AI and Academic Libraries: An Online Conference
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Course Details November 17-18, 2025
 2-Day Online Conference
 10 Credit Hours
 Recommended for academic librarians.
About This CourseLearn from colleagues across the country and join in on the discussion of the impacts, ethics, pitfalls, and potential of AI in academic libraries and classrooms. Live sessions via Zoom: Despite the opposition some might have to AI, it likely isn’t going anywhere. As such, academics need to engage in ongoing conversations about if and how to engage with AI. See full pricing details below. Return to Full Course Catalog This conference will cover topics pertaining to AI and academic libraries, such as:
Who should attend This conference is for academic librarians. This will be a 2-day online conference and will include:
Expected time commitment If you attend or watch the recordings of all live sessions, you'll spend approximately 10 hours on this course. You'll earn 10 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion. On-demand access All live guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on-demand for six months following the initial broadcast as a part of your purchase. Certificate of completion Complete the course and earn 10 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you. Accessibility All guest speaker sessions feature auto captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them. Support For support with online courses, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com. Monday, November 17, 2025 Conference Welcome & Resources Overview | 12:00-12:05 pm ET Opening Keynote | 12:05-12:50 pm ET Break | 12:50-1:00 pm ET Session 1 | 1:00-2:00 pm ET Session 1: Librarians at the Center: Advancing AI Literacy Through Faculty Insight and Campus: Collaboration
Summary: This panel explores the central role academic librarians can play in advancing AI literacy across campus through intentional relationship-building, student-centered instruction, and faculty engagement. The first presentation highlights a faculty survey developed by librarians at Houston Cole Library at Jacksonville State University (Ala.) to better understand faculty attitudes, hesitations, and expectations regarding AI. By gathering this insight, the library was able to inform its instructional approach and identify areas where faculty needed support. Building on this foundation, the second presentation focuses on the creation of a student-centered AI Literacy course, including its integration into dual enrollment pathways. While the course is designed for students, it was shaped with faculty perspectives in mind to ensure relevance, alignment, and academic integrity. The final presentation addresses the importance of ongoing collaboration, showcasing how librarians can act as facilitators of campus-wide partnerships. It examines both the challenges and benefits of maintaining strong departmental relationships while staying true to the educational goals of the AI Literacy course. Together, these presentations make the case that academic librarians are well-positioned to lead meaningful, ethical, and practical AI initiatives by listening first, building strategically, and bridging institutional needs. Break | 2:00-2:05 pm ET Session 2 & 3 | 2:05-3:05 pm ET Session 2: AI as Catalyst: What Has and Hasn’t Worked
Summary: This panel presents three case studies leveraging AI to automate tasks and overcome technical challenges in library environments with limited resources. The first explores the possibilities of using AI tools to convert handwritten data from over 3,700 pages of physical lists into digital formats compatible with ExLibri's Alma, enabling batch processing previously impossible with analog data. The second demonstrates "vibes coding"—where AI handles technical complexities while the human maintains conceptual control—to create custom tools including an AI acknowledgement, faculty profile search interfaces widgets on LibGuides, and an Instagram batch archival workflow using python on Google Colab. The final case showcases prompt engineering for standardized print periodical descriptions for a shared print initiative in a consortium catalog, transforming an overwhelming metadata challenge into a manageable project. Although not everything went as anticipated, these cases illustrate how AI, with appropriate professional oversight and patience, extends capabilities for technical services facing complex data management challenges despite resource constraints. It has allowed us to engage in projects which we may not have otherwise completed or even started if not for AI. (This abstract was suggested by AI and modified by humans.) Session 3: Redesigning First-Year Instruction for the Age of AI
Summary: "It’s a long-standing reality that each student enters higher education with a unique foundation in information literacy. What’s new is the wide variation in students’ understanding of and experience with AI tools, which has prompted the need for a new approach. This panel brings together the Director of First-Year Experience, the Writing Program Coordinator, and the Director of Library Services to share how a collaboration led to a redesign of information literacy instruction for first-year students. Based on the “Threshold” theories in Writing and Information Literacy Studies of Linda Adler-Kassner, Elizabeth Wardle, et al., we expanded instruction across the curriculum, specifically embedding AI literacy into University 100 and English 100 courses, rather than relying on ‘one-shot’ instruction. Panelists will discuss the rationale behind this shift, outline revisions to the curriculum, examine its broader impact on students’ understanding of academic integrity and AI use in higher education, and demonstrate how the approach scaffolds information literacy skills, particularly AI literacy, throughout the first year. Attendees will leave with strategies for integrating AI literacy into instructional frameworks, tips for cross-departmental collaboration, and ideas for meaningful, realistic conversations with students about emerging technologies in academic contexts.
Break 3:05-3:10 Session 4: Exploring AI in the Workplace
Summary: This panel will explore ways to create efficiencies in daily tasks and operations. AI can quickly generate schedules by analyzing data, including shifts to be covered, employee availability, and the number of hours each employee is to work. Beyond being a time saver, it reduces the cost of paying for scheduling software. Belbin and Layer will share their experiences utilizing AI to create a master semester library student employee schedule for circulation desk coverage. Attendees can learn from our mistakes and take away concrete examples for effective prompt engineering. Sowder will share an investigation of available resources aimed at discovering AI ‘s relevance for library operations focused on ordering, receiving, and payment. This presentation focuses advancing the knowledge of operations managers in the field and points to potential future direction for library operations. Using Microsoft Copilot, Palmer was able to generate a video description, subjects, and keywords for a DVD digitization project. Not only did this help with putting the videos on YouTube, but it also helped in the cataloging process, as the DVDs also needed to be cataloged. This presentation shows the process of creating the mp4 file, transcript creation, transcript preparation, generation of video metadata, and how AI impacted cataloging. USSU has an enrollment of less than 500 degree-seeking students, so this project serves as an example of how any sized institution can use AI to smoothly accomplish an otherwise difficult task. Archives have always been the heart of an institution’s memory, preserving stories, records, and research for future generations. But with AI rapidly changing how we manage and access collections, the role of archivists is evolving. Huffman’s presentation look at how AI is reshaping archival work—helping with metadata creation, automated transcription, and smarter search tools that make materials easier to find and use. We’ll also look at how AI can reveal overlooked stories, connect related materials across vast collections, and bring new insights to archival research in ways that would have been far more difficult and time-consuming to achieve manually. The goal? To navigate AI’s potential while ensuring it enhances, rather than disrupts, archival integrity. Session 5: Thriving in a Digital World: Sharing an Evidence-Based Approach to Gen AI and the Research Process
Summary: During National Library Week 2025, librarians at Widener University presented a four-part virtual workshop series about generative AI tools and the research process. As information science professionals, librarians have always addressed the promises and challenges of new technology and its impact on information literacy. Employing an objective and evidence-based approach, we explored four topics related to gen AI and the research process: copyright, ethics and equity, the Framework for Information Literacy, and new AI tools within the library’s research databases. In this panel presentation, we will highlight the main concepts of these workshops and the insights that we gained. Closing Thoughts & Reminders | 4:25-4:30 pm ET Tuesday, November 18, 2025 Conference Welcome & Resources Overview | 12:00-12:05 pm ET Session 6 & 7 | 12:05-1:20 pm ET Session 6: AI, Archives, and Metadata
Summary: This panel will explore AI’s impact on metadata and archival work. Trenholme, Baydoun, and Solomon will present a comparative study, three AI chatbots—Copilot, PerplexityAI, and a custom-built library chatbot—were utilized to review and refine Kelvin Smith Library’s database listing. This presentation will demonstrate how three academic librarians, charged with improving the AtoZ list during an upcoming LSP migration, leveraged AI chatbots to transform their AZ database review process. This project aims to decrease the amount of staff time required to edit the A-Z List, as well as improve metadata, including subjects, formats, and descriptions, ultimately enhancing the user experience. We will discuss the practical implementation, challenges overcome, and lessons learned, providing attendees with a roadmap for executing similar projects at their institutions. How do we ethically preserve memory that resists metadata? Davis’s presentation explores the intersection of AI, archival description, and the sensory politics of grief and trauma. Drawing from current debates in critical archival studies (Caswell, Sharpe), sensory heritage (Tullett, Bembibre), and trauma theory (Cvetkovich, Hartman), Davis argues that AI-driven description systems often reproduce the same erasures long critiqued in analog archives. Using standards like PREMIS and the Oral History Association’s metadata schema, this presentation explores how traditional archival tools struggle to capture affective and sensory fragments. At the same time, it examines how AI systems built on optimization and standardization may further marginalize these forms of memory. Sabharwal’s presentation addresses balanced curatorial agency in archives exploring AI. With more archives exploring and adopting artificial intelligence (AI) into their workflows, revisiting metadata work and curatorial agency has become necessary amidst this shift away from human intervention. Metadata remediation plays an essential part in this transition. With backlogs in digitizing unprocessed collections, AI offers relief for researchers frustrated with slow progress. However, concerns about AI failing to protect privacy, sensitive information, and ethical research are increasingly shared by archivists, academics, government agencies, and legal professionals. Bias, fairness, and the quality of information are also sources of concern. For archives, therefore, a path forward means taking an approach to balance AI and human agency in the areas of collection processing and metadata development. Session 7: Ethical AI Instruction and Information Literacy
Summary: This panel will discuss pedagogical and ethical approaches to AI. The University of Northern Iowa created a one-credit elective "AI, Algorithms, and (Y)our Future" that demonstrates how academic libraries can move beyond one-shot sessions to create deeper learning experiences. Nolte’s presentation will discuss how this course creates space for students to simultaneously explore practical AI applications while critically examining how these technologies reshape our understanding of such things as information, ownership, creation, and labor. This session will highlight how the one-credit elective model enables librarians to guide students through sustained reflection on AI's multifaceted impacts. Participants will learn strategies for implementing this instructional model while preparing students to maintain agency and critical perspective in an increasingly AI-mediated world. Boyd’s presentation explores how academic librarians can use AI to help students recognize and assess biased information retrieval. Through AI-generated examples, attendees will see confirmation bias in action and learn strategies for designing research exercises where students fact-check AI outputs with credible sources. The session will present three key pedagogical approaches for integrating AI into research instruction, three potential pitfalls to watch for, and three assessment methods to evaluate students' critical engagement with AI. These strategies will help foster a more critical and informed use of AI in academia. The ethical concerns surrounding academic integrity, bias, and environmental impact could constitute an effective argument against encouraging the use of Generative AI by teaching about it. However, Levey argues there is an opportunity to encourage creativity and critical thinking while embracing the AI age. While AI might be able to synthesize information and process data at unprecedented speeds, humans have something that it does not (and thus far, cannot): their cultural awareness and human context. Most large language models function on user-generated questions, making it an ideal way to teach inquiry-based learning. It is the argument of this presentation that libraries might be the perfect place to balance the ethical pitfalls and the potential pedagogical benefits of artificial intelligence. Break | 1:20-1:30 pm ET
Session 8: Leveraging AI for Upskilling and Capacity Building
Summary: This panel will explore ways AI can support capacity building and professional development. Support for AI literacy is a growing demand in academic libraries. Library staff are well-positioned to proactively support their communities’ learning in this emerging area, but understanding the technology and keeping pace with its rapid growth can feel daunting. Borda and Kroon’s presentation will explore ways that two research librarians at North Carolina State University have been learning about AI technologies, tools, implications, and opportunities – and inviting their library colleagues to do the same. Attendees can expect to learn best practices for facilitating AI upskilling opportunities at different organizational levels, along with practical tips for those interested in hosting similar events to support their own communities’ understanding of generative AI. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in academic libraries, preparing future librarians with both practical skills and critical understanding of AI technologies is vital. Seibert’s presentation will explore developing and implementing an AI-based clinical assignment within a Master of Library Science (MLS) course on library technologies. Integrating AI into graduate-level pedagogy can better equip future librarians to thoughtfully implement and critically assess these technologies in professional practice. The presentation emphasizes the urgent need for AI literacy within MLS programs and proposes a model for scalable curriculum integration. In spring of 2023, librarians at the University of Mississippi recognized that artificial intelligence was already beginning to impact areas of librarianship and teaching. Rogers’s presentation will discuss how they formed the Library AI Committee, learning along the way what skills were needed and how best to help their academic community. Together, they developed an initial understanding of AI literacy and created an internal database of known AI tools. Since then, they created a robust LibGuide with resources for all types of users, became active partners with other groups on campus, and have member-led AI research projects in various stages, from early development to publication. Session 9: Transforming GenAI Literacy Through Emerging Threshold Concepts: Insights for Teaching Librarians
Summary: In our academic library's work with first-year students, we've identified a critical gap between students' confidence in using generative AI tools and their actual conceptual understanding of these technologies. While many students regularly interact with GenAI, most lack the fundamental knowledge needed to use these tools effectively, critically evaluate their outputs, or understand their limitations. Our solution draws from threshold concept theory—identifying the transformative, integrative concepts that fundamentally change how learners understand a domain. Through faculty development workshops and student instruction, we've developed a set of emerging GenAI threshold concepts including: Pattern Recognition vs. True Understanding; Training Data Dependency; The Human Partnership Model; Probabilistic Generation; Context Window Limitations; and Hallucination and Confidence Illusion. These concepts serve as powerful pedagogical tools because they address the "why" behind AI behavior rather than just the "how" of tool usage. This presentation will not only share our developing threshold concepts and practical classroom activities but also address the evolving role of academic libraries in the GenAI era. As traditional information gatekeepers now navigating an environment where information generation is democratized, libraries must redefine their value proposition. Our threshold concepts approach positions librarians as critical guides who help students navigate the intersection of human and machine-generated knowledge—reinforcing the library's central role in fostering information literacy while adapting to technological change. Participants will leave with a flexible pedagogical approach that can evolve alongside rapidly changing AI technologies while maintaining focus on the enduring principles that underlie them. Break 2:30-2:35 pm ET
Session 10: Intersections of Generative AI and Scholarly Communication: Publishing, Evaluating, and the Future
Summary: Academic researchers’ usage of generative AI affects all parts of the scholarly communications process, including literature reviews, data analysis, authorship, peer review, dissemination, and the consumption of research. This panel of librarians will discuss the impact of AI on scholarly communications, considering how AI usage influences both the production and the consumption of scholarship, and the broader implications for libraries. Charlotte Ford will provide an overview of some of the generative AI tools that are currently being used by scholars and researchers. Jeff Graveline will explore AI and the scholarly publishing lifecycle, including how AI affects peer review, journal metrics, and copyright. April Urban will examine how issues of AI and scholarly communications intersect with information literacy, considering how threshold concepts from the ACRL Framework can be used to generate classroom discussion of these issues. Session 11: Student AI Experiences, Programs, and Support
Summary: This session will discuss student perceptions of and experiences with AI, as well as programs and other ways to support them. Zipf, Petricini, and Borrelli will discuss how students define academic cheating and their reported use of GenAI programs. They interviewed 30 students during the spring 2025 semester to learn more about how they integrate GenAI tools into their schoolwork. They analyze their responses from a newly developed ethic-based framework (Petricini et al., forthcoming). Students shared their views about GenAI use and cheating, pressures to perform academically, and what else the institution might do to help support them. Findings from this study will help create a deeper understanding of students’ thoughts on cheating and how they use GenAI tools. Deremiah, Schuman, and Naumann will showcase a case study from Arizona State University (ASU) Libraries, which developed and deployed a tutorial titled “The Fundamentals of Generative AI in Student Research.” The tutorial is designed to help students understand how genAI works, discover the capabilities and limitations of generative AI in academic research, emphasize responsible and ethical use, and develop basic prompt engineering skills. The session will report on the tutorial's implementation and present findings from student feedback. Attendees will gain insights into student perceptions of genAI, their growth in AI literacy, and evolving expectations of library support. In response to the growing, cross-disciplinary demand for programming skills, libraries are expanding educational offerings to support learners from diverse backgrounds. Teaching users to code with generative AI chatbots enhances independent learning through real-time assistance and debugging support. Scotti’s presentation describes the design, delivery, and assessment of “PYTHON FOR ALL: Democratizing Coding Mastery with AI Chatbot Support,” a library workshop that blends AI literacy with practical coding instruction. By reinforcing ethical information practices and inclusive access to education, this workshop highlights the evolving role of academic libraries in supporting AI-integrated learning. All materials are available as Open Educational Resources to encourage broader adoption and adaptation. Break | 3:35-3:40 pm ET Closing Keynote | 3:40-4:25 pm ET Closing Thoughts & Reminders | 4:25-4:30 pm ET Discounted rates are available for a limited time only. Secure your tickets now to lock in the best price.
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