ACLR - Democratizing Knowledge, Access, and Opportunities

The ACRL conference themed Democratizing Knowledge, Access, and Opportunities, was held on the 2 – 5 April 2025 in Minneapolis. The event brought together over 500 sessions and nearly 200 exhibitors, focusing on inclusivity, technological innovation, and the evolving role of libraries in higher education. The experience was enlightening, memorable and exciting, the first day of the conference was kicked off with the afternoon conference registration followed by the official opening. Speakers at the opening challenged us with question that needed answers as we try to navigate the present world and find solutions to challenges facing us every day in our work places. 

As custodians of information what are our responsibilities to leave the world that will benefit the next generation? Who works overtime to monopolize the present? Who owns the future and how can we share the future? Are the ones who hype AI the ones who cause our problems? Are Universities part of the problem or the solution? What counts as innovation and who count as innovators? How do we reimagine technology and society to create a narrative where humans participate? We were challenged to investigate the socialization of AI and the Civics of Technology. We were encouraged to be visionaries, to embrace and be beacons of social justice and transformation, to recognize our creative capacity and use our creativity to develop multiple instead of single solution and embrace abundant intelligence and ancestral intelligence. 

The key takeaways from the conference were AI Competencies for Library Workers, the emphasis was on the integration of AI tools like chatbots and generative AI into library services, highlighting the need for staff to develop AI literacy to enhance user engagement and streamline workflows. The systematic Reviews for Examination Purposes workshopprovided methodologies for conducting systematic reviews, underscoring their importance in academic research and curriculum development. ​Issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) discussions were centered around advancing strategic equity work, with sessions on “Beyond DEI: Advancing Strategic Equity Work in Times of Challenge” and offering insights into creating inclusive library environments. ​

Issues on Transforming Library Workflows and Teaching highlighted innovations in library instruction and service delivery which showcased, focusing on adapting to the changing needs of academic communities. ​The libraries should adopt partnering in kind and use AI to complete a compassion AI on libguides and library services. In our use of AI, we should be mindful of AI biases and also consider to conduct the review without AI because “AI can be colonialism on steroids”.

AI can be used collection maintenance and management for large collection data projects, comparing collections to reflect what is new and indicate differences. Library Metrics and Benchmarking can make use of tools like Mosaic by GOBI Library Solutions which demonstrated advancements in streamlining acquisitions and enhancing collection development. ​We explored generative AI research tools for research support in academic libraries: Three AI application were tested for research support elicit, consensus and research rabbit. 

On academic library leadership trauma informed leadership approach to legacy toxicity sessions addressed the challenges of workplace toxicity, offering strategies for creating healthier work environments and promoting staff well-being. ​ The libraries should consider mentorship for peer to peer and collaboration across different units and branches across the library.

Information literacy should view issues of disinformation as a “heart beating beneath floorboards” it should help develop critical thinking skills, the ability to analyze information resources and knowledge to identify different perspectives, to tell and write a story. Libraries disability services offices and repositories deals with legislative prescriptions, access and lack of remedial metadata and the libraries no keeping remedial stats.

The conference reinforced that we must commit to modern, user-driven library practices. The emphasis on AI and digital literacies aligns with our initiatives to integrate advanced technologies into our services. The focus on DEI resonates with our ongoing efforts to create an inclusive, transformative environment for all users. The insights on transforming workflows and teaching methodologies provide valuable guidance as we evolve our services to meet the dynamic needs of our academic staff, student community and researchers.​