Exploring Librarians’ Experiences with Generative AI: My Article in Library Trends

My latest article, “Use of Generative AI in Aiding Daily Professional Tasks: A Survey of Librarians’ Experiences,” has been published in Library Trends 73(3). This issue is the first of a two-part special theme: “Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics, Part I.”

As generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, librarians across the globe are navigating both opportunities and challenges. This issue of Library Trends dives into that evolving landscape, providing a timely, thoughtful examination of how libraries are adapting to and making sense of generative AI.

AI is transforming how we interact with information, deliver services, and conduct research. Yet, it also raises important ethical questions about bias, authorship, intellectual freedom, and more. My article contributes to this conversation by offering empirical insights into how librarians are currently using generative AI to support their work. Through a national survey, I explored:

How librarians are using generative AI in tasks such as writing, planning programs, generating summaries, and more
Their motivations, expectations, and experiences
The benefits they perceive, including time-saving and enhanced creativity
Concerns and barriers, such as ethical implications, institutional policies, and lack of training

What stood out most to me in this research was the overall curiosity and cautious optimism among librarians. Many are experimenting with AI tools to streamline workflows and increase productivity, while also expressing a desire for clearer guidance, ongoing training, and thoughtful policies that center professional values. This article is just one step in a broader journey of understanding how our profession can thoughtfully harness technology without compromising the principles that define us.

If you’re interested in the intersection of AI and libraries, from practical applications to deeper ethical debates, I highly recommend reading this special issue of Library Trends. It features a wide range of voices and perspectives.

Using ChatGPT in Research Design

In the past two weeks, we completed the research methods training portion of 2023 IRDL Online. IRDL is a continuing education program for academic and research librarians designed to create a growing community of confident librarian-researchers. The research methods training portion was provided in the form of an online summer research workshop, where I was an instructor. It’s incredibly energizing and exciting to talk to a group of research-minded librarians about conducting research to improve professional practice. One theme that arose from our discussions was the use of AI in research design. One of the librarian scholars gave it a try and asked ChatGPT to write survey questions for a research scenario.

Here’s her prompt: I need to write a survey to find out how academic librarians engage in professional development. ACRL will use the survey findings to develop the Guidelines for Professional Development for Academic Librarians, which they believe will provide guidance for academic librarians as they explore professional development opportunities and make professional development plans. Can you write 4 questions for this survey?

ChatGPT’s response:
Certainly! Here are four sample questions for your survey on how academic librarians engage in professional development:

1. How frequently do you engage in professional development activities related to your role as an academic librarian?
• Rarely or never
• Occasionally (1-2 times per year)
• Regularly (3-5 times per year)
• Frequently (more than 5 times per year)

2. What types of professional development activities do you find most beneficial in enhancing your skills and knowledge as an academic librarian? (Select all that apply)
• Workshops and conferences
• Webinars and online courses
• Professional association memberships and events
• Formal education (e.g., degree programs)
• Informal learning (e.g., self-study, reading journals)
• Mentoring and coaching programs
• Other (please specify)

3. How do you typically seek out information about professional development opportunities? (Select all that apply)
• Internal communication channels (e.g., email, intranet)
• External websites and online resources
• Professional networks and colleagues
• Professional association publications and newsletters
• Supervisors and managers
• Other (please specify)

4. What factors influence your decision to participate in a professional development activity? (Select all that apply)
• Relevance to current job responsibilities and career goals
• Availability of funding or financial support
• Recommendations from colleagues or supervisors
• Reputation and credibility of the provider or organization
• Flexibility in terms of time and scheduling
• Recognition or credentialing opportunities
• Other (please specify)

Looking at these survey questions, I think ChatGPT did a nice job in operationalizing the key concepts in the research question based on the research goal. There’s room for improvement in wording survey questions that uphold the basic rules for survey design such as being concise and unambiguous, avoiding leading questions or double barreled questions, and making sure response categories are exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Still, this can be a good start if we are get stuck in our instrument design and don’t know where to begin.

There’s been discussion about using AI in manuscript writing such as this Science article “As scientists explore AI-written text, journals hammer out policies“. Looks like we will need more discussion about using AI in assisting the research process such as designing survey questionnaire, interview guide or a content analysis codebook.

A Great Online Student Conference

I’m the chair of the RSCA Advisory Committee at the College of Professional and Global Education (CPGE) at SJSU. RSCA stands for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity. The college held its first Online Student Conference in spring 2022, and our committee served as faculty advisors for this conference. The conference seeks to connect students across the college and promote student work. It aims to provide an opportunity for CPGE students to share their school or professional work, help students communicate and connect with each other, and ultimately foster a stronger sense of community among students.

A total of 16 students submitted recorded presentations to be featured on the conference website. Their presentations covered a wide range of topics ranging from diversity/inclusion to sustainability. Five students did such an excellent job in their presentations that they won the conference’s Outstanding Presentation Award. Let’s take a look at the five award-winning student presentations.

Ashley Minnich’s presentation, ”Mental, Physical, and Social Benefits of Dance: A Client Project“, described a client project where the information request was for scientific and peer-reviewed scholarly literature published within the last 20 years about the mental, physical, and social benefits of dance for the organization to use in future marketing materials. The project was executed by conducting a reference interview with the client, evaluating potential databases for topic relevancy, developing a search strategy and evaluating results, presenting results to the client concisely for their evaluation, and mutually concluding that the information need was met.

Beatriz Martinez delivered a presentation titled “Garden Focus Library Programming: A Green Team Project“. This project emerged from SJSU iSchool’s INFO 282 Libraries Take the Lead on Sustainability. Beatriz worked on a library programming group project. The group developed a garden focused library program that comprises many different forms of activities and events aiming to promote sustainable gardening to all patron demographics.

Rosario Mireles’s presentation, “Generations of Regeneration“, was about a project also resulting from INFO 282 Libraries Take the Lead on Sustainability. This project proposed an action plan targeting community members of all ages (children to grandparents) and addressing the Three Pillars of Sustainability (Environment, Equity, Economic) through regular presentations and interactive workshops at a hypothetical library’s teaching garden.

Katherine Hellman’s presentation, “Weeding is Fundamental! What Comes After Weeding?“, was once again an assignment from INFO 282 Libraries Take the Lead on Sustainability. This project assessed the environmental impact of weeding materials from library collections and offered three sustainable alternatives to sending books and periodicals to landfills.

Carlos Quevedo delivered a presentation titled “Emerging Needs in the Field of Video Game Preservation“. In this presentation, Carlos shared his experience doing research on Digital Media Preservation as it pertains to Video Games through his internship at AFI as well as his role as a Research Assistant to iSchool Professor Darra Hofman. His work enabled him to foresee the future work that needs to be done in order to make the preservation of Video Games a more fruitful endeavor in the future.

In addition to these award winning presentations, other student presentations at the CPGE Online Student Conference also represented the wonderful work our students have done. Congratulations to all the students who presented at the conference and shared their amazing work with the college community and beyond.

Library Responses to COVID-19: What I Observed

The COVID-19 pandemic has been quite disruptive to many aspects of our lives. As we all struggle to manage the new reality, our libraries are also doing their best to continue providing services to their communities during this trying time. I have been following library responses to the COVID-19 crisis on social media and here are some of my observations and experiences.

American Library Association (ALA)’s Pandemic Preparedness page has a lot of great resources that could help libraries better understand how to respond to the crisis.
Libraries establish specific pages that list COVID-19 related resources that are reliable and trustworthy, such as the one from Portland State University Library.
A creative librarian from Hoover Library at McDaniel College put on book displays in his/her own home, reminding people that these books are all available through the library’s eBook collection.

(image source: Hoover Library’s FaceBook Page)
Storytimes have gone virtual! A police officer from Puyallup, WA, a frequent guest at Puyallup Public Library’s storytime, recorded a virtual one for kids.

(image source: Puyallup Police Department FaceBook Page)
Libraries’ 3D printers have new uses now – they can print face shields for health care providers.

(image source: blogto.com)
Although the physical location is closed, some libraries still continue to provide curbside delivery services to help patrons check out materials. Woburn Library even made TikTok video to promote this service to their community!

(image source: Woburn Public Library FaceBook Page)
Libraries are considering turning bookmobiles into free WiFi trucks – what a thoughtful idea!

(image source: vice.com)

Despite all the challenges the pandemic has posed, it does provide opportunities for libraries to highlight their wonderful online resources. My local library, San Jose Public Library, has done a fantastic job in that regard. Since the closure of the library building three weeks ago, they have been sending a weekly email to stay in touch with everybody and encourage people to use their online resources.

Week 1, an email containing Frequently Asked Questions that really helped keeping us informed and putting our minds at ease. It’s a relief to know that all of our book will be automatically renewed till after the library reopens.

week1

Week 2, an email emphasizing SJPL’s online sources specifically oriented to K-12 kids and educators, such as tutor.com and a bunch of EBSCO databases.

week2

Week 3, an email reminding us that if we don’t have a library card already, we can apply for an eLibrary Card online, so that we can freely use the library’s online resources.

week3

The most recent week, an email giving us a summary about how people are actively using the library’s online services such as virtual reference, which has been extended to 24/7, and participating the Spring into Reading program, an program that encourages people to use the library’s eBooks and other eResources.

week4

These emails always bring a smile to my face. 🙂

Our libraries and librarians are the best!

Assessing Scholarly Communication Services: A National Forum in May 2020

I’m a member of a great project team that’s working to put together the National Forum of the Assessment of Scholarly Communications Programs. The project is funded by IMLS and led by wonderful librarians from Sacramento State University and San Jose State University.

The forum will be held online via Zoom on May 4th and 5th. Attendees of the forum will include experts from library assessment that will present and lead discussions on how existing assessment techniques can be implemented for scholarly communication services. The forum will result in a report with recommendations for standards and a comprehensive set of best practices in assessing the range of services that comprise scholarly communication program.

My role in this grant project is to provide methodological expertise in the data gathering and analysis. I have been closely involved in designing and implementing the data collection instruments to gather input from librarians and campus stakeholders that will inform the project goal. We used the Research Lifecycle from the University of Central Florida to frame our data collection instruments, and the data has truly opened my eyes to the wide variety of practices in scholarly communication programs and their role in the campus research enterprise. Can’t wait to hear more from librarians and campus stakeholders at the Forum!

Image result for research lifecycle at university of central florida

A recent research/library trip to China

Last week I went to Shanxi Province, China for a research trip.

I’m collaborating with a Chinese professor from Shanxi University to study the role of libraries in helping the public fulfill their consumer health information needs. On this research trip, we conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews to gather data on people’s consumer health information seeking behavior and librarians’ preparedness in providing consumer health information service. It was a fruitful trip.

I visited three libraries – I wanted to post the photos here but couldn’t (maybe there were too many; hmm…maybe I should switch to a different blog platform?). So I ended up posting them on a separate webpage. We have students taking the international librarianship course in our program and maybe they will enjoy my post. 🙂

A community library in China

I love visiting local libraries when I travel. This summer, I came to Guiyang, China to see my aunt and uncle. They live in an area with a population of 300,000 and yet there’s only one public library in that area. The tiny community library is a 600 square-foot room containing a few shelves of magazines and books, a reading area, and two small staffed desks. Most readers there are senior citizens (the only young reader there is my daughter).

Even though the physical space is limited, the library provides a wide array of electronic resources, which are displayed on a big touch screen. The e-resources include eBooks, eJournals and videos. Each title has a QR code – people can scan it and then access it on their mobile devices. How convenient!