Navigating Change: Academic Libraries and AI

Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, discussions about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic libraries have expanded. Many academic libraries are undergoing transformation in everyday work practices, interacting with technology. At the same time as generative AI (GenAI) continues to develop, academic librarians are trying to figure out when and how GenAI is relevant for the library. Academic libraries are considered reliable and trustworthy, and implementing AI into the library comes with many questions. The gap between traditional library roles and modern knowledge environments creates tensions in keeping core values within the libraries and maintaining necessary innovation. In my doctoral study, I explore how four Swedish academic libraries navigate change. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how academic libraries engage in and contribute to shaping understandings of AI as part of their activities. I want to understand in what ways, if any, artificial intelligence is becoming something to be implemented in the activities of academic libraries. I also want to understand to what extent and in what ways artificial intelligence is being shaped and negotiated in academic libraries. In this presentation, I will share the work in progress from my doctoral project. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on a sociomaterial perspective on technology in organisations. The starting point for the methodological study is conversations with participants about their practices in relation to AI, based on their roles and tasks at the library. Semi-structured interviews, follow-up conversations, and field notes from participants' meetings and workshops constitute the methods used in the thesis. I have four questions I want to discuss: • How does AI manifest itself as a strategic issue in the context of academic libraries? • How do library staff describe their role in relation to AI implementation, and what issues arise regarding ethical responsibility when AI is implemented in the information environment of academic libraries? • How are issues of learning and competence expressed in relation to AI in academic libraries? • How does AI take shape in library work processes and activities, and how is the technology reconfigured through staff and organisational interactions? These four questions could be described by the concepts of strategy, activities, ethics, and competence. Strategy deals with issues of power, direction, values, and ethics. Activities encompass action, application, and the technology used. Ethics concern’s identity, ethical issues, and professional culture. Finally, competence covers issues related to change, knowledge, and reflection.