The Digital Librarian

As we continue to identify the pitfalls of using artificial intelligence within a library setting, it is also important that we address the risks of AI avoidance!

For many library workers (and the public at-large), AI is an unfamiliar, poorly-understood technology. This is unsurprising when we look at the speed at which AI has been moving; we are in an environment of constant change, rapid innovation, and little regulation.

There are enough problematic aspects of AI (algorithmic bias, hallucination, privacy concerns, etc) where it would seem prudent to simply avoid the technology, at least until things settle further. This would be a mistake! Early engagement is critical to understanding artificial intelligence, and a working knowledge of AI within the library is necessary because:

You Can’t Effectively Regulate a Technology You Don’t Understand

One of our immediate responsibilities in the age of AI is to develop relevant, effective library policy, requiring both new policy and the revision of existing policy. Absent real-world, experiential knowledge of AI, we will fail in this endeavor. Hands-on experience will allow us to better understand AI’s potential (both for good and for harm), anticipate its impact on our organizations, and devise appropriate institutional guardrails.

Search is Changing

I’ve heard the librarianship described as “the original search engine.” While our profession certainly predates the search engine (there was a time before Google!), it is also true that we coopted the search engine, and it has become a part of our own toolbox. We must also acknowledge that Google–and search at large–are changing. From Google and Bing spring Gemini and Copilot. We are witnessing the rise of AI-powered, conversational search. As the internet evolves, so to must our search strategies.

We Must Identify and Manage Patron Expectations

Our users’ expectations are often informed by the private sector–which they typically associate with convenience. They may compare our eBook checkout process to Amazon. During the pandemic, I had patrons seeking to pick up physical media using the same process as Target’s contactless pickup.

Engaging with AI as a consumer in the marketplace will help us to see through our users’ eyes. What are the conveniences they will expect from us in the near future? How will they “shop” our location, and what quality of AI-powered customer support will they expect?

This is not to say we should adopt AI in the same fashion as the private sector! Rather, we should identify user expectations, identify if and how we can meet them while adhering to professional ethics, and if we cannot, plan to effectively communicate those reasons to our stakeholders.

We’ll Need to Evaluate Vendor Solutions

Vendor-provided AI solutions are coming to your library. You may have seen Elsevier’s Scopus AI making the rounds. In order to effectively evaluate current and future vendor platforms, we’ll need to have a firm grasp of generative AI’s functionality, possess effective prompting skills, and understand the ethical implications. These skills come from hands-on experience (notice a pattern?) with popular, available tools. Knowledge gained through exposure to AI will allow you to better manage it’s integration within the library–or determine when it may be inappropriate. Is the tool necessary? Does it violate our professional ethics? Is it a necessary addition, or do free/open-source solutions meet our needs?

There’s the Fear Factor

People fear what they don’t understand. This is certainly true of AI. Avoiding the technology–or more broadly–avoiding any dialogue around it, is a recipe for disaster. Is administration building an understanding of how the technology works? Are they speaking to staff about how it may be used within their own library and identifying potential friction points? Demystifying the technology for staff can go a long way to dispelling fears, or at least distilling them to matters real and not imagined.

Until Next Time!

Thanks for taking the time to read this piece. Below are a few items of potential interest:

• Recording of a Panel Discussion between Professor Lisa Given and myself on AI and the Future of Libraries, sponsored by State Library Victoria, June 2024.
• Recording of the panel discussion “The Digital Librarian in the Age of AI” between Pete Leyden, Host & curator of The AI Age Begins and myself.
• September 9, 2024 webinar AI in the Library: A Guide to Understanding and Implementation. Sponsored by the Manitoba Library Association (MLA), the event is free for MLA members, and $40 for non-members.
• As always, if you need a speaker for your conference, event, or staff training day–let’s connect!