(Jun 2026) This article explores the topics and issues that trended in academic libraries over the past two years. It draws on research and initiatives from librarians across the profession, highlighting the challenges libraries face. To focus on the most pressing current trends, topics that have been covered in previous Top Trends or Environmental Scans are specifically excluded unless new and significant developments warrant review; see the 2024 Top Trends and 2025 Environmental Scan for previous topics covered. For this year’s report, we cover the new challenges academic libraries faced, including radical political and regulatory shifts in academic institutions, developments in artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting traditional research methods and tools, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II whole-scale redesign of websites, digital repositories, and future collection and intake processes. The report also highlights a bright spot: the Data Rescue Project, a grassroots volunteer community launched in 2025 by data librarians to recover and house at-risk public data from shuttered government websites.
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