{"id":68,"date":"2026-07-16T22:43:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T22:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/?p=68"},"modified":"2026-07-17T05:21:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:21:58","slug":"ai-libraries-new-model-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/2026\/07\/16\/ai-libraries-new-model-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"AI & Libraries: New Model & Horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like any critical thinker, I have a complex relationship with AI. My desire to thoughtfully and ethically engage with this technology butts up against societal and corporate technolust that rushes everyone to adopt and normalize AI. At the same time, I take the bigger picture view that AI is just the latest trend to usher in doom-and-gloom predictions about libraries. AI cannot replace libraries as long as we remain hyperlinked and keep adapting to serve our communities as hubs of human connection and enrichment. A more fruitful and practical approach to AI is to utilize it as a powerful sidekick for busywork, a helper in the process of information seeking. But I can\u2019t help the side eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So to try on this \u201cAI is not my enemy\u201d mindset, I decided to use AI to learn more about AI and libraries. I started with the SJSU King Library AI chatbot, Primo Research Assistant. I asked Primo to find some recent academic articles about Chat GPT and libraries. The results returned 5 sources from 2023-2026 from peer-reviewed journals with a useful overview that included AI chatbot uses in international libraries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I chose to focus on the 3 most recent articles because the technology has evolved and become so pervasive in recent years that even 2023 may feel outdated. \u201cWill ChatGPT replace libraries? A thematic literature review and recommendation framework\u201d<\/a> (Ramteke et al., 2026) was a useful overview.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\u201cBut the idea that technology might take the place of libraries is a fallacy that stems from a limited understanding of what libraries accomplish in reality. Libraries are democratic spaces, cultural stewards, and moral institutions that go well beyond simply providing access to knowledge. Although helpful, ChatGPT is unable to replace the human judgment, community involvement, and equity-focused goals of libraries and resource centers.\u201d <\/i>(Ramteke et al., 2026)<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I then asked Primo for less academic sources like TED talks or podcasts about the topic, but the chatbot couldn\u2019t deliver relevant results. No surprise, the academic library\u2019s generative AI research assistant remained academic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OK I\u2019m all about plurality so I switched over to Perplexity and asked for non-academic sources about ChatGPT and libraries. But the results were too focused on ChatGPT and unrelated to libraries. I broadened the search to AI and libraries, which returned too many results. Sifting through Perplexity\u2019s TMI, I chose to focus on a 2024 episode of the ALA podcast Call Number called <\/span>Decoding AI<\/span><\/i> and a blog post from Bibliotheca, \u201cAI in Libraries: What\u2019s Changed, What\u2019s at Stake.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Episode<\/a><\/p>\n

In the podcast episode, I was introduced to Elissa Malespina, a teacher-librarian at Union High School in New Jersey and writer of <\/span>The AI School Librarians<\/span><\/a>, a Substack newsletter I am now subscribed to. Elissa spoke about not fearing generative AI as a librarian and the importance of AI literacy in today\u2019s world where students and teachers are already using it. Just try it, she advised. I am!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Bibliotheca blog post had so many gems, including historical and current applications of AI in libraries to streamline back-of-house and frontline duties. Look at this handy chart:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I will conclude this thinking-out-loud reflection post with quotes from the Bibliotheca blog post that I will keep chewing on as I continue to wrestle with AI.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\u201cIn reference environments, a confident wrong answer is worse than no answer at all.\u201d
\n<\/i>\u201cWhen a system can synthesize a credible-looking answer in seconds, evaluating that answer matters more than locating it.\u201d <\/i>(Bibliotheca, 2026)<\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bibliotheca. (n.d.). <\/span>AI in libraries<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> https:\/\/www.bibliotheca.com\/ai-in-libraries\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Ramteke, S. W., Daphal, Y. B., Ankush, S. M., & Arote, P. P. (2026). Will ChatGPT replace libraries? A thematic literature review and recommendation framework. <\/span>College & Undergraduate Libraries<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>33<\/span><\/i>(1), 65\u201376.<\/span> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10691316.2025.2576843<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

American Libraries Magazine. (2024, March 11). <\/span>Call number podcast: Decoding AI<\/span><\/i> [Audio podcast episode]. <\/span>https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/blogs\/the-scoop\/call-number-podcast-decoding-ai\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like any critical thinker, I have a complex relationship with AI. My desire to thoughtfully and ethically engage with this technology butts up against societal and corporate technolust that rushes everyone to adopt and normalize AI. At the same time, I take the bigger picture view that AI is just the latest trend to usher […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":832,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/832"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/nancylee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}