AI’s invisible human library labor | American Libraries Magazine

Man frustrated with his computer Jennifer Chapman writes: “Efficiency is one of the main selling points for new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, but efficiency is oftentimes the result of the AI tool and invisible human labor. Reading a white paper from Glean’s Work AI Institute about AI’s hidden human labor made me think about the invisible labor librarians are doing. This post looks at some of the ways law librarians are performing this labor and creating an illusion of efficiency for primary users.”

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, June 19; Glean Work AI Institute, June 10

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Nicky Martin and Tracee Haupt Fugate write: “Preserving a website is complicated. Even a simple webpage can depend on dozens of images, videos, scripts, style sheets, and other resources scattered across the web. If some of those pieces are missed, the archived version may look or behave differently than the original. That is why quality assurance (QA) is an important part of web archiving.” They report on a project to evaluate an automated QA tool for website archiving.

Library of Congress: The Signal, Sept. 8
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Daly Barnett writes: “Doxxing is the deliberate disclosure of personal information to bully, harass, intimidate, or instigate a chain of harms against someone. The responsibility is on each of us to protect ourselves, but the good news is that there’s a lot you can do to reduce your digital footprint and take control of your data. In this two-part series, the first part focuses on prevention and ways to reduce your overall footprint, while the second focuses on incident response.”

Electronic Frontier Foundation, Aug. 31
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Kari Kivinen writes: “Finland’s Faktabaari EDU digital information literacy project has published a draft English version of a total of 286 task cards for teaching artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, covering early education through higher education. The cards are organized by level of education and, within each level, by subject. Each card is based on the principle of AI as supporting tool in which AI can be used to support human thinking, learning, and action, not as a source of information or a substitute for decision making.”

Kivinen, Sept. 2
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Samantha Bischof writes: “I am approaching the end of my second year as children’s librarian, and I am so proud of the work that my coworkers and I have put in over the past few years. The library is warm, colorful, and inviting, and our circulation and program numbers reflect that work. But most importantly (in my opinion), the feedback from our community has been positive and encouraging. I am fulfilled and proud, but, boy, am I tired.”

ALSC Blog, Sept. 8
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Ginelle Baskin and Kim Godwin write: “Academic librarians have long supported teaching and learning, but involvement in open educational resources (OER) initiatives has opened new pathways for leading and supporting faculty development and created opportunities for librarians to collaborate on projects that promote course redesign, instructional innovation, and reflective teaching. In this article, we share how an academic librarian and faculty member have successfully collaborated to lead OER programming at our institution and offer practical takeaways for others in similar roles.”

College and Research Libraries News, vol. 87, no. 8, Sept.
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Lonna Vines writes: “Libraries across the country are navigating heightened immigration enforcement activity while trying to support community members and staff. Library leaders may face difficult decisions about how to respond to enforcement activity, address harassment, communicate with their communities, and protect patrons and employees, often with limited information about what other libraries are experiencing. Better data can help. The Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and Displaced Persons Subcommittee of the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services Advisory Committee has launched the Incidents Against Immigrants in Libraries reporting form.”

Public Libraries Online, Sept. 8
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Stacy Gilbert writes: “When we try to force an entire year’s worth of procedures into a single lesson, we lose the room, exhaust ourselves, and miss the mark. My ultimate goal for orientation can be summed up in one phrase: for students to want to come back and know how to. If you’re refining your plan this season, here are 7 common orientation traps that librarians fall into and tips for avoiding them.”

Knowledge Quest, Sept. 3

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