Episode 40 (April 2025): March Madness – Info Style

Beth Patin & Mike Eisenberg

Description

With Dave on vacation, Beth & Mike also take a break from the challenges and issues facing the library & information field. Since both are both avid sports fans and since it’s “March Madness” (college basketball’s post-season extravaganza) time, they build on last month’s “information perspective” by taking a look at the entire phenomenon while wearing their library & information-colored glasses. So, fill out your brackets, grab a beverage and snacks, root for your favorite teams, and join Beth & Mike as they share and challenge each other’s perceptions and predictions.

This episode includes:

• Wazzup?
• AI Watch
• Main Topic
• Awesome Library Thingy

References & Resources

AI Watch:

University of Alabama. (n.d.). John T.F. Burgess. Retrieved March 28, 2025, from https://sites.ua.edu/jtfburgess/

Miller, A., & Heinberg, R. (2023). Welcome to the Great Unraveling: Navigating the Polycrisis of Environmental and Social Breakdown. Post Carbon Institute. https://www.postcarbon.org/publications/welcome-to-the-great-unraveling/

Berkowitz, A. (2024). Transparency Now! Decision Guidance for GenAI in Libraries and Classrooms. Library 2.0 at San Jose State University. https://www.library20.com/cfp-ai-and-libraries-3/transparency-now-decision-guidance-for-genai-in-libraries-and-cla  

Berkowitz, A. (2024). Transparency Now! Decision Guidance for GenAI in Libraries and Classrooms. Library 2.0 at San Jose State University. Video presentation, 29 minutes.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5CSbL_oAzI

Ng, K. (2025, February 12). DeepSeek moved me to tears: How young Chinese find therapy in AI. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7g45g2nxno

Main Topic: MARCH MADNESS – Info Style

THE TOURNAMENT

Brooks, A. (2024, April 9). 2024 NCAA Women’s Championship and Final Four on ESPN Platforms is Most Watched on Record. ESPN Press Room. https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/04/2024-ncaa-womens-championship-and-final-four-on-espn-platforms-is-most-watched-on-record/

Women’s March Madness championship game TV audience 2019-2024. 
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1461096/march-madness-womens-tv-final-viewership/#:~:text=As%20well%20as%20featuring%20a,over%20four%20million%20more%20viewers. 

Statista Research Department. (2024, April 11). Women’s March Madness championship game TV audience in the U.S. 2019-2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1461096/march-madness-womens-tv-final-viewership/  

Romo, V. (2024, April 10). Women’s NCAA Championship TV ratings crush the men’s competition. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243801501/womens-ncaa-championship-tv-ratings

INFORMATION, ANALYTICS, AND AI

Van Deusen, A. (2023, March 31). Making March madness predictions with data science. Flatiron School. https://flatironschool.com/blog/march-madness-predictions-and-data-science

Pollard, J. (2024, March 18). How bracketologists are using artificial intelligence this March Madness. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-artificial-intelligence-3b9ec0188bc8fd8361938d2fb9eb5b69

Wilco, D. (2025, February 13). March Madness history: A comprehensive guide to the men’s tournament. NCAA.com. https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2025-02-13/march-madness-history-comprehensive-guide-mens-tournament

College Insider. (2025). The role of analytics in modern college basketball strategies. https://www.collegeinsider.com/the-role-of-analytics-in-modern-college-basketball-strategies

Fournier, J. (2024, November 6). Cutting through the noise: The essential value of analytics in college basketball. Basketball is Psychology. https://www.ballispsych.com/post/cutting-through-the-noise-the-essential-value-of-analytics-in-college-basketball

LIBRARIES & MARCH MADNESS

Greenlee, A. (n.d.). Library-March Madness [Pinterest board]. Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/angela_greenlee/library-march-madness/

Young, B. (2022, March 10). March Madness: UNO Style. The Disruptive Librarian. https://www.disruptivelibrarian.com/2022/03/10/march-madness-uno-style/  

Lincoln Memorial University Library. (2025). March Madness 2025. https://library.lmunet.edu/march_madness/2025

Valley City State College, Allen Memorial Library. (2025). Book March Madness is battle of the “banned.” https://library.vcsu.edu/bookmm/2025

Arizona State University Library. (n.d.). March Mammal Madness. https://libguides.asu.edu/MarchMammalMadness#s-lg-box-34002996

Arizona State University Library. (n.d.). March Mammal Madness. [YouTube video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QKQN1YC6zw

Westport Public Library. (n.d.). March Madness. https://westportlibrary.libguides.com/MarchMadness

Saratoga Springs Public Library. (2025). SSPL March Book Madness: Elimination results. https://guides.sspl.org/SSPLMBM2025/Current/2025/Results

Daniel Boone Regional Library. (2025). March Madness. https://www.dbrl.org/teens?tag=march-madness+2025

Negro League Baseball Museum. (n.d.). Where history touches home. https://www.nlbm.com/

Awesome Library Thingy

Institute of Museum and Library Services. (29 March, 2025). Cyndee Landrum. https://www.imls.gov/about-us/leadership-staff/cyndee-landrum
Cyndee Landrum was recently fired as Acting Director of IMLS after being appointed on on January 20, 2025. She previously served in the position from March 21, 2024, to October 22, 2024.

Lucas, J. (2025, March 14). The data hoarders resisting Trump’s purge: Can librarians and guerrilla archivists save the country’s files from DOGE? The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-data-hoarders-resisting-trumps-purge

Institute for Museum and Library Services. (29 March, 2025). Our work. Retrieved from https://www.imls.gov/newsroom/our-work

Filed under: Dr. Beth Patin, Dr. Dave Lankes, Dr. Mike Eisenberg, Season 5