AI and Library Support for Institutions webinar, 29 September 2023
We were joined by more than 180 colleagues from around the country on Friday 29 September for our follow-up webinar on AI and support for the institution.
The conversation was chaired by Katy Woolfenden, Co-chair of the SCONUL Technology and Markets Group and Deputy University Librarian and Associate Director Faculty and Student Partnerships, University of Manchester and we heard from Jennie Blake, Learning Development Manager, University of Manchester (jennie.blake@manchester.ac.uk) and Nick Woolley, Director of Library and Campus Services at Sheffield Hallam University (n.woolley@shu.ac.uk).
Jennie talked about Manchester's early readiness to meet the AI challenge and how they established new ways of working, with policy following on. This led to the library being asked to lead a working group that focused on skills and knowledge and they became a key stakeholder in this area. Their formal incorporation of AI tools has seen the library take a lead in rolling out scite.ai.
Nick discussed how the library at Sheffield Hallam brought AI into their thinking at an early stage too and what this meant in relation to knowledge management and data and analytics. The library stayed visible in conversations and listened to the student perspective, before developing an AI guide that will soon be in its second iteration. AI is being brought into everyday staff practice and Nick sees a particular future impact in areas such as rights retention and IP/copyright issues.
The accompanying online chat and list of resources provide a rich source of information on what is happening across the sector on:
- Tools that librarians are using at the moment, including image generation.
- How libraries are positioning themselves in the institutional conversations on the use of AI in teaching and learning and bringing their skills and knowledge to bear on the development of policy.
- Tracking information provenance going forward and legal cases ongoing in the US.
- Different ways to incorporate AI into teaching practice and the potential for a community of practice in this area.