IFLA Journal. October 2025 [Special Issue: Artificial Intelligence (AI): Transforming Global Librarianship]

This special issue of IFLA Journal (Vol. 51, No. 3) is dedicated to the theme Artificial Intelligence: Transforming Global Librarianship. Bringing together eighteen original contributions from around the world, the issue examines how AI is reshaping library services, information literacy, policy, and professional practice across diverse contexts. Articles range from studies of AI literacy among students in South Asia, Latin America, and China, to explorations of generative AI applications in cataloguing, digital preservation, public health, and indigenous knowledge. The issue also engages with pressing debates about ethics, equity, and the global gaps in AI adoption and governance. Guest editors Andrew M. Cox (University of Sheffield, UK) and Xuemao Wang (Dean of Libraries, Northwestern University, USA) guide this timely collection, framing an emerging research agenda that positions AI as both a challenge and an opportunity for the future of librarianship worldwide.