Tag: AI

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Reflection on Infinite Learning: Library as Classroom

The library is a space for infinite learning. It is the place for anyone to access books and materials about any subject, for free in most cases.  The kind of libraries* we are talking about also allow the public to access technology classes, history classes, art classes, all in person and for free.  Virtual programs for all ages are also available.  The library also gives library card holders free access to online courses which allow them to earn a certification, add skills to their LinkedIn or resume, learn or practice a new language, and so on.  This answers the question:

“In a time when most people turn to Google on their mobile devices for quick answers, what type of learning experiences can the library provide? “ (Stephens, 2014).

The library has transformed, with the advent of the internet, expanding their offerings beyond containers of knowledge towards education and access to technology.  But technology is ever changing. This requires libraries to offer their library staff professional learning opportunities to keep up with changing times.  In 2006, Helene Blowers created Learning 2.0: 23 Things at the Public Library of Charlotte and Meclenburg County, to help information professionals learn about Web 2.0.  It consisted of 23 tasks help them get familiar with things setting up a blog, exploring Flickr, setting up an RSS feed, etc.  This program inspired hundreds of other 23 Things!  As online students, we are pretty familiar with these although some things have changed in 20 years.  It seems that Flickr images and longer form blog posts have been replaced with social media and TikTok videos.

“A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.” –Alan Turing (Curtin University, n.d.)

Artificial intelligence is the biggest new technological change we are facing.  As people debate about its advantages  as well as very negative effects, technology companies and governments continue to invest heavily in its development while removing any safeguards; while also cutting off funding from libraries, our pillars of democracy.  Meanwhile, as librarians, we must learn about AI in order to better serve our public.  The Toronto Public Library (2025) is offering a class called What is Artificial Intelligence?  A centrally designed slide deck presents provides an overview of the technology for a general adult audience.  On further exploration, I found a 23 Things: Thing-AI.  As librarians, we must keep learning in order to teach, and this could be a good place to start.  Naturally, it was created with the help of ChatGPT (Curtin University, n.d.).

Mandaue City Public Library (Lemuel “lem” B., 2019).

 *Side note: I was born in the Philippines and still have a lot of family there.  On a visit a few years ago, I walked to the local public library.  It is located beside City Hall and is a building with a shell on the roof.  Doesn’t it sound like a library from a Haruki Murakami book?  Inside, the library is small and the collection was limited.  Libraries need funding to maintain their collection and provide the services mentioned above.  My dad asked me on my return, “Why did you go?”  Recently my dad and my brothers visited me in Toronto.  I took them to the Toronto Reference Library and they were surprised to learn  that anyone can come here to read, access computers, use the free Wi-Fi, and attend programs for free.  They were impressed by the donor list at the entrance of the library. A reminder that libraries cannot thrive without funding.  

 

References

Curtin University. (n.d.). 23 things: Thing-AI. https://23things.library.curtin.edu.au/portfolio/thing-ai/

KlingonSpider. (2012, April 8). Hal9000: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that”[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJ8cAGm6JE

Lemuel “lem” B. (2019, July). Mandaue City Public Library [Photograph]. https://g.co/kgs/4vkG7Zi

Stephens, M. (2014). Making the case for the library as a space for infinite learning. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4zt1yliwb2ffzr8euix2p/YLibraryInfiniteLearning.pdf?rlkey=m0v6lkd43ufilkp5aktawhlpr&e=1&dl=0

Toronto Public Library. (2025). What is artificial intelligence? https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT561987&R=EVT561987

23 things – 10 years later. (2017, March 13). Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/23-things-10-years-later

 

 

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Reflection on the Power of Stories

The Power of Stories

The Lillian H. Smith branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Stories are powerful and integral to the library and human connection.  The super power of human beings is that we are able to cooperate in large numbers through the power of stories (Harari, 2022). How can libraries harness the power of stories as a tool for inclusion, connection, and empathy?

“Libraries have should keep stories, share stories and make stories.”

-Erik Boekesteijn (Stephens, 2019).

A few days ago, I was helping a senior at the library.  She was looking for social programs she could attend at the library.  Her doctor prescribed it.  She has been living with vision loss over the last few years and has not been able to enjoy the things she used to.  We found some drop in programs for seniors that she can try in the neighbourhood but I also suggested she give audiobooks a try.  Although she would still be alone, a good story does offer comfort and can be great company.

It’s no wonder that the ice-breaker group invites the people in this class to share binge-able media!  This allowed us to make connections to each other through the shared experience of the story and helped us find new media to consume.  For many people, watching media, reading or listening to stories, is part of their self-care.

Collecting Stories

Artist, author, and library staff Christina Wong has always been passionate about collecting stories.  In 2015, she collected and exhibited stories connected to Toronto’s Chinatown and the Boys and Girls House Library (which opened in 1922 then later replaced by a new construction in 1995 renamed the Lillian H. Smith branch) for the 20th anniversary of the  library.  Unfortunately, the link to the online exhibit is no longer active.  Her work, along with her collaborators, have been focused on people and their connection to disappearing places through stories.  These projects are vital to recording the history of the city as neighbourhoods grapple with rapid changes and disappearing landmarks.

Illustration of Kim Moon Bakery by Daniel Innes, from Denison Avenue (Wong & Innes, 2023).
Kim Moon Bakery (BlogTO, 2008) was a popular bakery and restaurant in Toronto’s Chinatown which closed in 2013. This bakery holds a special place in my heart. As a young teenager, my early forays downtown included visits to Kim Moon Bakery with my friends, ordering endless pots of tea, eating pastries, and laughing.

Another place where “Torontonians can contribute their stories, memories, artifacts,” according to Wong (Jennifer, 2015) is the Museum of Toronto.  It began as a workshop in 2015 and now has a physical home at 401 Richmond Street West which is free to visit.  The current exhibit is called The 52: Stories of women who shaped Toronto.  These powerful stories which can be viewed online or in person, as text, video, or performance.

The Human Story and AI

I was reading an article in the NYTimes about a man about to lose his father to illness, persuaded him to work with a company called StoryFile to help preserve his memory.  I found this to be revelatory!  There are increasing numbers of companies in the field called GriefTech. From apps that help people deal with loss to avatars that will allow you to talk to your loved one through a screen, like you were talking to them on Zoom (Dominus, 2025).  I wondered how this kind of technology will change how we preserve stories at the library.  What are the costs of preserving someone in the form of an AI chatbot in perpetuity and what format can it be preserved in?  Will archives and special collections collect AI simulations of people such as the Japanese American National Museum’s exhibit allowing people to talk to World War II veteran Lawson Sakai (2021)?

References

Blog TO. (2008, July 12). Kim Moon.  https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/kimmoon/

Dominus, S. (2025, June 13). Never say goodbye. The New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/13/magazine/ai-avatar-life-death.html

Harari, Y. N. (2022). Unstoppable us: How humans took over the world, Vol. 1. Puffin Canada.

Japanese American National Museum. (2021, November 24). The interactive StoryFile of Lawson Iichiro Sakai-exibition preview [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgfSHGJuw2I

Jennifer. (2015, October 16). Q & A with Lillian H. Smith’s digital storyteller Christina Wong. https://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/lillian-h-smith/2015/10/qa-with-lillian-h-smiths-digital-storyteller-christina-wong.html

Museum of Toronto. (2025). The 52: Stories of women who transformed Toronto. https://museumoftoronto.com/projects/the-52/

Stephens, M. (2019).  Wholehearted librarianship: Finding hope, inspiration, and balance.  ALA Editions.

Wong, C. & Innes, D. (2023). Denison Avenue. ECW Press.

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Choose Your Own Adventure: AI at the Library

For the Hyperlinked Environments reflection post, I wanted to look at AI at the library.

 

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Listening to Yuval Noah Harari is always revelatory because he is able to crystallize complex issues into easy to digest, bite-size pieces.  He warns us that the AI we are seeing today is extremely primitive.  That AI is not a tool we can hold in our hand, but an agent that can make decisions and invent beyond the human imagination (Reid Hoffman, 2025).  What will the impact of a highly developed AI on human civilization?

I also looked at how libraries are shouldering the responsibility of educating the public about AI.  Seniors called the library to demand AI programs to help them understand what it is.  The community has spoken.

We cannot escape the frightening environmental cost of AI.  This podcast talks about how the power of AI can help solve the problems we are facing with climate change as well as the high energy and water needs as tech companies continue to invest in and build massive data centres.

Finally, I asked ChatGPT about AI in public libraries. What is the role of the public library in helping their communities adapt to the growing use of AI?  It provided a complete answer that included the the libraries role in teaching digital literacy, providing democratic access, promoting ethical stewardship and community dialogue, upskillinng and career training, enhancing reference services, and AI as a tool to break down barriers.  It provided the following summary:

“Public libraries are uniquely positioned to democratize access to AI, foster critical thinking about its use, and prepare communities to engage with AI safely and effectively. As trusted, neutral institutions, they are essential in ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared equitably across society.” (OpenAI, 2025)

References

Climate One. (2024, April 19). Climate One rewind: Artificial intelligence, real climate impacts [Audio podcast]. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2U5hdk9Go8iIhaV87OGlxA?si=Q3oOyFm9ROaYYdDha6T9jQ

More, S. (2025, April 22). Your politeness to AI is costing millions and harming the environment. Medium. https://shivammore.medium.com/your-politeness-to-ai-costing-millions-and-harming-the-environment-8e5bee3e7874

OpenAI. ChatGPT 4.0 [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/c/68631386-3568-8008-b994-9d81cb0f673d

Reid Hoffman. (2025, June 4). Yuval Noah Harari on the dangers of AI [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuBLxWowDqI

Rich Roll Podcast. (2024, October 28). Our AI future is way worse than you think | Yuval Noah Harari [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jl64f-821o

Sidotti, O. & Macclean, C. (2025, June 25). 34% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT, about double the share in 2023. Pew Research. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/25/34-of-us-adults-have-used-chatgpt-about-double-the-share-in-2023/

Toronto Public Library. (2025, January 27). Artificial intelligence policy. https://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/board-meetings/2025-01-27/21-artificial-intelligence-policy-combined.pdf

Toronto Public Library. (2025). Learn AI. https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/computer-services/learnai/