Library Freedom Institute

Applications are opening soon for Library Freedom Institute (LFI) 12 — Advanced Knowledge for Digital Resistance

Library Freedom Institute is a unique privacy and intellectual freedom training for librarians.

LFI 12 is a practical bootcamp designed not to lecture, but to build. Expanding on Library Freedom Institute training in intellectual freedom, data privacy, and AI critical approaches to resisting BigTech, this advanced series embraces the reality that much of our work remains in progress.

LFI 12 is iterative and expands on the expertise you’ve been studying and sharing with your communities. 

What will we cover in LFI 12? 

We kick off with exploring the current threat landscape of surveillance capitalism and defining your personal and professional values and mission. We’ll then move from theory to practice in skilling up around community organizing with asset mapping and guest speakers from frontline groups. We’ll return to themes of tech resistance by looking at strategies and doing the hands-on work of breaking up with BigTech. Our work together will include strategies and methods for talking back to power—whether internal to our institutions or to larger institutional bodies. Our sessions will also return to themes we find ourselves encountering in our communities: increased demands for critical literacy, combating evolving scams, and moving critical AI resistance forward. Finally, we’ll revisit the basics of librarianship that support our work, such as program development and project planning. 

How will LFI 12 cover these themes?

The LFI 12 cohort will determine its outcomes based on where our collective journey leads—whether a hackathon, a deep tool dive, a crisis simulation, project planning, community outreach, or developing arguments you can actually use.

Who should apply to LFI 12?

Anyone committed to fighting back against vendor lock-in, seeking practical organizing tools, or looking to build on your extensive experience and knowledge about intellectual freedom, data privacy, or critical AI. This training will be a deeper dive and extend the content from previous LFI learnings. Being an alum of a previous LFI cohort isn’t required, but is recommended. In your application, we’ll look forward to reading about how your experience makes you a good fit for LFI 12.

Application materials, including FAQ, will be posted on this site soon. We’ll make an announcement to our mailing list and in our monthly newsletter.

Interested in LFI, but think our 101-level training might be more your speed? We’ll offer another round of the introductory course in mid-2027. Join our newsletter mailing list for more info! 

After completing an LFI intensive training, participants are invited to join the LFP community of practice, a one-of-a-kind space for library workers to continue collaborating in a supportive environment.