AI has been a topic of discussion for years, but increasingly, I’m hearing school librarians and librarians working with children and teens who are interested in ways we can educate users about how to use AI tools safely and ethically.
Tag: ai
#ALAAC26: Private Discovery by Design for Young People
Young people often come to libraries with partial answers already in hand. Search results, social feeds, and conversational AI systems may have shaped the answers they bring. Private discovery asks how much a young person must reveal before reaching help. Amanda Gray Perry of the University of Notre Dame moderated Core’s Top Tech Trends panel. Speakers working in public libraries, academic libraries, and library technology examined AI, metadata infrastructure, discovery tools, and media access. In my presentation, “Private Discovery by Design: AI Infrastructure in Teen Services,” I posed the question directly: When does a teen’s inquiry become data? Values Before Tools Nicole Steeves, Director of Library Technology at Chicago Public Library, set out a values-based approach to AI. She argued for AI investment when a proposed use improves patron service, protects privacy, preserves staff expertise, and includes human review. She drew clear limits around reference search, readers’ advisory, and traditional…
Getting Ready for the Future: Teaching AI in the Library
AI is one of the most discussed and most complicated topics in library circles. Some librarians are very excited about the rise of AI. IdaMae Craddock of the Community Lab School (VA) made a great list of new AI tools to help at work. As a librarian, you may find Canva’s Magic Design tools helpful when creating posters and flyers. Other librarians are concerned about how AI will impact the authors and illustrators we love. Some have even noticed a rise in low quality ebooks created by AI appearing in library catalogs. The Pima County Public Library (AZ) created a great guide for patrons on how to spot these titles. Too often, the debate on AI focuses on adults, while kids are left out of the conversation. AI is a powerful new technology, and whether you like it or not, it is here to stay. It’s important that the patrons…
Beyond ChatGPT: AI in Libraries
A glance at the schedule at #alaac24 makes it clear that library professionals are concerned about the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on learning and in educational settings, and are curious about the ways AI can be used in libraries. How do we educate our users about using AI in an ethical manner, and what does that even mean? Librarians have always been in a position to help society adapt to new technology. We’re poised to help students with AI, but we need to understand AI ourselves. With that thought in mind, I added several sessions focused on AI to my agenda this weekend: Breaking Boundaries: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT to Transform Library Services and How AI is Transforming the Way We Read, Write, and Learn.
Media Mentorship and AI Podcast Resources
Last month, the Children and Technology committee posted about creating a podcast. We hope you read our August post and listened to our podcast on artificial intelligence (AI). This month, we are bringing you some of the resources our committee members consulted for the podcast. With the rise of AI, there is no doubt you will be using it in your daily life, both personally and professionally.
Media Mentorship & AI: Creating an ALSC Committee Podcast
Since joining the Children and Technology committee in 2020, we’ve furthered the committee’s charge of educating and encouraging youth librarians to be leaders on technology issues, and disseminating information on these issues to the larger ALSC community. As part of our committee requirements we expect all members to publish at least one ALSC blog post on a current subject relating to technology. In 2022 we hosted an ALSC Chat on post-pandemic hybrid library programming. We consistently update the ALSC Digital Media Resources guide with the most current topics and resources. And we have built in innovative practices to our meetings – including using the digital platform Padlet to record our monthly check-ins. For further reading, check out this blog post published by my former co-chair on other ways we use tech tools within our virtual committee. That said, with time left in the 2022-2023 term to complete a final project,…