Context and Purpose
I chose Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, as my thought partner to explore ways in which artificial intelligence could help the hypothetical LA Library, a smaller branch library I created last semester for INFO260A: Programming and Services for Children. Loosely inspired by the two branches of the Los Angeles Public Library I know best, the LA Library employs two librarians and relies heavily on volunteers to support programs held both indoors and outdoors. This library setting with limited staff time and capacity could greatly benefit from AI help with preparatory tasks like drafting program flyers and brainstorming new ideas for community partners. Utilizing the year of children’s library programming that was my final project for INFO260A, I grounded the AI experiment in human knowledge of the LA Library audience and local context as well as professional best practices for children’s library services. In this scenario, the librarians created the programming content specifically for their patrons to encourage learning and connection for audiences of different ages. The AI lightened the workload by taking care of busywork like graphic design, document creation, and new ideas for community outreach. The final products and implementation ultimately require human connection and relationship-building, but Gemini sped up and simplified the planning process.
AI Exploration Process & Human Revision/ Professional Judgment
I wanted to test Gemini with both straightforward and multi-step tasks to help librarians with little to no experience with AI. It took me a few tries to get what I wanted from Gemini for the most basic prompt to create event flyer templates from the recurring program information I uploaded, which was mostly text-based with one monthly calendar graphic (see examples below).
I prompted AI to create event flyer templates, which is tedious work for non-designers. I expected ready-to-use PDFs that I could edit slightly as needed, but it took a few exchanges with Gemini to get designed flyers in HTML format. I was unfamiliar with the process, but Gemini provided clear instructions on how to save, open, and print the files to get them into the PDF format I wanted. The results were near-final event flyer templates with minimal, colorful designs and catchy headlines that clearly communicated program details (see examples below). The text needs slight edits, but this was relatively easy and quick.
For the more complex task, I asked Gemini to come up with local or national partners for the LA Library based on the first 3 months of programming with a focus on cultural and community organizations. For a smaller branch library that relies on in-kind donations and volunteers, I asked for recommendations for short-term and long-term community partners. The results needed to be refined with a request to remove mentions of existing program partners. The new suggestions were all useful, especially when they were more specific and less generic. For example, the short-term ideas for January with the monthly theme of “New Beginnings” and a special program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day included Young, Black, & Lit (a national nonprofit that could provide book donations and be a literacy partner) and local senior centers and AARP volunteer chapters (which ones could be invited to be guest readers or vision board mentors?). The first is very helpful for its specificity, and the second feels too broad since the abilities and availability of the seniors vary wildly by each kind of senior center. AARP, while general, is still a useful suggestion since those volunteers could bring an intergenerational element to many children’s and all-ages programs. The actual outreach will be up to the librarian, but these are great starters. For ethical and quality considerations, I started and ended the process with human review and judgment.
Lastly, I wanted to try out Gemini’s ability to create internal staffing and budget planning documents. Prompted to project the rest of the annual budget using the provided Q1 information, the AI output was unrealistically low. I had to supplement my own knowledge of library programming rhythm, directing Gemini to double the programming costs for the later months of the year and add the major cost of the 8-week summer reading program. The revised budget was more accurate, and the draft plan was presented in a clear and concise format. This was not a near-finished product but helped me skip a couple of early drafts (see draft annual budget below).
The AI-generated monthly programs and themes are fine but overly generalized, whereas my LA Library cultural content is community-specific and inclusive. For example, Gemini suggested a fall festival, heritage month, and winter holiday social for Q4. Many of my scheduled library programs go beyond heritage months and celebrate specific holidays and traditions that are important to the many immigrant families from Asia and Latin America who live in the neighborhood.
Critical Reflection on AI in Library Work
With the help of AI, librarians can redeploy their time from administrative busywork to transformational work like planning and implementing programs and connecting with community members. AI helps to save time in generating ideas, documents, and flyers, but the source and final quality control are up to the librarian. The goal is to empower librarians and free them from some of the mundane constraints of the job. AI should not be a threat to librarians. In fact, the time and energy saved could also improve librarians’ professional and personal lives as they recover more bandwidth.
However, the ever-present societal and ethical AI concerns must be acknowledged. Every AI model is trained on massive amounts of data created by humans with blind spots and biases, conscious or unconscious. The risk of reinforcing dominant stereotypes and excluding marginalized perspectives exists with any AI interaction, and library workers need to pay special attention to fill those gaps. Inclusivity, connection, and transformation are at the heart of libraries, and using AI doesn’t change that. My experiment with Gemini waded into the waters of automation, discovery, research support, analytics, and AI literacy (Bibliotheca, n.d.) to help LA Library workers gain operational efficiencies while becoming more familiar with a technology that patrons are also adapting to in their daily lives.
Revelations that Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude destroyed millions of physical books in a massive scanning project to feed training data to build their large language model (Edwards, 2025) exacerbated the anti-AI sentiment among book lovers, which includes many library workers and patrons. Destroying books to save time and money and work around copyright issues is unequivocally bad! AI companies need to be held accountable to adopt non-harmful training methods and energy use for the long-term sustainability of the environment and original information sources. This is our shared responsibility.
Library workers have an ethical and professional responsibility to know about AI. Recently, the American Library Association (ALA) released its Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Libraries, and the big picture advice is to filter AI usage through library values and human judgment. AI-assisted workflows require human review and oversight, which includes ethical considerations. Creativity and care remain the cornerstones of creating programs and services for library patrons; thus, we cannot opt out of AI technology as this is a disservice to library users.
Final Product
The final products that Gemini helped me create are 1) event flyer templates, 2) a brainstorming document with ideas for future library partners, and 3) the projected annual budget and staffing plan for 2026. These are not yet polished and ready to share but are practical working drafts of internal documents that will be finalized by librarians. AI accelerated the drafting process but was based on my own critical, human-centered library programming and adjustments. I know from previous jobs how administrative tasks can sit on a to-do list for too long as more urgent or engaging tasks keep taking priority. Using an AI assistant to quickly get these materials to a working draft phase can be a big help. These documents can be brought to meetings to generate fruitful discussions that can delve into more details informed by the deep knowledge and experience that the LA Library workers possess. I believe not being afraid of AI and being open to using the technology without overrelying on it embodies the necessary empathy and curiosity required of a hyperlinked librarian. The ALA guidelines codify the importance of libraries’ human expertise in adapting AI to better serve our staff and user communities. If libraries ignore or reject AI completely, we limit our full functionality as hubs of human connection and enrichment. Staff well-being and capacity are to be enhanced by, not replaced by, AI efficiency. I will continue to approach AI as a useful sidekick that allows me to focus on the humanity that helps me better connect with library patrons.
References
American Library Association. (n.d.). Guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in libraries. https://www.ala.org/tools/standards-and-guidelines/guidance-use-artificial-intelligence-libraries
Bibliotheca. (n.d.). AI in libraries. https://www.bibliotheca.com/ai-in-libraries/
Edwards, B. (2025, June 25). Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/anthropic-destroyed-millions-of-print-books-to-build-its-ai-models/
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