ACRL Artificial Intelligence (AI) Interest Group

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To provide a forum for discussing the impact of AI on libraries and related topics, facilitating the exchange of ideas, best practices, and collaborative initiatives among library professionals.
Community members can post as a new Discussion or email ALA-ACRL-AI-IG@ConnectedCommunity.org.
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  • 1.  Sign up for a 5 min Lightning Talk! For our AI Discussion Group Meet up - April 28, 3pm EDT

    Posted Apr 18, 2025 04:22 PM

    Hi everyone,

    At our March Meet Up, many of you shared your interest in presenting or leading discussions for future group meet ups! We will follow up with multiple opportunities going forward for AI DG members to share, and we have our first opportunity coming up for our April 28, 3pm (EDT) AI DG Meet up. 

    We would love for you to sign up for a 5 minute Lighting Talk for our April meet up!

    It's easy to do -- just head over to our April Meet Up Agenda Document, and add your: Name and Email address, Lightning Talk Title, and optional - a link to slides or materials if you like -- you can also choose to add a link or materials later on or after your talk. 

    We're looking for 5-8 Lightning Talk presenters.

    What to talk about? 

    -- An example of how you're using AI in your work

    -- A ethical issue related to AI and your thoughts, resources to explore

    -- An example of a favorite AI tool you're using and its benefits / things to consider when using it

    -- .... anything you are inspired to share related to AI in Academic Libraries...

    Can't wait to learn from and with you all!

    ~Ginny and Heather 



    ------------------------------
    Virginia Pannabecker
    Assistant Dean and Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement
    University Libraries, Virginia Tech
    She/Her/Hers,They/Them/Theirs
    vpannabe@vt.edu
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Sign up for a 5 min Lightning Talk! For our AI Discussion Group Meet up - April 28, 3pm EDT

    Posted Apr 24, 2025 08:34 AM

    Hi everyone,

    We have 3 Lightning Talk presenters signed up for our Monday, April 28 AI Discussion Group meet up!

    We're looking for a few more! (Up to 8 talks max for the meet up) 

    Still pondering? --> We would love for you to sign up for a 5 minute Lighting Talk for our April meet up!

    It's easy to do -- just head over to our April Meet Up Agenda Document, and add your: Name and Email address, Lightning Talk Title, and optional - a link to slides or materials if you like -- you can also choose to add a link or materials later on or after your talk. 

    We're looking for 5-8 Lightning Talk presenters.

    What to talk about? 

    -- An example of how you're using AI in your work

    -- A ethical issue related to AI and your thoughts, resources to explore

    -- An example of a favorite AI tool you're using and its benefits / things to consider when using it

    -- .... anything you are inspired to share related to AI in Academic Libraries...

    Please reach out to me at vpannabe@vt.edu if you have any questions at all! 



    ------------------------------
    Virginia Pannabecker
    Assistant Dean and Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement
    University Libraries, Virginia Tech
    She/Her/Hers,They/Them/Theirs
    vpannabe@vt.edu
    ------------------------------


  • 3.  RE: Sign up for a 5 min Lightning Talk! For our AI Discussion Group Meet up - April 28, 3pm EDT

    Posted Apr 25, 2025 11:31 AM

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    We now have 4 Lightning Talk presenters signed up for our Monday, April 28 AI Discussion Group meet up!

    I'm looking forward to the presentations we'll have so far!

    1. From Query to Creativity: Duck, Perplexity, and NightCafe for Librarians -- Bree Kirsch
    2. AI Agents - A Brief Introduction -- Mike McQueen
    3. AI Classification Help and Testing -- Shawn Vaillancourt
    4. Supercharge Your Library with AI – Powered by Your Content, Guided by Your Control -- Qin Lippert

    We still have room for a few more! (Up to 8 talks max for the meet up) 

    --> Head over to our April Meet Up Agenda Document, and add your: Name and Email address, Lightning Talk Title, and optional - a link to slides or materials if you like -- you can also choose to add a link or materials later on or after your talk. 

    Lighting Talk Topic Ideas:

    Have you read an article , heard a podcast, or seen a talk about AI that's relevant to AI in Academic  Libraries?  -- Sign up for a talk to share a brief summary and your thoughts

    Have you tried out an AI tool or an AI feature in a resource / platform you use a lot?  -- Sign up for a talk to share a little info about it and your thoughts on benefits / considerations 

    Do you have a question about AI you'd like to discuss with others or an issue you've encountered? -- Sign up for a talk to introduce the question / issue and facilitate a few minutes of live discussion / feedback in the meeting

    Please reach out (vpannabe@vt.edu) if you have questions!

    ~Ginny



    ------------------------------
    Virginia Pannabecker
    Assistant Dean and Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement
    University Libraries, Virginia Tech
    She/Her/Hers,They/Them/Theirs
    vpannabe@vt.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Sign up for a 5 min Lightning Talk! For our AI Discussion Group Meet up - April 28, 3pm EDT

    Posted Apr 25, 2025 12:30 PM

    I'm not sure I can realistically condense my content into a 5-minute lightning presentation. I recently presented this material at the Texas Library Association's spring conference with a colleague, and that session was a full 50-minute presentation covering multiple, interconnected topics.

     

    Included:

    • Research tools we rely on for academic and institutional research
      • How they work
      • Improving research reporting with AI
      • Overcoming personal bias with AI
    • The advantage of ChatGPT and replicating its strength with other tools
    • Writing better with advanced prompts and style guides
    • Creating video narration with AI tools
    • Supporting accessibility with AI
    • Concepts, methods, and terminology

     

    Because much of the content builds on earlier sections, breaking it apart would be a challenge. That said, we've been using AI in some truly innovative ways, and the response at the conference was overwhelmingly positive. Multiple attendees followed up throughout the event to share how valuable they found the session.

     

    Would you consider a full 50-minute presentation? I can invite my coworker to re-present the portion she presented at TLA, if you like.

     

       Regards,

       Cynthia Soll

       Research Librarian

       254-299-8343

     

     




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Sign up for a 5 min Lightning Talk! For our AI Discussion Group Meet up - April 28, 3pm EDT

    Posted Apr 28, 2025 11:21 AM

    Thank you so much, Cynthia! 

    I appreciate your interest and it sounds like you have several aspects you could share about related to how you're using AI at your institution. 

    Heather and I are taking at look at upcoming Discussion Group meet up possibilities and we'll think through this and let you know our thoughts on this.

    Hope to see you at the meet up today!



    ------------------------------
    Virginia Pannabecker
    Assistant Dean and Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement
    University Libraries, Virginia Tech
    She/Her/Hers,They/Them/Theirs
    vpannabe@vt.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message