This interactive session equips library professionals with practical strategies for implementing AI chatbots to extend reference services beyond traditional hours. Participants will explore the current landscape of chatbot solutions, from vendor-integrated platforms to custom implementations, and develop evaluation criteria based on institutional needs, technical capacity, and budget. The presentation addresses critical implementation elements including knowledge base development, system integration, privacy safeguards, and accuracy management. Through case studies from various library types, attendees will examine successful deployments and common pitfalls, learning strategies to mitigate AI hallucinations and establish appropriate escalation protocols. Emphasis is placed on change management, including techniques for building staff confidence and setting realistic user expectations. The session explores assessment frameworks using metrics such as query resolution rates, user satisfaction, and impact on traditional reference transactions. Attendees receive practical tools including a platform selection framework, implementation timeline, and staff training templates. Interactive discussion encourages participants to share experiences and collaboratively address common obstacles. This session benefits anyone involved in reference services, technology implementation, or service innovation, regardless of prior AI experience. Participants leave prepared to make informed decisions about chatbot adoption in their own contexts, balancing innovation with the quality and accessibility users expect from library services.
Library workers need professional learning that is flexible, relevant, and available across roles, library types, and locations. In practice, access is often uneven; shaped by staffing, schedules, geography, and local capacity. A statewide membership organization developed a Learning Management System (LMS) to address this, expanding access to high-quality learning and creating a more equitable model for supporting library workers across the state.
This session will share how the LMS was designed, built, and continues to evolve as both a platform and a strategy for broadening access. Attendees will see key features including the course catalog, self-paced and instructor-led offerings, structured learning pathways, digital badges, and transcripts. The session will also examine the practical decisions behind those features: how content is curated, how learning is organized for different needs, how accessibility shaped design, and how the platform supports library workers' professional goals.
Attendees will leave with concrete ideas they can apply in their own settings; whether that is building a learning platform, strengthening an existing program, or creating more structure around professional development. The session will include lessons learned and the features and design decisions that proved essential to making the platform work.
Academic libraries increasingly provide access to immersive technologies, yet most initiatives emphasize consumption rather than creation. This session presents a library-led pilot integrating novice virtual-reality scene authoring into a Public Health course through faculty partnership using a scaffolded Unity workflow requiring only three core elements: interactive hotspot, narration, and linked scene.
The pilot informs development of a forthcoming Virtual Learning Center creation badge designed to credential immersive-authoring skills across disciplines. Attendees will learn how libraries can implement low-barrier XR creation frameworks, partner with faculty, and expand equitable access to immersive content development.
Emerging technology trends are rapidly evolving and have the power to transform the way libraries operate. Stay ahead of these changes by joining our Top Tech Trends panel! Our expert panelists, representing a diverse range of libraries, will share their insights on the latest technological developments and their potential impact on library services and staff. This session will explore key trends shaping the future of libraries and provide valuable perspectives on how to navigate these innovations. Come ready with questions—our panelists are excited to discuss and engage with you!
Libraries have long embraced open-source software as a practical alternative to costly proprietary systems, but participation in these communities often stops at the download. Many library staff assume that contributing back requires programming skills they don’t have — leaving a significant gap between what libraries consume and what they give back to the tools they depend on.
This session challenges that assumption. Contributing to open-source projects takes many forms: writing documentation, translating interfaces, submitting bug reports, testing new releases, and advocating for features that serve library-specific needs. None of these require writing a single line of code.
Drawing on real examples from libraries of varying sizes and resource levels, this session explores what motivates institutions to start contributing, what barriers they encounter, and what sustainable participation looks like when staff are already stretched thin. The session also addresses how to make the case to administrators that time spent on open-source contribution is time well spent.
Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of the contribution landscape, concrete first steps regardless of technical skill level, and a framework for building institutional support for ongoing participation.
Public libraries are no longer just talking about AI; they are putting it to work! This panel will feature leaders from multiple library systems sharing how they are advancing AI through strategy, staff enablement, public engagement, and pilot projects. Panelists will discuss practical lessons from early implementation, including how they are selecting use cases, supporting internal adoption, exploring emerging tools, and connecting AI efforts to access, equity, and community needs. The conversation will also highlight how libraries can create meaningful public learning opportunities, including youth-centered and creative applications, while staying grounded in responsible use and service impact. Attendees will gain practical insights into how libraries are moving from AI exploration to execution, along with adaptable ideas for launching or strengthening their own efforts.
The last 24 months have been a rollercoaster for online resource access. Rapid changes in browser technologies and evolving regulatory frameworks have introduced new barriers and uncertainties, making it harder than ever to provide users with seamless, secure, and reliable access to the scholarly content they need. These challenges are reshaping how libraries, publishers, and service providers think about authentication and access.
SeamlessAccess is an initiative dedicated to improving the access experience by offering a collaborative framework that helps the community navigate the complex intersection of technology, policy, and user experience. Positioned at the crossroads of these evolving challenges, SeamlessAccess develops solutions grounded in four guiding principles: usability, privacy, reliability, and security.
This session will explore these principles, highlight the latest developments in the resource access ecosystem, and discuss the ongoing development of the Access Audit Toolkit – a practical framework for auditing resource access. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the shifting access landscape, practical strategies for evaluating and improving resource access, and a stronger sense of how SeamlessAccess supports libraries.
