Refusal as Instruction: Breaking Up with Big Tech
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Teach patrons about issues and options when using Big Tech.
Hannah Cyrus provides practical strategies for helping patrons find alternatives to using Big Tech.
Major technology corporations like Google, Amazon, and Meta have become ubiquitous in the digital landscape, and can feel like the only option for patrons and library workers alike. However, these companies’ practices and policies run counter to library values of privacy, intellectual freedom, and the public good. How can we as library workers help our patrons make informed choices about the technologies they use, find alternatives for accomplishing the same tasks, and reduce or eliminate reliance on these platforms?
In this presentation, Hannah Cyrus will provide practical strategies for teaching patrons of differing digital literacy levels about the issues and their options, with a focus on public library instruction. From casual reference interactions to program planning, learn how you and your patrons can dump Big Tech.
Join us on Wednesday, July 1, 2026
at 2:00 pm US Eastern, 11:00 am US Pacific
Fill out the form to register for the webinar
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Register to receive the recording
If you're interested but not able to attend the live webinar, go ahead and register. We'll send a recording to all registrants after the event.
About Hannah
Hannah Cyrus (she/her) works as a reference librarian in Bangor, Maine, with a focus on technology instruction and digital privacy. She enjoys working with patrons of all ages from all backgrounds, especially those experiencing homelessness, and survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
Her work often centers around patrons concerned about their accounts or devices being compromised, falling victim to predatory schemes, or simply overwhelmed with junk email and spam phone calls, as well as those concerned by the ubiquitous creepiness of online surveillance capitalism. She is a member of the Library Freedom Project, and her article “Refusal as Instruction: Equipping Patrons to Resist AI, Data Brokers, Big Tech, & More” was published in Information Technology and Libraries in March of 2026.
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Join us
Learn practical strategies for helping patrons find alternatives to using Big Tech.