Library and Information Week 2026

 

Truth used to feel like something you could point to. These days, it’s harder to pin down — shaped, stretched and sometimes distorted in a crowded information landscape. In some cases, the truth isn’t just blurred — it’s buried.

That’s where libraries come in. Built on the careful keeping and sharing of knowledge, they help communities cut through the noise — supporting people to question, verify and understand what they encounter, and to navigate misinformation and disinformation with confidence.

This Library and Information Week, we’re getting to the truth of the matter and exploring:

  • how libraries help people recognise and respond to misinformation and disinformation
  • the tools and approaches they use — and how they continue to evolve
  • the complex relationship between misinformation, disinformation and truth

Programming details and resources will be available soon, so keep an eye on this page! 


Useful Resources

Libraries and other organisations across Australia are already delivering a wide range of programs, resources and initiatives that help people of all ages build digital, media and information literacy skills. We'll be showcasing examples from across the country on this page in the lead-up to and during Library and Information Week 2026.

Have a resource, program or initiative to share? We'd love to hear from you. Send details, links or promotional materials to [email protected]

  • AMLA for Educators: Drawing on AMLA’s leading academic research in media literacy and underpinned by the National Media Literacy Framework, explore some of the engaging and innovative media literacy initiatives, training and tools for Australian educators in schools.
  • Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation (State Library of Victoria): throughout most of 2025, the State Library held and exhibition titled “Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation”, and as part of the supporting material produced a Misinformation research guide
  • Fact or Fiction? (State Library of Queensland): A free interactive resource for Years 4–7 that helps students evaluate online information, identify misinformation and build critical thinking skills through short challenges and activities.
  • NSWEduChat (NSW Government): NSW Department of Education staff and students in Years 5 to 12 now have access to NSWEduChat, the department’s generative artificial intelligence tool, providing them with a safe and secure way to explore the benefits of generative artificial intelligence.
  • ABC Matter of Facts: a nation-wide literacy initiative, delivered through workshops and resources that help people understand how news is produced, evaluate sources and navigate misinformation.
  • eSmart Media Literacy Lab (Alannah and Madeline Foundation): fun, gamified platform empowering students to navigate the media landscape. Free for all Australian schools.
  • ABC Education and AMLA Media Literacy Summit: This summit was held on 18 March 2026 as a opportunity to bring together researchers, policy makers, educators, and journalists to discuss a range of topics relating to media literacy, including the pressing issue of the impact that mis- and disinformation has upon democratic societies. Watch all sessions
  • eFake news and misinformation (eSafety Commissioner): A practical guide from the Australian eSafety Commissioner that helps people identify false or misleading online content, understand how misinformation spreads, and learn simple fact-checking strategies before sharing information online.
  • Platform for Civic Media Literacy (Western Sydney University): A research-led initiative that develops resources, research and community partnerships to help Australians build media and digital literacy skills, particularly among groups most at risk of digital exclusion, misinformation and barriers to civic participation

Previous Library and Information Week themes have included:

  • 2024 – Roots of Democracy
  • 2023 – Where's the source?
  • 2022 – Rewrite, Renew, Reimagine
  • 2021 – Adventures in Space and Time
  • 2020 – Create
  • 2019 – Truth, Integrity, Knowledge
  • 2018 – Find yourself in a library
  • 2017 – Celebrate
  • 2016 – Discover More
  • 2015 – Imagine
  • 2014 – Join the Dots
  • 2013 – Share your story
  • 2012 – Think Outside the Book
  • 2011 – Libraries: We Find Stuff!
  • 2010 – Access All Areas
  • 2009 – Libraries your passport to discovery!
  • 2008 – Libraries are for Everyone
  • 2007 – Linking People with Ideas
  • 2006 – Linking People with Ideas @your library
  • 2005 – Posters themes: 'feeding hungry young minds', 'most user friendly search engine', 'what's on your librarians mind?'
  • 2004 – Down and Loaded
  • 2003 – Power your Mind
  • 2002 – Libraries Change Lives
  • 2001 – Libraries Information Matters and Libraries Knowledge Outlook
  • 2000 – Here for the Long Run
  • 1999 – Libraries: Explore and Discover
  • 1998 – Pathways to Knowledge
  • 1997 – Libraries: a Web of Information
  • 1996 – Reading the future
  • 1995 – Destination Information

What is Library and Information Week?

This is the week where we celebrate the work that library and information workers do all around Australia.

Every year, libraries and information services throughout Australia showcase their resources and services to their communities, through programs and events. Whether it's a library in your school, community, university, hospitals, cultural or law institutions, this week is an opportunity to learn more about what they do and the important roles they play in our local community, work and personal lives.

This week was first celebrated in 1968 as Australian Library Week, organised by the Australian Library Promotion Council. After the Council folded in the late 1980s, the Australian Library and Information association took responsibility for the week, and it was eventually changed to Library and Information Week in 2000, to reflect and build awareness of the broader range of the library and information services sector, and promote all types of library and information services in Australia.