Wolfgram Memorial Library Workshop Series Promotes AI Literacy and Resources

Wolfgram Memorial Library Workshop Series Promotes AI Literacy and Resources

Artificial Intelligence is shaping industries across the globe and affecting the jobs of today - and tomorrow. Widener University recognizes the importance of providing a learning environment where students can understand and apply effective and ethical uses for the technology, which is critical in their preparation for future careers.

Students, faculty and staff are already using AI in their daily lives, but each day there is more to learn. In support of this effort to continually develop AI skills and knowledge, Wolfgram Memorial Library hosted a spring workshop series aimed at tackling AI literacy.

"The library faculty have been teaching information literacy skills as they apply to generative AI tools to students and faculty for the past year or so," said Kayla Van Osten, research & instruction librarian and assistant archivist. "We decided to use our annual spring workshop series to explore this connection between information literacy and gen AI tools in more depth."

Coinciding with National Library Week, Wolfgram Library's "Thriving in a Digital World" workshop series hosted by library faculty featured virtual workshops open to all students, faculty, and staff to learn about copyright issues pertaining to AI, generative AI and information literacy, AI ethics and equity, and leveraging AI tools in research.

"As information science professionals, librarians take an objective approach to all emerging technologies including generative AI. We feel it's important for students to develop and use critical thinking skills when they engage in the research process, especially when using new tools," said Van Osten.

Mackenzie Gregoire '28 attended three of the library's AI virtual workshops over the week they were hosted. While she does use AI, she recognizes the tools are not without their faults.

"AI is advancing so quickly, it's so useful and intelligent, yet still very flawed. It's very useful in my daily life as a student," said Gregoire. A biology major, she mostly uses AI as a study tool by asking it to explain concepts differently or create examples and practice pages.

In addition to the workshop series, Widener recently hosted the university's first AI Day which provided an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, alumni and industry professionals to gather and discuss the rapid growth and impact of AI technology.

"AI Day was really focused on critical AI literacy and ensuring we know how these tools work, their limitations, challenges and what opportunities they can provide us with," said Thomas Wilk, assistant professor of philosophy and co-chair of the Widener AI working group.

Gregoire found Wolfgram Library's workshops to be engaging and informational, sharing that her biggest takeaway from the events was to be smart about the ways in which she uses technology.

"It's important to learn how to use AI effectively because when used the right way it can be a very useful tool in terms of research, studying, and writing," said Gregoire. "Critical thinking is still very important, and we can't solely rely on AI to be credible. I also thought it was interesting to learn that the law doesn't recognize AI as an author, so sometimes it can be difficult to say who gets credit."

"I hope our students, faculty and staff are able to pause before using any gen AI tool, to consider if it is the best tool for their need, and to think critically about the results they receive," said Van Osten. "I also hope they have a better understanding on how gen AI tools work and why it matters where the data comes from."

Recordings of Wolfgram Memorial Library's "Thriving in a Digital World" workshop series are available online, along with more tools from the library about AI and information literacy.