Parallel Session 15 – Artificial Intelligence for/in/and Research Libraries IV
Moderator: TBC
Location: Room 1129
15.1) Cultural Heritage Resources for Local Business Community Prosperity
Presenter: Liisa Näpärä, National Library of Finland, Finland
Cultural heritage for common good is one of the strategic aims for the National Library of Finland (NLF). By engaging various groups and communities in society, the NLF aims to reach out to researchers, educators, and citizens, as well as businesses. It is important to talk about the library resources and services to even new and unexpected user groups to maintain the status of the national library as a relevant organisation in society. Recently, the focus has been on unlocking the potential of cultural heritage for business purposes and wider societal impact. This vision of cultural heritage as a resource for society is shown also in the implementation of the Finnish cultural heritage strategy.
This paper presents the work-in-progress, attained results, and faced hardships. With a business potential purpose, the project called South Savo Artificial Intelligence at Memory Lab takes place in the South Savo area, located in Eastern Finland. Besides the aim of developing and fine tuning a local language model, the project connects cultural heritage with local business. The local adaptation of the Finnish language model enhances possibilities for interactivity in connection to digital cultural heritage in the region. In addition, responsibility and trustfulness are key aspects to keep in mind and focus of one work package in the project.
The NLF’s primary objective in the project is to increase the entrepreneurs’ knowledge about cultural heritage and its benefits for businesses, for instance in the tourism or event industry, in marketing or social media use. To achieve this, the project collects and assesses local business specific cultural heritage needs. Thereafter, it seeks further and deeper understanding of the contribution of cultural heritage for business needs. With the aim of strengthening the local identity, use of cultural heritage, regional and local facts, stories and history, the project will arrange workshops. The workshops during spring 2025 will concentrate on the local cultural heritage identified by the needs analysis. During the workshops stories, visualisations, maps and other graphs are presented and discussed with the public. The project will continue developing and refining the approach to better meet with the local businesses, literally and figuratively.
The project produces curated data resources to answer the question of how a vast and complex concept such as cultural heritage can be broken down into relevant entities for businesses. By presenting cultural heritage, especially from digital and textual perspectives, companies are more equipped and ready to understand and utilise cultural heritage to foster their local identity and engage with the local community. The result is resources for local businesses that are also usable with open access policies to enhance societal impact.
The final paper will discuss the process of reaching out from the library to a mostly unfamiliar sector and how the previously largely unknown cultural heritage was greeted by the companies involved in the project.
The project South Savo Artificial Intelligence at Memory Lab is co-funded by the European Union and the funding is granted by the Regional Council of South Savo.
15.2) From Concept, Collaboration to Creation: Unveiling Digital Scholarship & Data Science Essentials for Library Professionals, a New LIBER Member Training Resource
Presenter: Nora McGregor, British Library, United Kingdom
The Digital Scholarship & Digital Cultural Heritage (DSDCH) and the Data Science in Libraries (DSLib) working groups of LIBER unveil for the first time an innovative new website, Digital Scholarship & Data Science Essentials for Library Professionals (DS Essentials), the culmination of an 18-month collaboration to build a library of essential training resources for LIBER staff. DS Essentials publishes over a dozen newly written Topic Guides, co-authored by LIBER members across Europe, providing a central destination for newcomers to gain a better understanding of the new technologies that underpin digital scholarship and data science applications in research library work today. Covering a host of topics suggested by LIBER members, from demystifying large language models, copyright considerations for AI research projects, working with API’s, navigating GitHub for library projects, using automatic handwritten text recognition technologies and more, the guides provide contextualised and gentle introductions, written from the library practitioners perspective, to a wide range of key topics and technologies relevant to working innovatively with digital collections and data.
DS Essentials fills a persistent gap between our members’ ambitions to learn more about how computationally driven methods are innovatively and practically used in library work, and a lack of time and resources to navigate the plethora of disparate and technical self-paced tutorials and training materials that have proliferated online. For library professionals who are relatively new to digital scholarship and data science, it can be hard to know where to begin the learning journey, and without knowing a little bit about the specific context of how new technologies are being practically deployed in research libraries, the dearth of resources can be daunting. Digital Scholarship & Data Science Essentials for Library Professionals was developed to remove some of these barriers.
Written specifically with the research library practitioner in mind, each Topic Guide follows a fixed structure, consisting of five components in order to make it easier for users to quickly find what they need:
- 1. Introduction to the topic
- 2. Relevance to the library sector (Case studies/Use cases)
- 3. Hands-on activities and other self-guided tutorial(s)
- 4. Recommended Reading & Viewing
- 5. Next steps: Finding Communities of Practice
In this way, DS Essentials acts as a central trusted starting point for newcomers to digital scholarship and data science in libraries, and an essential conduit to personally recommended learning routes.
The project began in late 2023 as a joint collaboration between the Digital Scholarship & Digital Cultural Heritage (DSDCH) and the Data Science in Libraries (DSLib) working groups of LIBER and has since gained valuable contributions from other working groups such as LIBER Copyright & Legal Matters. In this presentation we will formally launch this unique new resource to the community, discuss the project background, implementation, objectives, and future goals, and, to hopefully inform and inspire future working group collaborations across LIBER by sharing some thoughts on what made this international collaboration so fruitful.
15.3) Empowering Research Libraries through AI Literacy: Frameworks, Insights, and Collaborative Pathways
Presenters: Leo Lo, University of New Mexico, United State of America; Cynthia Hudson Vitale, Johns Hopkins University, United States of America
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes academia, research libraries face an urgent need to upskill staff and develop frameworks that balance technical proficiency with ethical awareness. This presentation showcases innovative approaches to AI literacy, drawing from the GPT-4 Exploration Program at the University of New Mexico, a longitudinal study on AI literacy among academic library employees, and insights from Johns Hopkins Libraries’ AI Literacy Task Force.
Key takeaways:
- AI Literacy Frameworks: A practical guide built around technical knowledge, critical thinking, ethical awareness, societal impact, and practical skills, tailored to empower library professionals.
- Case Studies and Results: Real-world applications of AI in cataloging, research support, and data management, including strategies for addressing barriers like limited resources and organizational resistance.
- Collaborative Innovation: Models for fostering partnerships across academic units, technology providers, and peer institutions to scale AI literacy programs equitably and sustainably.
Participants will learn how to integrate AI tools into library workflows, create inclusive learning environments, and champion their libraries as hubs for AI literacy within their institutions and communities.
Methodology:
This presentation synthesizes findings from:
- The GPT-4 Exploration Program, which applied adult learning principles to AI training, resulting in improved skills and confidence.
- A follow-up study on AI literacy, highlighting gaps and actionable solutions for overcoming barriers like cost, time constraints, and resource inequities.
- Insights from the Johns Hopkins Libraries’ AI Literacy Task Force, including program design, stakeholder engagement, and pilot outcomes.
Through evidence-based strategies and case studies, the session offers scalable and practical solutions for advancing AI literacy in research libraries.