member Libraries
A Living Archive: The UW Ethnomusicology Archives
(UW Libraries, UW: University of Washington via The Daily, Student Publications @ The University of Washington)
Archivists Turn to LLMs to Decipher Handwriting at Scale
(UNC University Library, UNC: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill via IEEE Spectrum)
Libraries and Public Access to Federal Data: Chris Marcum Talks to the Public Data Project
(Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab)
See also: The Integrity of Public Access to Federal Data (Chris Marcum)
Higher Ed
AAUP Backs AI Data Center Moratorium
(AAUP: American Association of University Professors)
2026 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition
(EDUCAUSE)
What We’re Learning About AI Governance in Higher Education
(EAB)
Scholars & Scholarship
Helpful Reminders to Ensure Integrity of NIH-Supported Research When Using Artificial Intelligence
(NIH: US National Institutes of Health)
Scientific Authority Cues Increase the Spread of Misinformation
(PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)
Strengthening Open Infrastructure Through Community-Led Support: 2025 SCOSS Family Updates
(SCOSS: Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services)
Tuesday, May 19
Top o’ the Day
Daniel Goroff Named 16th President of the Social Science Research Council
(SSRC: Social Science Research Council)
Gen Z’s AI Backlash Is Getting Louder
(Business Insider | archived version)
See also: 91 Percent of Senior Class Has Used AI for Schoolwork, Survey Finds (Yale Daily News)
Global AI Diffusion: Q1 2026 Trends and Insights
(Microsoft)
On Memorization
(Authors Alliance)
Open Technology Research Symposium 2026 Call for Proposals
(Open Source Initiative)
Research Libraries and Civic Engagement: New RLUK Project Exploring the Role of Special and Heritage Collections
(RLUK: Research Libraries UK)
Researchers Who Use Hallucinated References to Face arXiv Ban
(Nature)
RoRI Launches META-MOMENT: The Largest Comparative Global Study of Metascience
(RoRI: Research on Research Institute)
Six Major European Organizations Call to Strengthen Open Science Policy and Practice
(ALLEA, EIFL, IFLA, LIBER, OPERAS, and SPARC Europe)
Surfacing Shared Incentives for Curated Collections and AI Tools
(IOI: Invest in Open Infrastructure)
ARL Member Libraries
A Taste of Appalachia, Plated with History
(University Libraries at Virginia Tech)
Check Out Our AI in Popular Literature Summer Reading List!
(FSU Libraries, FSU: Florida State University)
Congressional Authority to Regulate Presidential Recordkeeping
(Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress)
CRL Annual Meeting Elects New Board Officers, Welcomes Five Directors, Approves FY 2027 Budget
(CRL: Center for Research Libraries)
Hindu Gods & Goddesses Digital Image Collection Now Available
(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hamilton Library)
“Performance as Research” Event Series Launches at Fine Arts Library
(University of Texas Libraries)
Timothy M. McGeary Named ARL Member Representative to CNI Steering Committee
(University of Rochester River Campus Libraries via ARL: Association of Research Libraries and CNI: Coalition for Networked Information)
Higher Ed
Advocacy Toolkit for University-Based Publishing
(UBPF: University-Based Publishing Futures)
Also from UBPF: Upcoming webinar (Monday, June 1)
“AI Is Changing Everything” in Higher Education Says Georgia Tech President (video)
(Bloomberg)
APLU Report Outlines Public Engagement Agenda for Public & Land-Grant Universities
(APLU: Association of Public and Land-grant Universities)
AUPresses 2026 Annual Report
(AUPresses: Association of University Presses)
Wednesday, May 20
Top o’ the Day
Explainer: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Policy Alert on Deferred Action and Possible Implications for DACA
(Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration)
See also: Letter to USCIS on Delays in Processing DACA Renewals (ACE: American Council on Education)
Good Luck Opting Out: Manipulative Design Patterns in Opt-Out Processes
(EPIC: Electronic Privacy Information Center)
Literary Prizewinners Are Facing AI Allegations. It Feels Like the New Normal
(WIRED)
See also: Watching the Detectors: Researchers Probe Efficacy—and Danger—of AI Detection Tools (University of Florida)
LPC Releases Report on Current State of Staffing in Library Publishing
(LPC: Library Publishing Coalition)
Also from LPC: Upcoming webinar (Tuesday, June 2)
Not the Right Fit: How Transactional Infrastructure Models Clash with Institutional Realities
(Upstream, FORCE11)
Pell Institute 2026 Indicators Report Warns US Higher Education Progress Is Stalling
(The Pell Institute)
Science Academies “S7” Statements Call on Governments to Protect the Arctic, Manage Large Satellite Constellations, and Advance Brain Health
(National Academy of Sciences)
Tough Peer-Review Process? Your Paper Might End Up Being More Highly Cited
(Nature)
See also:
- More Than Fast and Open: Preprints for Rigor, Too? (ASAPbio)
- Why Preprint Servers Are Increasing Moderation—and What That Means for Researchers (Nature)
Universities Call for Integrated Federal Action to Strengthen Canada’s Productivity, Skills, and Sovereign Capability
(Universities Canada)
Upcoming Online Event: Introducing The Trust Agenda: A Framework for Advancing Public Trust in Higher Education (Tuesday, June 16)
(AAC&U: American Association of Colleges and Universities)
ARL Member Libraries
Imagebase Digital Collections Now Housed in Special Collections and University Archives Online, Publicly Accessible On and Off Campus
(University Libraries at Virginia Tech)
Libraries’ Open Publishing Relaunches Educational Media Reviews Online
(Penn State University Libraries)
Library to Add Cutting-Edge Molecular-Data Storage Device Carrying Digitized Collections to America’s Time Capsule
(Library of Congress)
Open for Research: The David Elliott Draper Collection on Mardi Gras Indians
(Tulane University Libraries)
Wayne State Joins Fellow R1 Universities in National Effort to Guide AI Use in Cultural Collections
(Wayne State University Library System)
What Our Community Has Built: Results from the 2026 APTrust Member Census
(APTrust: Academic Preservation Trust, University of Virginia Library)
Scholars & Scholarship
OpenAIRE and Alien Intelligence: Bringing AI Agents to the OpenAIRE Graph
(OpenAire and Alien Intelligence)
Teams of AI Agents Boost Speed of Research
(Nature)
The Collaborative Exoskeleton of AI Science
(Asimov’s Addendum)
These 5 Charts Show How ChatGPT Has Flooded Our Lives
(The Washington Post)
Thursday, May 21
Top o’ the Day
Federal Research: Agencies Should Better Manage Anticipated Publishing Cost Increases Amid Shift to Public Access
(GAO: US Government Accountability Office)
From Capacity to Capability—U15 Canada’s Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance
(U15 Canada)
Judge Grants Emergency Order Blocking Trump Administration from Disregarding Presidential Records Act
(AHA: American Historical Association)
Luján, Matsui Introduce Legislation to Expand Digital Opportunity, Inclusion, and Literacy
(US Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM))
See also: Public Knowledge Welcomes Bill to Advance Digital Equity, Help Close Digital Divide (Public Knowledge)
More Than 340 Local News Outlets Are Limiting the Internet Archive’s Access to Their Journalism
(Nieman Lab)
Quantum Computing Is Reaching Its Make-or-Break Moment
(Scientific American)
See also: US to Award $2 Billion to Quantum Computing Firms, Take Equity Stakes, WSJ Reports (Reuters via MSN)
Recap: What We Learned About Climate and AI from Our First Roundtable
(Open Knowledge)
Reinforcing NIH’s Continued Commitment to Fundamental Research
(NIH: US National Institutes of Health)
This Literary AI Scandal Changes Everything
(The Atlantic)
Archived version
YouTube Is Crawling with Pirated Audiobooks Made Using AI
(The New York Times)
See also: Spotify Launches an ElevenLabs-Powered Audiobook Creation Tool (TechCrunch)
ARL Member Libraries
A Treasure Trove of Textiles: Unearthing the Art History Library’s Carnegie Collection
(University of Toronto Libraries)
AHA Submits Comment to Federal Register in Support of NLM, Preserving the Nation’s Biomedical History
(NLM: US National Library of Medicine via AHA: American Historical Association)
“Fake It ’Til You Make It”: How Chemistry Students Grapple with Generative AI and Citation Validity in the Classroom
(University of Michigan Library)
Ohio State’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum to Reopen Saturday with New Exhibitions
(The Ohio State University Libraries via The Lantern)
Scholars & Scholarship
ACLS Names 2026 Finalists for ACLS Open Access Book Prizes and Arcadia Open Access Publishing Awards
(ACLS: American Council of Learned Societies)
AI Literacy: University Students’ Perceptions and Practices
(Trends in Higher Education)
Are “AI Co-Scientist” Tools Actually Useful for Scientists?
(STAT)
Is It Possible to Control AI Hallucinations?
(Communications of the ACM)
Students’ AI Literacy: An Exploratory Study
(Journal of Librarianship and Information Science)
Curated by Gary D. Price, MLIS
Co-Founder and Editor, Library Journal’s infoDOCKET
Information Industry Analyst
Librarian
http://infoDOCKET.com
@infodocket
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit membership organization of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and large public institutions in Canada and the US. ARL champions research libraries and archives, develops visionary leaders, and shapes policy for the equitable advancement of knowledge.
