Beyond the Bookshelf: Data, AI, and the Future of Libraries

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Caterina Reed

On November 3, 2025, the University Libraries hosted an international panel discussion entitled “Beyond the Bookshelf: Data, AI, and the Future of Libraries.” The panel featured Ahmad Pratama (Stony Brook University Libraries), Dan Anthony Dorado (University of the Philippines Diliman School of Library and Information Studies), and Ryun Lee (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library). The panelists answered the following questions:

How is your library working to integrate AI and data? Give specific examples from your institution.
What is the state of AI and data within the field of librarianship in the Asia/Pacific region?
How are you currently teaching data science? What role should libraries play in teaching data skills?
How do libraries balance innovation with equitable access to digital tools and data?

The panelists provided practical examples with how their libraries are implementing AI. For example, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library is using machine learning for audio analysis. Stony Brook University Libraries has also developed its own large language model (LLM) server, enabling library staff to actively explore and integrate AI into their daily workflows. This initiative reflects a broader commitment to embedding data and AI into the library’s organizational structure and culture, fostering innovation and continuous learning.

There was discussion of digitization of both Chinese and Filipiniana materials and how this can lead to libraries building their own AI models that can better represent different languages, scripts, and knowledges. The speakers also addressed the ethical concerns surrounding the development of AI, such as labor exploitation in the Global South, including the southern part of the Philippines.

Data literacy and data science were also prominent in the conversation. The speakers discussed being able to have fluency in various literacies, including data and algorithmic literacy. Links to SBU Libraries Data Visualization Guide and Data Cleaning and Wrangling Guide were shared with audience members.

Over 100 participants from around the world joined the online discussion. Many thanks to our speakers for an incredible event!