International Federation of Library Associations Working Document on Artificial Intelligence

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has released a working document entitled Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence:

"The purpose of this working document is to set out considerations relevant for libraries developing a strategic response to Artificial Intelligence."

"The text is organised around developing a set of questions that prompt reflection and action (section 4). It is hoped that the document can support local decision making about AI (...)"

"Initial ideas for the report were derived from an event run at the University of Sheffield in April 2023 (...). An early version of this document as a working paper for comment was published on 4th June 2023. We would like to thank everyone who added thoughts and comments to this draft. We have also drawn in some data from a survey (N=111) linked to the Sheffield event and recirculated in July; respondents were a mix of HE and FE librarians and health librarians. As the audience was primarily in the UK this data should be understood as simply a snapshot of opinion in one context."

The document is divided into sections on:

• Defining AI
• Impact of AI on libraries
• Strategic context and a library SWOT
• Strategic responses to AI: Pros and cons
• Three important strategies