Searchers Academy is your chance to interact with search experts as they share their ideas and expertise during a full-day workshop at Computers in Libraries 2026. Moderated by Marydee Ojala, Editor of Online Searcher in Computers in Libraries magazine, you're guaranteed to come away with a new attitude and new resources and tools for more effective and strategic searching.
Searchers Academy may be registered for separately as a workshop or is included when you register for our Gold Pass option. Registration includes:
- Light continental breakfast
- Attendee lunch
- Morning and afternoon coffee breaks
- PLUS complimentary access to the Computers in Libraries 2026 Exhibit Hall March 17 - 19.
W1. Searchers Academy: Visions and Impact
Monday, March 16: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Information professionals now have an array of search tools from which to choose—many of them AI enhanced. Generative AI, especially with deep research functionality, is transforming how we locate, analyze, and present information, but there are also new and emerging dangers to watch for. Despite the promises, the flood of false, manipulated, and questionable information requires extreme vigilance on the part of searchers and those who teach about and advise on the search process. Critical thinking is becoming ever more crucial as a search skill. It’s a complex search environment with exciting opportunities, new threats, and many moving parts.
Rapid changes in search technologies call for a reset in our assumptions about, and our approach to, search from a research perspective. It's no longer only Google's algorithm changes that need watching: Competing AI tools are in a battle to win out against each other. Information professionals need to re-examine all their search instruction and search practices, so as to answer new expectations from their clients and communities. Librarians and information professionals possess a unique skill set that gives us the ability to own the search space. But equally important is our ability to pivot as circumstances change and to communicate our value to our stakeholders. This practical and interactive, full-day workshop provides the latest tips, tricks, and techniques for unlocking the “black box” of search and connecting with those in our communities.
Our search experts reveal what you need to know today to perform better and more effective searches, support research in your organization or community, analyze search results to surface value, teach others good search practices, and remain on top of search innovations. There's always something new to be learned from these leading-edge info pros. Whether you're a novice or expert searcher, you come away with a new understanding of innovations in search, new resources to share with colleagues, and more search tools for your professional toolkit.
Our experts cover topics:
What’s New in Web Search: Learn about new developments in search engines, search bots, and search technology that affect info pros’ ability to get the best results.
Price’s Pearls: So many resources, so little time! Our longtime expert and industry watcher shares a number of new, different, and changed resources to turbocharge your research.
Savvy Search Strategies: With the plethora of search possibilities now available, deciding where to search, what techniques are most effective, and how to approach search queries becomes ever more complicated. Strategize your research to accommodate the new tools, technologies, and techniques for increasing sense-making.
Specialized Academic Search Tools: GenAI search-based language models trained on freely available information may not be sufficient for academic libraries or those doing intense research. AI assistants, such Consensus, Elicit, and Scite, are popping up, as are changes in traditional library databases. Learn how to take advantage of them.
Visions and Impact: Regardless of the type of library or organization in which you work, or if you’re an independent researcher, connecting the right information at the right time is critical. However, awareness of ethical use of AI tools, sorting fact from fiction, and convincing others of the impact of your work is imperative.
Speakers:
Arthur Weiss, Managing Director, AWARE
Christine Carmichael, Senior Research & Instruction Librarian, Business, Arts, & Sciences, Reinert-Alumni Library, Creighton University
Gary Price, Co-Founder, infoDOCKET & FullTextReports
Marydee Ojala, Editor, Online Searcher, Computers in Libraries Magazine, & Editor-in-Chief, KMWorld Magazine
Dan Russell, Free Range Research Scientist; former Google Principal UX Researcher; Lecturer, Stanford University and Author, The Joy of Search
