Skip to main content
NISO Professional Development Events, November and December 2026

NISO Professional Development Events, November and December 2026

November 2026

November 2026

NISO Public Webinar

NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) Webinar: AI and the Future of Academic Libraries: Understanding the Current Situation
Wednesday, November 17, 2026, 2:30 pm–4:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time, US & Canada)

In 2024, the NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) Standing Committee published Generative Artificial Intelligence and Web-Scale Discovery. This white paper examined the results of a survey conducted by ODI to assess the information community's perception of the impact of AI on library discovery services. As part of the outcomes from this report, and to continue engaging with the community, ODI will host a series of webinars that explore AI, discovery, and the future of library services. 

In the third webinar of the series, "AI and the Future of Academic Libraries: Understanding the Current Situation," ODI will continue the discussion on how artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every stage of the research process, from how students formulate questions to how scholars discover, evaluate, and synthesize information. As AI tools increasingly become the starting point for research, academic libraries, publishers, and technology providers are confronting fundamental questions about changing user behaviors, evolving expectations, and the future of scholarly discovery. What trends are emerging? How are researchers actually using AI? And what do these changes mean for libraries that have traditionally served as the gateway to scholarly information? 

Join panel experts Clifford Anderson (Yale University), Melissa Mallon (Vanderbilt University), and Russell Michalak (Goldey-Beacom College), and moderator, ODI Standing Committee member Andrew Adler (Western Kentucky University), to examine the current state of AI's impact on higher education. Rather than focusing on predictions or solutions, panelists will explore what we are seeing today, discuss how AI is influencing academic libraries, and identify the opportunities and challenges that are already reshaping the academic information ecosystem. Together, they will establish a shared understanding of the rapidly changing landscape that will frame the conversations still to come.

NISO Webinar

All’s Well That’s Regulated: AI Policy and Governance
Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 11:00 am–12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time, US & Canada)

As governments around the world pursue differing approaches to AI, from accelerating innovation to introducing more measured regulation, how do we balance speed with safeguards? Taking a global perspective on AI policy and governance, we’ll consider accountability, auditability, intellectual property, and public impact, along with pragmatic approaches to advancing innovation while maintaining trust.

Speakers include:  Dr. Andres Guadamuz, Reader in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Sussex and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property and Dr. Hong Zhou, VP of Product Management at KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. Jessica Miles, the founder and host of The Informed Frontier is the webinar moderator.

December 2026

NISO Webinar

The Gift of the Misstep: Lessons in Constructive Failure
Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 11:00 am–12:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time, US & Canada)

This webinar features case studies of projects that went sideways—and the creative pivots, silver linings, and happy accidents that led to unexpected lessons and wins.