THURSDAY - "Perspectives on AI" Mini-Conference: Final Keynotes and Session Schedule Posted!

 

 

OVERVIEW:

AI is reshaping libraries in ways that raise hard questions and real opportunities, and library workers are responding with everything from skepticism to excitement to alarm. This three-hour mini-conference, "Perspectives on AI: Exploring Experiences with AI in Library Work" on Thursday, April 9, 10:30 am - 1:30 pm US-Pacific Time, is designed to honor that complexity so attendees can form their own informed, values-grounded view. 

The mini-conference will explore AI from the angles that matter to library workers: 

• Understanding risks and potential harms;
• Practical applications in library and administrative work;
• Research and information literacy;
• Leadership decision-making; 
• Ethical considerations;
• Supporting patrons who are navigating AI in their own lives.

Please join us for a conversation that will be as broad and honest as the topic deserves. Attendance is free and open to all. We currently have 3,200 registrations, and the event is unlimited, so invite your friends and colleagues to join here.

CONFERENCE CHAIR:

Greg Lucas
California State Librarian
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL & SPECIAL ORGANIZER

Greg Lucas was appointed California’s 25th State Librarian by Governor Jerry Brown on March 25, 2014.

Prior to his appointment, Greg was the Capitol Bureau Chief for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered politics and policy at the State Capitol for nearly 20 years.

During Greg’s tenure as State Librarian, the State Library’s priorities have been to improve reading skills throughout the state, put library cards into the hands of every school kid and provide all Californians the information they need – no matter what community they live in.

The State Library invests $10 million annually in local libraries to help them develop more innovative and efficient ways to serve their communities.

Since 2015, the State Library has improved access for millions of Californians by helping connect more than 1,000 of the state’s 1,129 libraries to a high-speed Internet network that links universities, colleges, schools, and libraries around the world.

Greg holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science from California State University San Jose, a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California, and a degree in communications from Stanford University.

OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL:

Andres Ramirez
Director of Partnerships, AI Safety Awareness Foundation
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Andres has been living in Chicago for the past 25 years (minus a hiatus in Canada, Colorado, and Scotland). Across a 7 year span, he worked with 5 start-ups as an integral sales member, helping navigate and secure funding rounds. In 2024 he pivoted into AI safety, and now leads AISAP's execution on its partnership framework.

 

Linda Braun
Principal of The LEO Group
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Linda W. Braun is Principal of The LEO Group, where she works with libraries, schools, and nonprofits on strategic planning, organizational development, and program design. Much of her work sits at the intersection of culture change and systems — helping organizations move from transactional approaches to ones rooted in real relationships with the communities they serve. Her recent focus includes AI agent development and community-centered approaches to technology, including co-designing AI tools with the people who will actually use them. She serves on the Public Library Association's AI Task Force and has worked on projects with the California State Library, Workforce Council of Southwest Ohio, and Providence Public Library.

 

Nick Tanzi
Library Technology Consultant & Author
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Nick Tanzi is an internationally recognized library technology consultant, and author of the books Making the Most of Digital Collections Through Training and Outreach (2016) and Best Technologies for Public Libraries: Policies, Programs, and Services (2020). Tanzi is a past column editor for Public Library Magazine’s “The Wired Library,” and was named a 2025 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.

 

Robin Hastings
Library Services Consultant for the Northeast Kansas Library System
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL

Robin Hastings is the Library Services Consultant for the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS). In that capacity, she provides technology and consulting on library services to 40+ libraries in the NEKLS region as well as providing management for several state-wide services in Kansas. She has presented all over the world on Cloud Computing, Project Management, Disaster Planning and many other topics and teaches classes on library technology at Emporia State University and Library Juice Academy. Robin is the author of 5 books on library-related and technology topics as well as several articles in library-related journals. 

CLOSING KEYNOTE:

Crytal Trice
Founder, Scissors & Glue, LLC,

"5 Whys: No Easy Answers"

AI is reshaping how people access information, learn, and signal what they know. Before deciding how to respond, it helps to understand why everyone in the system is acting the way they are. This session uses the 5 Whys to explore five perspectives on AI and to make the case that libraries are exactly where this conversation needs to happen.

With over two decades of experience in libraries and education, Crystal Trice is passionate about helping people work together more effectively in transformative, but practical ways. As founder of Scissors & Glue, LLC, Crystal partners with libraries and schools to bring positive changes through interactive training and hands-on workshops. She is a Certified Scrum Master and has completed a Masters Degree in Library & Information Science, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. She is a frequent national presenter on topics ranging from project management to conflict resolution to artificial intelligence. She currently resides near Portland, Oregon, with her extraordinary husband, fuzzy cows, goofy geese, and noisy chickens. Crystal enjoys fine-tip Sharpies, multi-colored Flair pens, blue painters tape, and as many sticky notes as she can get her hands on.

REGISTER:

This is a free event, being held live online and also recorded.

REGISTER HERE

to attend live and/or to receive the recording links afterward.
Please also join the Library 2.0 community to be kept updated on this and future events. 

Everyone is invited to participate in our Library 2.0 conference events, which are designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among information professionals worldwide. Each three-hour event consists of a keynote panel, 10-15 crowd-sourced thirty-minute presentations, and a closing keynote. 

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

Here is the final conference schedule. Attendance instructions and session Zoom links will be sent to those who are registered (free):

10:30 am US - Pacific Time

• Opening Keynote: Greg Lucas (Host) with Andres Ramirez, Linda Braun, Nick Tanzi, and Robin Hastings (Link to session description)

11:30 am US - Pacific Time

• AI to Strengthen Relationships, Increase Visibility, and Reposition the Library as An Essential Partner in The Academic Mission: Sara Hack, Acting Associate Director, Learning Resources- Seminole, St. Petersburg College (Link to session description)
• Evaluating What Happens When AI Is Embraced, Not Rejected: Lorena Jordan, Policy and Government Librarian, George Mason University (Link to session description)
• Helping Patrons Navigate in AI-embedded World: Eun Ah Lee, Programming and Engagement Librarian, Plano Public Library (Link to session description)
• Pause, Prompt, Reflect: Teaching Metacognition in the Age of Large Language Models: Genova Brookes Boyd (she/her/hers), Assistant Professor of Library Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library (Link to session description)
• Real or Rendered: Detecting AI in the Wild: Kristina I. Dorsett, Research & Instruction Librarian, Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University (Link to session description)
• "Vibe Coding" With AI in the Library: Doug Baldwin, Associate Director Piscataway Public Library, Piscataway, NJ | Jim Craner, The Galecia Group (Link to session description)
• What it Would Take: Design Notes for Library-Grade AI: Chris Markman, Digital Services Manager, Palo Alto City Library | Melisa Mendoza, Nick Beber (Link to session description)

12:00 pm US - Pacific Time

• AI in Academic Libraries: Bridging the Gap between Technological Possibilities and Institutional Realities: Mandira Bairagi, Scholar, Department of Library and Information Science, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, India, Librarian, DVR & Dr HS MIC College of Technology | Dr Shalini Lihitkar (Link to session description)
• AI Literacy Programs and GenAI tools at Toronto Public Library: Sumaiya Ahmed, Librarian, Innovation (AI Upskilling Services), Toronto Public Library (Link to session description)
• Human-Centered AI: Policies and Practices to Elevate—and Safeguard—the Library Workforce: Robin Hastings, Library Services Consultant, North East Kansas Library System (NEKLS) (Link to session description)
• Learning about AI through Science Fiction: Reed Hepler, Digital Initiatives/Copyright Librarian and Archivist (Link to session description)
• Onboarding Made Simple for Any Department.: David Daghita, Accounts Services Supervisor (Link to session description)
• Practical AI in Public Libraries: Scott Lipkowitz, Assistant Director & Digital Services and Technology Librarian (Link to session description)
• “Using AI or Refusing?”: Preliminary Statewide Survey Results on AI in Public Libraries: Kristin Fontichiaro, Clinical Professor, University of Michigan School of Information (Link to session description)

 12:30 pm US - Pacific Time

• AITD Generator: A Practical Tool for Implementing AI Use Disclosure in Academia: Sergio Santamarina (Librarian) (Link to session description)
• Building AI Literacy: A Student Success Librarian’s Approach: Aída Almanza-Ferro, Student Success Librarian, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (Link to session description)
• Building Worlds with AI: A New Zealand Public Library Approach to Creative and Responsible AI Engagement: Amy Chiles, Libraries Learning Specialist, Christchurch City Libraries (Link to session description)
• "Defining what we do all over again!" Generative AI's Impact on Academic Library Reference Services: David E. Williams, Head of Research, Engagement, and Faculty Support, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA (Link to session description)
• Introduction to Key AI Safety Concepts, and Mental Models for Thinking: Andres Ramirez, Director of Partnerships, AI Safety Awareness Foundation (Link to session description)
• LIS RESEARCH PRACTICE USING GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS: Ken Herold, California State University, Los Angeles (Link to session description)
• The Age of Vibe-Coding: When Happens When Anyone Can Build Anything: Kyle Bylin, Research and Assessment Librarian, Saginaw Valley State University (Link to session description)

 1:00 pm US - Pacific Time

• Closing Keynote: Crystal Trice: "5 Whys: No Easy Answers" (Link to session description)

PARTNERS:

This conference is a collaborative project of California Libraries Learn, the California Library Association, California State Library, and Library 2.0. It is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.