New Voices RGU Student Series 2025 – Leeanne Irwin

Category: Blog, RGU Student Series 2025

In the 2025 New Voices Student Series, the CILIPS Students & New Professionals Community will be sharing the views of Robert Gordon University students from the MSc in Information and Library Studies.

With special thanks to Dr Konstantina Martzoukou, Teaching Excellence Fellow and Associate Professor, for organising these thought-provoking contributions.

Leeanne is an Irish-Canadian bibliophile and part-time student undertaking MSc Information and Library Studies at RGU. She is passionate about international library development and literacy initiatives.

The Role of Public Librarians in the GenAI Age

The AI revolution is upon us, forever changing the ways in which we seek and use information. Rapidly advancing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are replacing keyword searches with conversational interactions.

The new skills demanded by this transformation are best developed under the guidance of seasoned information professionals (Lo, 2023). Public librarians, champions of information literacy, are well-positioned to lead the public through this new information landscape.

The House of Lords emphasises that all citizens have “the right to be educated to enable them to flourish mentally, emotionally and economically alongside artificial intelligence” (2018, p. 125). This is a bold remit – as AI is “the most powerful information technology in history” (Harari, 2024, p. xxv).

From Keywords to Natural Conversations

Traditionally, online information retrieval involved searching indexed databases using specific keywords. GenAI tools change the game by allowing us to use everyday language to retrieve context-aware information. This shift requires a new digital competency known as “prompt engineering” – the sophisticated skill of crafting precise search queries for GenAI systems (Bates, 2024). Challenges arise when AI tools fabricate information – known as “hallucinating” – or misunderstand user intent. As the designer Bruce Mau says, “design is invisible… until it fails” (Ladino et al., 2017). When AI delivers unwanted results, poor prompt design is often the culprit.

Public Librarians: An Evolving Role

Librarians have long served as trusted intermediaries when information seeking goes awry (Nicholls, 2018). Librarians have historically guided the public in embracing new technologies, and must now act as what Bates calls “AI whisperers” (2024). The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) emphasises librarians’ crucial role in maximising the public’s information-handling skills (2021). In the age of AI, this role expands to include:

• AI Educators: Teaching patrons effective search strategies, including how to phrase queries and understand AI’s strengths and limitations. This also involves communicating potential pitfalls, like generating false information, and issues related to bias.
• AI Evaluators: Assisting users in assessing the reliability of AI-generated content and cross-referencing with trusted sources such as books, academic databases, and reputable websites.
• Modelling AI best practices: Demonstrating ethical AI use by respecting privacy and data protection regulations. Librarians should model adaptability and curiosity, while advocating for transparent, responsible regulation (Enis, 2024).

Honing New Literacies

Digital literacy is defined as the ability to “find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital information” (American Library Association, 2024). Public librarians can nurture burgeoning AI and algorithmic literacies by:

• Creating Accessible Resources: Developing easy-to-understand guides that bridge the digital divide, explaining AI concepts to patrons with varying levels of technological knowledge. Scotland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy recommends that public libraries include online resources about AI (Scottish Government, 2021).
• Offering Workshops: Hosting training sessions to teach prompt engineering, shifting focus from traditional search techniques to strategies like specificity and asking GenAI to cite its sources. Issues worth exploring include deep fakes and echo chambers (CILIP, 2021).

• Highlighting Balanced Sources: Encouraging readers to engage with a diverse range of authoritative perspectives. Librarians ensure the public’s right to receive information is upheld by guiding them to trustworthy resources (UNESCO, 2019).

A Call to Action

AI’s increasing presence in our everyday lives is inevitable. The stakes are high. Experts warn of AI’s potential to ignite a “misinformation apocalypse” (Suleyman and Bhaskar, 2023, p. 35). As librarians, we can respond to this challenge by ensuring that the democratic ideals of open and informed access remain at the forefront of our service. While search techniques are changing, our core skills – adaptability, creativity, and care – are more important than ever. Informed and engaged public librarians are necessary to help the public navigate the defining technology of our age.

 

Reference List

American Library Association (2024). Digital Literacy. Available at: https://literacy.ala.org/digital-literacy/ (Accessed: 10 November 2024).

Bates, M. E. (2024) ‘Voices of the Searchers: Librarians as Prompt Engineers’, Computers in Libraries, 44(2), pp. 35. Available at: https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/voices-searchers-librarians-as-prompt-engineers/docview/2954296456/se-2 (Accessed: 20 November 2024).

CILIP (2021) Research Report: The impact of AI, machine learning, automation and robotics on the information professions. Available at: https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/researchreport (Accessed: 10 November).

Enis, M. (2024) ‘Next Gen AI: 2023 Was A Breakout Year For Generative Artificial Intelligence, And Librarians Are In A Position To Help Patrons Work With This Technology’, Library Journal, 149(1), pp. 18. Available at: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2908774160?sourcetype=Trade%20Journals (Accessed 20 November 2024).

Harari, Y. N. (2024) Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. London: Fern Press.

House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (2018) AI in the UK: ready, willing, and able? (Chair: Lord Clement-Jones). London: Authority of the House of Lords.

Ladino, P., et al (2017) ‘A Conversation with Bruce Mau: Re-Thinking the Role of Design in Shaping our Future’, Giselle Carr Blog, 21 October 2017. Available at: https://www.gisellecarr.com/blog/2017/10/21/bruce-mau-re-thinking-the-role-of-design-in-shaping-our-future (Accessed: 10 November 2024).

Lo, L. S. (2023) ‘The Art and Science of Prompt Engineering: A New Literacy in the Information Age’, Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 27(4) pp. 203-210. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2023.2227621

Nicholls (2018) ‘Unpacking Digital Literacy’, in Reedy, Katherine (ed) Digital Literacy Unpacked. London: Facet Publishing.

Padlet AI (2025) Librarian fostering information literacy [Digital art]. Created for Leeanne Irwin, 27 February.

Scottish Government (2021) Scotland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Available at: https://www.scotlandaistrategy.com/the-strategy (Accessed: 15 November 2024).

Suleyman, M. and Bhaskar, M. (2023) The Coming Wave: Technology, Power and the Twenty-First Century’s Greatest Dilemma. London: Penguin Books.

UNESCO (2019) Steering AI and advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372132 (Accessed: 15 November 2024).