The purpose of this series is to learn and explore the tangible applications and implementations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all types of libraries in the Minitex region. AI is fast developing and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments, let alone explore them all yourself! These are 20-30 minute bite-sized presentations with Q&A or demonstrations on a variety of topics.
2024 Recordings
August 6, 2024: The Promise and Perils of Generative AI: What You Need to Know
Laura Allen (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She conducts research on how people learn with text and discourse, using AI and data science to model student learning and provide personalized feedback based on students' language in educational technologies. Allen kicked off the AI Knowledge Bytes series with an introduction to generative AI in various domains, highlighting innovative applications and the significant advancements it has enabled. Additionally, she addresed the complex set of challenges posed by this rapidly evolving technology, considering ethical, societal, and technical perspectives.
August 20, 2024: AI Research Tools Petting Zoo
Mozhdeh Khodarahmi (Associate Library Director of Access, Instruction, and Research Services) and Brigid McCreery (Research and Instruction Librarian) from Macalester College presented. Mozhdeh has been immersing herself in the study of artificial intelligence since early 2023 and undertook a project recently to test AI tools designed to help academic researchers with literature reviews and hypothesis generation. In this session, attendees learned how to leverage two powerful AI academic search tools: Elicit and Semantic Scholar, as well as two AI visual representation and literature mapping Tools: ResearchRabbit and Open Knowledge Maps.
- View recording of AI Research Tools Petting Zoo
- AI Research Tools for Library Handout
- AI Research Tools Petting Zoo Presentation Slides
September 10, 2024: Event Planning and Marketing with ChatGPT
Megan Peddycord Bratton is the PR & Marketing Manager at Natrona County Library. With over 15 years of experience, she has honed her expertise in brand development, web optimization, graphic design, social media, and public relations. She has a deep passion for integrating technology in creative ways, especially within the library setting. Megan’s proficiency in artificial intelligence has been pivotal in enhancing digital content and marketing strategies. Megan demonstrated how ChatGPT can revolutionize content creation and creative tasks in the library environment. Her presentation highlighted some of her experiments using ChatGPT in event planning, copywriting, and marketing at the library.
October 8, 2024: Data Analysis with Pinpoint and Considerations for your Audience
Cynthia Tu is a data reporter and AI specialist at Sahan Journal. She analyzes public datasets, uncovers hidden patterns and trends in numbers, and tells stories with compelling data visualizations. In this presentation, she is going to demonstrate how she uses the AI tool Pinpoint to analyze data, find patterns, and tell stories. Cynthia will also discuss the importance of data transparency and her effort to make data-driven reporting more accessible to readers of Sahan Journal.
November 12, 2024: Cataloging with ChatGPT
Conrrado Saldivar is the Tech Services Manager at Natrona County Library. His presentation will highlight some of his experiments using ChatGPT in cataloging, including: English-Spanish translation, subject heading ideation, and Dewey Decimal training. While there is great promise with this technology for catalogers, Conrrado will also point out some of the limitations he sees with ChatGPT as a cataloging assistant.
December 10, 2024: AI Literacy with Undergraduate Students
Kate Peterson is an Undergraduate Services Librarian at the University of Minnesota. Her teaching practice focuses on early undergraduates and active learning in person and online. She shared her work with students in first year experience courses during the rise of generative artificial intelligence. Kate is interested in exploring the value AI brings to academia and how we help students make decisions on if and when these tools are useful and effective.
- View recording of AI Literacy with Undergraduate Students
- AI Literacy with Undergraduate Students Presentation Slides
More About the Series
This event is organized by the Minitex Artificial Intelligence (AI) Community of Interest. We are a group of Minitex staff from across different units who are all interested and enthusiastic about the intersection of AI and libraries. We create learning opportunities such as webinars, discussion forums, and articles, with an emphasis on tangible applications of AI at the local level.