12. Promoting AI and Data Literacy at an Academic Library

While machine learning has been used in libraries and higher education in different ways for several years, the rapid and growing availability of AI tools has brought the term AI to the forefront of many conversations. Librarians at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Library developed a response to promote AI and data literacy both within the library and the UCR community in general. Starting by leading an ongoing internal library discussion group - AI Intersection with Higher Education and the Academic Library - we developed an informal collaborative space to share ideas, concerns, experiences, and self-educate on the impact of AI on our work. This positioned the library within the larger campus to contribute to the response to AI tools, and provided a foundation for AI literacy workshops, which focused on fundamental knowledge of AI with emphasis on consumer level tools. The co-leads were especially mindful to include ethical implications, highlighting possible benefits and harms of AI tools. This poster will describe our experiences and challenges developing these initiatives. We will also highlight feedback from colleagues and learners, and share our future plans.