Catch up on LTI’s ChatGPT and Generative AI in the Library Coverage 

Teaching, learning, and using AI — all in one place

Posted on September 20, 2023 in Blog Posts

This week, LibTech Insights and Choice welcomed Dr. Leo Lo to give a fantastic webinar on AI prompt engineering for librarians. If you missed it, you can catch the recording soon. Since the beginning of LTI, we have kept a steady eye on the unfolding impact of generative AI on libraries and universities. We have had many different librarians weigh in on AI and share their projects and expertise. For newcomers to LTI, we wanted to highlight our recent coverage of AI by recapping these evergreen pieces. 

📖 Learning about ChatGPT and AI 

“A Tech Librarian Explains How to Build AI Literacy” with Nicole Hennig 

“AI literacy” is more than just a buzzword; it’s an increasingly vital skill. Hennig, an e-learning developer at the University of Arizona Libraries, provides the perfect starting point for newcomers to AI to understand how AI literacy resembles and differs from information literacy and how you can build it for yourself and in your communities. 

“‘Do We Need Librarians Now that We Have ChatGPT?’” by Valerie Forrestal 

Part and parcel with the advent of ChatGPT has been deep fears about the future of various industries. Forrestal, Web Services Librarian and an Associate Professor at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, takes aim at the idea that ChatGPT can replace librarians. She emphasizes the problems with ChatGPT and how librarians are prepared to confront them. 

“ChatGPT, Ethics, and DEIA Intersect at ALA Annual 2023” by Fatima Mohie-Eldin 

It’s been well documented that tech is not neutral but replicates many social and cultural biases. Mohie-Eldin, the editor of LTI’s sister blog on DEIA in higher ed, Toward Inclusive Excellence, attended the ALA annual convention this year and listened in on a few panels about ChatGPT and generative AI. She emphasizes the potential pitfalls of these tools for social justice and equity issues. 

🧑‍🏫 Teaching about ChatGPT and AI 

“Creating an Academic Library Workshop Series on AI Literacy” by Sandy Hervieux and Amanda Wheatley 

This chapter from The Rise of AI: Implications and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Libraries (ACRL, 2022) details how the McGill University Library created a workshop on AI literacy, ethics and bias, and its research use. Hervieux and Wheatley’s case study offers a great map for other librarians to develop their own workshop series. 

“How Should You Cite Generative AI and ChatGPT?” with Kari D. Weaver and R. Antonio Muñoz Gómez 

So much of the conversation about generative AI in university and school settings centers on the potential for students to use these tools to plagiarize and cheat. Weaver and Gómez, librarians at the University of Waterloo, created a guide for citing AI-generated content in academic genres. More broadly, they offer a way of conceiving of AI tools ethically as research companions rather than replacements. 

“How to Conduct an AI Research Sprint at Your Library” by Meg Grotti 

Though “ChatGPT” has become the catchall term for text-based generative AI, it is hardly the only generative AI on the market. Every tech company is eager to put out their own product, each with slightly different uses, problems, and (strangely) personalities. Grotti, Associate University Librarian for Learning, Engagement and Curriculum Support at the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press, offers a practical workshop format for helping library employees and other university members (and your students!) explore a wide variety of generative AI tools in a single go. 

🖥 Using ChatGPT and AI 

“Using AI for Metadata Tagging to Improve Resource Discovery” by Charlie Harper, Anne Kumer, Shelby Stuart, and Evan Meszaros 

This chapter from The Rise of AI: Implications and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Libraries (ACRL, 2022) uses a sample of electronic dissertations and theses to evaluate how librarians can use AI tools to create metadata and improve discoverability. The authors get into the nitty-gritty, making it a great resource for librarians who work with metadata. 

“How Well Can ChatGPT Answer Library Reference Questions?” by Sandy Hervieux and Amanda Wheatley 

Many libraries already use chat-based interfaces for tackling patron questions. One seemingly obvious use of ChatGPT is to integrate it into library’s websites to handle reference questions. Hervieux and Wheatley put ChatGPT to the test and share their results from a few common patron queries. The results are mixed and worth studying. 

“Academic Journals v. OpenAI?” by Daniel Pfeiffer 

Yours truly wrote this brief piece reflecting on the legal future facing OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and what it means for how we should conceive of and teach about ChatGPT now. Recent lawsuits filed against OpenAI on the grounds of intellectual property violation of trade publications adumbrate possible lawsuits by academic journals, protective of their own works. I speculate on how such lawsuits will shape the potential of ChatGPT and similar AI for academic research.

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