Artificial intelligence and the library as Third Place: cognitive automation and the reconfiguration of labour

Purpose This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI), understood as a form of cognitive automation, may reshape the labour structures and social functions of contemporary libraries. It seeks to explain how AI can complement, rather than displace, the library's communal role by supporting its capacity to act as a Third Place. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a sociotechnical, conceptual approach, synthesizing research from library automation, social infrastructure and science and technology studies. It develops a theoretical model – the bifunctional institution – to analyse the interaction between algorithmic systems and the social–material dimensions of library work. Findings The study finds that AI may reduce routine interpretive labour and create organisational capacity for librarians to engage in relational, pedagogical and community-oriented activities. However, these benefits are contingent on robust governance, institutional autonomy and professional agency. AI can strengthen the library's social mission when integrated responsibly but may exacerbate inequalities or undermine transparency if adopted uncritically. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual paper, the work does not include empirical data. It highlights the need for future qualitative and organisational studies examining how AI tools are adopted in practice, how labour is redistributed within specific institutions and how governance structures mediate the relationship between automation and community-oriented work. Practical implications The model highlights conditions necessary for responsible AI adoption, including ethical governance, staff training and alignment of AI systems with public values and professional norms. Social implications By enabling a renewed focus on community engagement and shared learning, AI may reinforce libraries as crucial forms of social infrastructure in increasingly digitised and fragmented societies. Originality/value The paper offers one of the first theoretical integrations of automation studies and Third Place scholarship. It advances the concept of functional complementarity and provides a new framework for understanding libraries as bifunctional institutions composed of interdependent algorithmic and social layers.