Deans' Panel: Evolution or Revolution? Digital Transformation, AI, and Academic Libraries
Location
KIPJ Theatre
Session Type
Event
Start Date
30-4-2024 10:15 AM
End Date
30-4-2024 11:10 AM
Abstract
Will AI displace a significant portion of traditional library workflows in the next 5-10 years? Should most libraries take a wait and see approach to these fast-paced technology trends, allowing a bleeding edge minority to take the risk first?With anticipation of a new round of digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all industries, three library deans reflect on what this means for academic libraries.Xuemao Wang will share leadership approaches for setting a bold and disruptive organizational vision, placing “transforming digital research methods” as the top priority for academic and research libraries, establishing a new mission and new value proposition. Jeff Steely will reflect on past incremental approaches to organizational change and the tension between revolutionary change that may be required now, and the constraints faced by libraries – flat budgets, internal resistance to change, and lack of clarity. Libraries on campus are not always a part of initial conversations related to emerging technologies impacting higher education. These, however, make their way to the library -- and quickly. Courtney Young will consider how the library might prepare for, participate in, and perhaps even take a lead role in exploring these emerging technologies, particularly where there is skepticism, mistrust, and fear.
Deans' Panel: Evolution or Revolution? Digital Transformation, AI, and Academic Libraries
KIPJ Theatre
Will AI displace a significant portion of traditional library workflows in the next 5-10 years? Should most libraries take a wait and see approach to these fast-paced technology trends, allowing a bleeding edge minority to take the risk first?With anticipation of a new round of digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all industries, three library deans reflect on what this means for academic libraries.Xuemao Wang will share leadership approaches for setting a bold and disruptive organizational vision, placing “transforming digital research methods” as the top priority for academic and research libraries, establishing a new mission and new value proposition. Jeff Steely will reflect on past incremental approaches to organizational change and the tension between revolutionary change that may be required now, and the constraints faced by libraries – flat budgets, internal resistance to change, and lack of clarity. Libraries on campus are not always a part of initial conversations related to emerging technologies impacting higher education. These, however, make their way to the library -- and quickly. Courtney Young will consider how the library might prepare for, participate in, and perhaps even take a lead role in exploring these emerging technologies, particularly where there is skepticism, mistrust, and fear.
Comments
Courtney Young is University Librarian at Colgate University as well as co-coordinator for one of the academic commons. Before coming to Colgate, she held library positions at Penn State University, Michigan State University, and The Ohio State University. Courtney has served in a variety of leadership roles in the American Library Association (ALA), including being elected the 2014-2015 ALA President.
Xuemao Wang is the Dean of Libraries, Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian for Northwestern University. In his role, Xuemao oversees and facilitates visions, strategies and plan implementation for the University Libraries. Xuemao has over 30+ years of diverse library and information technologies, services, management, and leadership experiences, with a career that spans the public, academic, large library consortium and international library worlds. He has held global leadership positions in the IFLA, ALA, CRL, ARL, SPARC, OhioLINK, HathiTrust, and BTAA. He has been frequently invited to international conferences to give speeches on topics of digital transformation, digital scholarship, and library strategic planning. Prior to working at Northwestern, he served as the Vice Provost for Digital Scholarship, Dean and University Librarian of the University of Cincinnati. He has also held leadership positions at Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, Queens Public Library and worked as an academic librarian in China in his early career.
Jeff Steely began his role as Dean of Libraries in December 2015. Prior to coming to Georgia State, Mr. Steely served as Associate Dean and Director of Central Libraries at Baylor University in Waco, TX. Earlier positions at Baylor included Assistant Dean, Director of Central Libraries, Assistant Director for Client Services, and Outreach Services Librarian. Jeff began his professional career as the serials librarian for the Library of the U.S. Courts in Chicago, IL. Dean Steely is a graduate of Bethel College (KS) and holds an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin. He has participated in the Harvard/ACRL Leadership Institute and was a 2014 CLIR/EDUCAUSE Leading Change Institute fellow. Mr. Steely is active in numerous regional and national organizations and served as the 2015-2016 president of the Library Leadership and Management Association.