Why libraries should focus on AI readiness more than AI adoption

Author: Saskia Hoving

Editor-in-Chief

Academic libraries are increasingly being asked to respond to new opportunities and challenges related to artificial intelligence (AI). From supporting researchers experimenting with new tools to helping institutions develop policies, guidance and governance frameworks, libraries are finding themselves at the centre of discussions about AI’s growing role across research and education. Yet for many institutions, the challenge is less about adopting AI itself and more about deciding how to engage with it responsibly.

These themes sat at the heart of the recent webinar Cutting Through the AI Noise: Practical Pathways for Academic Libraries. The discussion focused on how libraries can move beyond the hype surrounding AI and build practical, values-led approaches to supporting their communities. The most important question for libraries is not whether to adopt AI, but how to prepare for a future in which AI increasingly shapes research, teaching, and scholarly communication.

Academic libraries have long helped institutions navigate periods of technological change, from the growth of digital collections and online search tools to open access and data management. AI is the latest chapter in this important role of academic libraries. But from the discussion in the webinar it seems that AI may be less about adopting a new tool and more about strengthening the capabilities needed to respond to ongoing change.

The webinar brought together Natalie Meyers, AI Researcher in Residence at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), Kari Weaver, AI and Machine Learning Program Manager at Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and Springer Nature's Director of Library Relations Robert Hilliker. It opened by acknowledging the diverse perspectives surrounding AI.

"We have to be prepared to support researchers and research teams and students across the spectrum of adoption, along with AI and all its messy problems." - Natalie Meyers, AI Researcher in Residence at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)

Libraries are uniquely placed to support diverse perspectives on AI

The webinar audience was invited to respond to polls exploring how they perceive AI, where they currently use it, and the benefits and risks they associate with it. The polls revealed a divergence of attitudes and a complex environment. Participants most commonly perceived AI as a tool, and responses indicate how it can support in a wide range of uses and implications. But AI was also associated with risk, structural change, and opportunity.

While concerns over accuracy, bias, privacy, copyright, environmental impact, overreliance, and loss of skills we raised, participants also identified a multitude of uses across activities such as brainstorming, editing, information retrieval, and metadata processing. It was a mix of curiosity and optimism with uncertainty, scepticism, and concern.

Rather than identifying a single institutional perspective on AI, the polling results indicate the variety of questions, priorities, and concerns that may need to be addressed. When discussing the polling results, the speakers highlighted the important role of libraries in supporting researchers, students, and faculty across diverse perspectives.

This observation resonates with trends emerging across the wider scholarly communications landscape. Findings from Springer Nature's report Perspectives on AI in scholarly communications similarly show that stakeholders often have different priorities when evaluating AI, ranging from productivity benefits to concerns about transparency, attribution, and trust.

Libraries are well placed to bring different perspectives into the AI conversation. Rather than advocating for a single position on AI, they can help different groups understand the implications of varying approaches and facilitate discussions grounded in evidence rather than assumptions. In many ways, this role builds on long-established library strengths: information literacy, critical evaluation of sources, and supporting informed decision-making.

"I would really encourage folks to more strongly consider how their work might evolve with AI, rather than focus on the idea of AI making them irrelevant." - Kari Weaver, AI and Machine Learning Program Manager at Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL)

Why human expertise remains at the heart of library work

The discussion returned to a concern many library professionals share: what does the growing use of AI mean for the future of library work? The speakers rejected the idea that AI should replace professional expertise. Instead, they argued that its value lies in supporting human judgement and helping staff focus their attention where it matters most. According to Hilliker, AI should remain a tool used by humans rather than a system making decisions on their behalf.

Conversations about AI frequently centre on new products, platforms, and capabilities, yet many of the challenges facing institutions involve workforce development, governance, policy, and organisational culture. Beyond AI tools themselves, the speakers redirected the focus to the importance of professional development, strategic planning, and governance frameworks in helping institutions navigate AI responsibly.

A shift in emphasis: Building AI literacy across the library

A more useful objective than AI adoption may be building AI literacy: the ability to understand AI’s strengths, limitations, applications, and risks. AI literacy can help libraries make informed decisions about where and how to use AI, while strengthening their readiness for continued change.

While AI can increase efficiency and scale certain activities, introducing AI-enabled workflows also creates substantial responsibilities. Evaluating outputs, managing quality, supporting users, addressing ethical questions, and maintaining transparency all require human expertise and sustained involvement. As Weaver noted, “there is still a ton of work involved in planning, implementing, ensuring quality, and iterating AI-enabled or augmented workflows.”

The priority is therefore not only to automate existing work, but to develop the knowledge and capabilities that allow libraries to assess and apply AI responsibly.

Strategic planning matters more than predicting the future

AI developments require strategic thinking rather than a focus on today's tools. Meyers introduced the ARL/CNI Futurescape initiative, which uses scenario planning to help libraries prepare for possible AI futures. The project recognises that no institution can accurately predict what AI will look like in five or ten years. Instead, organisations can explore a range of plausible scenarios and use them to strengthen current planning. The future, Meyers explained, “isn't a fixed destination; it's a landscape of possibilities shaped by today's choices."

The Futurescape toolkit encourages institutions to explore future possibilities, test existing strategies, identify opportunities and vulnerabilities, and build readiness for long-term change. Rather than treating AI as a technology procurement question, the framework positions it as a strategic issue that intersects with staffing, budgeting, partnerships, risk management, and institutional priorities.

This type of approach, according to Weaver, can also help organisations move beyond assumptions based on past constraints and open new discussions about what libraries might become in the years ahead.

Turning AI debate into institutional readiness: The role of libraries

The discussion in the webinar presented a balanced approach to AI, centred on readiness, governance, and informed experimentation. These principles are particularly relevant as AI technologies and their applications continue to evolve.

Beyond this webinar, related discussions with research and library leaders point to a broader shift: attention is moving from whether AI should be used towards how it should be governed transparently and responsibly. These conversations explore institution-wide guidance and ethical oversight, developing practical institutional priorities on authorship, disclosure, and data governance, to safeguarding trust in science in the age of open access and AI. Institutions are considering not only the opportunities AI offers, but also how its use can remain aligned with established principles of responsible research and scholarly communication.

Libraries are uniquely positioned to support institutions in navigating these times. Their experience in information literacy, research support, and scholarly communication enables them to bring together different perspectives, foster informed discussion, and help ensure decisions remain aligned with institutional values.

Libraries are uniquely positioned to support institutions in navigating these times. Their experience in information literacy, research support, and scholarly communication enables them to bring together different perspectives, foster informed discussion, and help ensure decisions remain aligned with institutional values.

Librarians providing and shaping trusted resources

As AI increasingly shapes how users discover information, access to trusted, authoritative sources remain essential. Longer-form scholarly resources such as eBooks provide the context, nuance, and evidence needed to critically evaluate and interpret information. In this way, these resources can play an important role in supporting both information literacy and AI literacy across library communities.

Library professionals can also contribute their expertise to the development of these resources. During the webinar, Hilliker encouraged attendees to consider sharing their perspective by submitting proposals for Springer Nature's AI eBook collection, including the new AI and sustainable development series edited by Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice Rector of United Nations University.

AI will continue to evolve, but the core strengths libraries bring to their institutions remain remarkably consistent. Libraries help communities evaluate information, navigate complexity, and make informed decisions. In a rapidly changing AI landscape, those capabilities may be more valuable than ever. By investing in learning, governance, and strategic planning today, libraries can help ensure their institutions are prepared not just for the next AI development, but for whatever comes next.

Watch the full webinar below and also explore the report: Perspectives on AI in scholarly communications: A discussion with libraries and publishing professionals.

Related content

• Perspectives on AI in scholarly communications: A discussion with libraries and publishing professionals
• Exploring AI futures in libraries with the Futurescape Workshop community
• CINCEL libraries explore the opportunities and risks of AI in research support
• Exploring AI with research librarians at Charleston
• AI, research institutions and what comes next: Insights from a leading SN ERAC member

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