Name and Title:
Kristin Fontichiaro, Clinical Professor
Library, School, or Organization Name:
University of Michigan School of Information
Co-Presenter Name(s):
Steven Cederquist, Consultant
Area of the World from Which You Will Present:
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Language in Which You Will Present:
English
Target Audience(s):
Public librarians; state or cooperative library staff; library professional development leaders; faculty at ALA-accredited institutions
Short Session Description (one line):
Preliminary findings from a statewide survey on AI practices, beliefs, and needs in Michigan's public libraries ... and what your library can do with the results.
Full Session Description:
“We're fighting misinformation all day every day, and you want us to add the misinformation machine into our daily practice?” “[S]taff resistance comes from the fear of being replaced, or current work being automated … If training could show what someone else was able to move onto by utilizing AI maybe that would help to address those concerns." “Have libraries experienced backlash from their communities for using AI or for refusing?”
Those are some of the many strong responses we received in March 2026 when we surveyed Michigan library staff about current, desired, and future use of AI in public libraries. Want to know how they stack up against your library’s beliefs and practices?
In this session, we share what we learned when we asked librarians from a wide cross-section of library budgets and community characteristics to tell us what they really thought, did, and hoped for regarding AI adoption, from data centers to patron privacy, library policy to fear of lost imagination.
We’ll share our preliminary analysis in approachable language (you won’t hear us discussing standard deviation here!), invite you to reflect on how their responses match up with those of your co-workers, and provide some ideas for the kinds of PD that everyday public librarians are asking – and not asking – for.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:
https://bit.ly/ai-survey-results (content forthcoming)
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