Renewing the Culture of Critical Thinking

The Essential Role of Librarians in an Age of AI and Distraction

Authors

  • Dr. Suzanne Morrison-Williams, EdD LIRN
  • Andrew Anderson LIRN

Abstract

Pandemic learning loss, social media saturation, and reliance on artificial intelligence have combined to erode literacy and critical thinking in higher education. This article argues that librarians, as stewards of information literacy, are uniquely positioned to counter these trends. Through AI literacy initiatives, updated frameworks, deep reading programs, and faculty collaboration, librarians can restore students’ capacity for independent reasoning and inquiry. The article calls for librarians to embrace leadership roles in safeguarding intellectual agency and sustaining the democratic value of critical thought.

Author Biographies

Dr. Suzanne Morrison-Williams, EdD, LIRN

       Dr. Suzanne Morrison-Williams is an executive academic operations professional with over

       25 years working in the area of higher education.  Her core competencies include learning

       and development (L&D) optimization, organizational leadership, diversity, equity, and

       inclusion (DE&I), customer and product support, and strategic planning and execution. Dr.

       Morrison-Williams has served as a Vice President of a multi-campus educational organization,

       a Chief Administrative officer and Vice Provost of a private Nursing college as well as the

       Campus Director and Operations officer of other educational organizations.

 

       Currently, Dr Morrison-Williams serves as the Chief Academic Officer at Library Information

       and Resources Network (LIRN), a non-profit consortium of over 350+ educational institutions that

       provides equity and access to online library and information resources.

Andrew Anderson, LIRN

As a technology professional with one foot in IT and the other foot in libraries, Andrew Anderson has been in the unique position to solve interesting and unique challenges in making information and data readily available to people around the world for over 25 years.

Andrew currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Library and Information Resources Network, a library consortia serving hundreds of colleges and universities with campuses around the world and hundreds of thousands of students.

Published

2026-01-02

Issue

Vol. 67 Issue 3 (Fall 2025)

Section

Articles

License

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