Will AI Kill Libraries? Pepperdine’s Dean of Libraries Mark Roosa Remains Optimistic

Mark Roosa, dean of libraries at Pepperdine University, recently authored a thought-provoking opinion piece published last week in WORLD titled “Will AI kill libraries?” In the op-ed, Roosa challenges the idea that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will spell the end of libraries as we know them and instead envisions a more optimistic future in which libraries and AI can coexist in harmony.

Throughout the article, Roosa discusses the evolving role of libraries in the age of AI, highlighting both the opportunities and concerns AI presents. While some fear that AI could render libraries obsolete, he believes AI can enhance librarians' ability to organize and provide access to information. However, challenges like maintaining scholarly integrity and the risk of profit-driven information ecosystems remain. Ultimately, Roosa argues, libraries must adapt to AI while preserving their core values of curiosity, morality, and knowledge stewardship.

“As librarians explore and use AI, we must bring with us what the technology can never have: curiosity and morality,” Roosa writes. “It is the librarian’s duty to ask good questions and pursue them with an open mind, to maintain integrity throughout inquiry, to select and cite high-quality sources, and to develop rational arguments and communicate them in a meaningful way. The good news is that if you are overwhelmed navigating the burgeoning information universe, your local librarians are here to help.”

Read the full article on the WORLD website.