The Hyperlinked Library is designed as a participatory, reflective, and community-centered learning experience. Learning takes place through course modules, blog posts, media, conversations, shared artifacts, and engagement with fellow information professionals.
Throughout the semester, students will explore emerging trends, technologies, participatory service models, and human-centered approaches to library and information work. The course is built around curiosity, creativity, reflection, and a willingness to explore new ideas and possibilities for libraries and information organizations.
How the Course Works
#hyperlib consists of course modules, blog posts from Michael introducing each module, reflection blogging, Assignment X, an Innovation Strategy & Roadmap, an Inspiration Report, a Virtual Symposium, and participation in our learning community.
The course is delivered through a variety of connected and participatory technologies, including blogging, commenting, media creation, discussion, collaboration, and the sharing of ideas through digital platforms. These spaces provide opportunities to learn from one another, engage in professional dialogue, and build meaningful connections with colleagues.
Each module includes readings, videos, presentations, and other learning materials designed to encourage exploration and critical thinking. Students are encouraged to follow their interests, make connections across modules, and engage deeply with ideas that resonate with their professional goals.
Within each module you will encounter things to read, things to view, things to explore, and opportunities to reflect. Some materials provide foundational context, while others are intended to spark curiosity, inspire new ideas, and encourage deeper investigation. Not every learning experience will look the same, and students are encouraged to chart their own path through the content while remaining engaged with the core themes of the course.
The Hyperlinked Library embraces a “Choose Your Own Adventure” approach to learning. Exploration, discovery, and personal connection to the material are valued just as highly as mastering concepts and completing assignments.
Reflection as Practice
Reflection is a cornerstone of The Hyperlinked Library experience.
Throughout the semester, students will document their evolving thinking through blog posts and course assignments. Reflection provides opportunities to connect course content with professional practice, examine assumptions, ask questions, and consider how emerging ideas might influence the future of libraries and learning.
The goal is not simply to consume information but to thoughtfully engage with it, synthesize it, and make it meaningful within your own professional context.
Participation & Community
This course is built on participation.
Students are expected to engage with course content, contribute to conversations, share ideas, and support fellow learners throughout the semester. Learning happens not only through the modules but through interactions with classmates and the broader professional community.
The Hyperlinked Library model emphasizes openness, transparency, and collaboration. Community participation enriches the learning experience for everyone and reflects the participatory nature of contemporary library service.
It is essential that you keep steady attention to the course, the modules, the readings, and the blog postings and contributions of your classmates.
Human-Centered Service
A central theme of this course is the belief that libraries are built on human connections.
We will explore how empathy, compassion, participation, creativity, storytelling, and community engagement can shape meaningful library services and experiences. The Hyperlinked Library is grounded in the idea that services should be delivered with heart, across multiple channels, and always with attention to the needs and aspirations of users.
As we consider emerging technologies and new service models, we will continually ask how these innovations can help libraries better support learning, connection, and community.
Infinite Learning
Learning does not end with the completion of a module, assignment, or degree.
The Hyperlinked Library encourages a mindset of continuous, self-directed, and lifelong learning. Students are invited to cultivate curiosity, build personal learning networks, explore emerging ideas, and develop habits of reflection that will support their professional growth long after the course concludes.
Our goal is not only to understand current trends but to develop the mindset and skills necessary to adapt, learn, and thrive in an ever-changing information landscape.
Culminating Experience
The course concludes with the Virtual Symposium, a creative opportunity to share your learning journey with classmates. Through a format of your choosing, you will reflect on your growth, synthesize key course themes, and articulate your evolving understanding of hyperlinked library service.
The Symposium celebrates both individual learning and the collective experience of our hyperlinked community.
Final Thoughts
Approach this course with curiosity. Experiment with new ideas. Share your voice. Learn from others. Reflect often.
Libraries continue to evolve, and so do the people who work within them. The Hyperlinked Library is an invitation to imagine what comes next and to consider how we can create library experiences that are participatory, innovative, human-centered, and inspiring.
Welcome to #hyperlib.
This version keeps the original spirit of the page while bringing it into alignment with the 2026 course emphasis on reflection, participatory learning, creativity, empathy, infinite learning, Assignment X, the Inspiration Report, the Innovation Strategy & Roadmap, and the Virtual Symposium. It feels like an evolution of the existing page rather than a replacement, which is very much in keeping with the Hyperlinked Library philosophy.
This page was developed with support from Hyperlinked Library Insights, an AI-enhanced course partner that has been trained on the full content of INFO 287: The Hyperlinked Library, including modules, assignments, and grading criteria.