Earlier this month, the University announced a statewide two-year collaborative study across North Carolina’s public libraries focused on understanding how communities engage with generative AI and how local libraries can support AI literacy. But what does this project actually entail for local libraries?

Diane Kelly is a professor and interim dean in the School of Information and Library Science. Kelly said the study, “Local Libraries and Generative AI,” is a “co-exploration together with our library partners to kind of figure out what kinds of things make the most sense related to AI to their communities.” 

Kelly is leading the study in collaboration with María R. Estorino, vice provost for the University Library and University librarian, and in partnership with Michelle Underhill, state librarian with the Library of North Carolina.

Kelly said that the project involves addressing AI-related needs and discovering what AI-related education is needed in each community, which could range from instructional courses on AI to providing patrons with information on the environmental impacts of AI use.

“We want to ensure that all libraries have the resources and capacity to support their community’s AI-related needs, this project is a step towards that goal,” Clarisa Arguello  said in a written statement to The DTH. Arguello is an adult services and digital literacy consultant with the Library of North Carolina.

The project will run from summer 2026 through 2028. It is organized into five phases with two cohorts of N.C. public libraries participating over the course of the study.

This initiative comes as UNC is about to launch a new school with a focus on AI. Last year, it was announced that the School of Data Science and Society and the SILS would be combining their resources for a new school, the School of Data and Information Sciences. The new school will officially launch in July.

The increasing popularity of AI, combined with libraries’ historical role of introducing new technologies to the public, made the project necessary, Kelly said. Arguello wrote that local libraries are currently responding to patron and staff questions about Al.

The initiative is not intended to promote AI adoption, Kelly said, and those involved recognize all ideas and concerns about AI. 

Some concerns are already playing out in classrooms, where educators are navigating the growing presence of AI tools.

“I wish students understood that AI is a tool, that’s [the] first thing; [it’s] not just a shortcut, and it can be incredibly useful, but it doesn’t replace their ability to evaluate information,” Fatima Sail said. Sail is an AI and Cisco Network Engineering teacher at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, N.C.

Jay Braun, a graduate student in library science at Appalachian State University, said generative AI has contributed to a “learned helplessness” in academic spaces.

“I think that reliance on those things can make people lose drive and eagerness to learn and curiosity about the world, so it might stop people from seeking library resources because they can think that they can get all they need via ChatGPT,” Braun said. 

Kelly said that she understands concerns about generative AI being able to “shortchange” the process of learning. 

“I think part of our opportunity here is really to figure out how to use the tools in ways that serve us, as opposed to ways that serve the tools,” she said.

Despite their concerns about AI use, Sail and Braun agreed that libraries will continue to be vital in the future.

Sail said she believes librarians and libraries will become some of the most important educators around AI, as well as the “safeguard of the human creativity,” helping community members learn how to use AI tools responsibly while understanding their limitations, biases and potential inaccuracies.

“I think that the core should stay as it is,” Braun said on libraries’ role in the future. “And whatever advancements we need to make as the world changes, we can’t really anticipate it now, but we can be prepared to adapt as quickly as possible.”

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