Earlier this month, the University announced a statewide two-year collaborative study across North Carolina\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n
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 \u201cco-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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kelly is leading the study in collaboration with Mar\u00eda R. Estorino, vice provost for the University Library and University librarian, and in partnership with Michelle Underhill, state librarian with the\u00a0Library of North Carolina. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Clarisa Arguello \u00a0said\u00a0in a written statement to The DTH. Arguello is an adult services and digital literacy consultant with the Library of North Carolina.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This initiative comes as UNC is about to launch a new school<\/a>\u00a0with a focus on AI. Last year, it was announced that the\u00a0School 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.<\/p>\n The increasing popularity of AI, combined with libraries\u2019 historical role of introducing new technologies to the public, made the project necessary, Kelly said. Arguello\u00a0wrote that local libraries are currently responding to patron and staff questions about Al.<\/p>\n The initiative is not intended to promote AI adoption, Kelly said, and those involved recognize all ideas and concerns about AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some concerns are already playing out in classrooms, where educators are navigating the growing presence of AI tools.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Fatima Sail said. Sail is an AI and Cisco Network Engineering teacher at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, N.C.<\/p>\n Jay Braun, a graduate student in library science at Appalachian State University, said generative AI has contributed to a \u201clearned helplessness\u201d in academic spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Braun said.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Kelly said that she understands concerns about generative AI being able to \u201cshortchange\u201d the process of learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Despite their concerns about AI use, Sail and Braun agreed that libraries will continue to be vital in the future.<\/p>\n Sail said she believes librarians and libraries will become some of the most important educators around AI, as well as the \u201csafeguard of the human creativity,\u201d helping community members learn how to use AI tools responsibly while understanding their limitations, biases and potential inaccuracies.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the core should stay as it is,\u201d Braun said on libraries\u2019 role in the future. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n @dailytarheel<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0university@dailytarheel.com<\/a><\/p>\n