Librarians in Action: Co-Creating Institutional Responses to Artificial Intelligence

Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping higher education, creating new opportunities and challenges for academic institutions. This presentation explores the roles of academic librarians at a Midwest university as they collaborated with colleagues from several departments and programs to address the potential impact of AI across two campuses. Methods: Librarians’ early engagement with AI resulted in an invitation to participate in an institutional steering committee tasked with developing an action plan for AI integration. The committee identified key university operations likely to be affected by AI and established specialized subcommittees for deeper investigation. Librarians actively engaged in these subcommittees and contributed to reports and surveys targeting the main campus the healthcare enterprise to gauge perceptions and inform policy. Results: Librarians supplied expertise by developing a comprehensive LibGuide, curating up-todate AI resources, offering guidance on survey design, producing an educational video series for both campus sectors, and evaluating Copilot for university-wide use. Other librarian efforts,such as a roundtable discussion on AI use in the classroom developed as part of a leadership development program contributed to a better understanding of AI. Discussion: Librarian involvement enriched committee deliberations and extended AI literacy across the university. This collaborative approach fostered a more nuanced, informed institutional response to AI. Through imagination and co-creation, librarians bridged disciplinary silos and modeled innovative campus leadership. Conclusion: Academic librarians played a vital role in facilitating institutional readiness for AI by leveraging their expertise, resources, and collaborative spirit—demonstrating the enduring value of imagination and co-creation in academic communities.