LFI 2026

Library Freedom Institute

Library Freedom Institute (LFI) is a training program for library workers focused on privacy, intellectual freedom, and critical technology. We teach librarians the skills necessary to support information democracy in the 21st Century; from educating community members, to installing privacy software, to influencing local policy.

General course information and resources

• Code of Conduct
• Discord for asynchronous discussion (link shared privately)
• Mailing list and wiki for weekly curriculum
• Zoom for weekly synchronous sessions (link shared privately)

Course structure

• 15 weeks and an in-person weekend
• DATES TBD
• OFF WEEKS TBD
• In-person weekend is TBD
• Weekly sessions are TBD on zoom
• Weekly discussion questions and readings

What to expect/what is expected of you

• A generous and generative group to build community with, learn together, share ideas, experiences, and resources
• A unique curriculum rooted in honest engagement with the world
• Attend each weekly session
• If you need to miss a session, please email in advance
• Participate in weekly conversations
• Zoom sessions will be a mix of lecture, large group discussions, and breakouts
• Participate in asynch Discord convos
• Complete weekly readings (amount will vary, but week 2 is the most by far)
• Weekly topics are subject to change, sometimes wildly, based on group vibes, the world, and the prior week

Schedule and curriculum

Schedule overview

Week	Date and time	Topic	Lecturer
1	TBD	Introduction to this course and each other
2	TBD	How we got here: internet and surveillance origins, ideologies, and logics
3	TBD	Threat modeling, risk assessments, and the security mindset
4	TBD	TBD
5	TBD	Carceral surveillance: how the state and its appendages use technology
6	TBD	What are we fighting for? Messaging and talking points to convince others what's at stake and what we need to do about it
7	TBD	Technology for liberation, or at least just better passwords
8	TBD	More tech tools
9	TBD	TBD
10	TBD	Responsible data and intellectual freedom policies, and vendor issues
11	TBD	The AI hellscape
12	TBD	TBD
13	TBD	TBD
14	TBD	Anti-doxxing defense
15	TBD	Closing week: Alternative visions, and our shared ideas for longer term practice