Interview with the Author: Brady Lund on Artificial Intelligence for Libraries

Artificial intelligence (AI) feels almost ubiquitous these days, but there’s still so much to learn and consider—especially when it comes to its implications and applications for librarians. I recently spoke with Brady D. Lund, author of the forthcoming book Artificial Intelligence for Libraries (available for pre-order from Bloomsbury), about this very topic.  

In this interview, Brady shares what inspired him to write this book and why AI is such a critical subject for librarians to understand and embrace.  

Want to go deeper into this topic?

Learn about the impact and potential of Gen AI for special librarians in Lauren Hays’ on-demand webinar:

How Special Librarians Can Put Generative AI to Work

Please introduce yourself to our readers. 

My name is Brady D. Lund. I am a fourth-year assistant professor of information science at the University of North Texas. I teach a variety of face-to-face and online classes, primarily core courses for our graduate program in information science. My research examines critical factors at the intersections of information, data, technology, and society. I focus particularly on emerging technologies and regularly write about their impact in the library context.  

Briefly summarize Artificial Intelligence for Libraries.  

Artificial Intelligence for Libraries is a comprehensive guide to AI for library students, employees, and researchers. It begins by introducing what AI is, providing a historical overview of the development of the field of artificial intelligence. It then discusses potential and current applications of AI in libraries. Additionally, it covers various ethical issues related to the emergence and integration of AI, some common frameworks for approaching AI research, and contemplates what may be on the horizon in the future.  

Why did you write this book? 

I wrote several articles right at the time of ChatGPT’s emergence that received considerable attention. I saw many other articles published in the years that followed. However, even those who are conducting research about AI do not really understand what it is (and, perhaps more importantly, what it is not), the ethical risks, the limitations, and our lack of control over how these tools are used. I felt there was a need for a resource that would help library professionals in all settings enable their patrons to understand AI and use it responsibly and effectively.  

How do you see AI affecting the work of librarians? 

I anticipate that we will see some significant changes in the long term related to how people retrieve and use information. We see this already, but it is likely to grow over time. Large language models curate information for the seeker—we cannot always be sure that this information is reliable or “the best,” but we do know that it is convenient. The technology will only improve over time. We must know how to work with it and teach others to use it well. At the same time, I do not see AI being the death of libraries. We can look at decades of history regarding new technologies predicted to be the downfall of libraries (e.g., the Internet, Wikipedia, search engines), but that, if anything, strengthened our importance

What are practical ways special librarians can use AI? 

Librarians should use AI tools to enhance their productivity. Large language models, in particular, are extremely helpful for idea generation, planning, helping with search engine optimization for websites and articles, formatting lists, and more. I would discourage anyone from using AI as their only source of information, as its responses often have flaws, but they are good for general information/starting a search. AI-supported retrieval tools can assist the librarian in retrieving the highest quality/most relevant results possible.  

What AI knowledge and skills do librarians need? 

I think it is important to have a basic understanding of how AI models work and how those workings affect the abilities and limitations of the models. You do not have to be a computer scientist, but you should know enough so that AI doesn’t just seem like some magic. Librarians can help patrons understand the ethical issues that exist with various AI tools so that we can avoid both fear of AI and overreliance on it. Traditional library skills are and will still be critical, but it is also vital not to ignore the technology that is transforming our society.  

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

I hope to make awareness of AI accessible to all. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if I can help answer questions, connect you with some of the great writers and researchers in this field, speak with your library staff on these topics, or share some of my work.