A Librarian's Guide to AI-Enhanced Collection Management: Your First Steps (Integrating AI into Libraries)

Your collection tells your community who you are.Every book you add — and every book you keep — sends a message. But in an era of shrinking budgets, growing patron expectations, and collections that can number in the hundreds of thousands, even the most dedicated librarian can feel like they're making decisions in the dark.A Librarian's Guide to AI-Enhanced Collection Management: Your First Steps changes that.This practical, approachable guide shows you how AI tools can become your most valuable thinking partner across every stage of collection work — from selection and cataloging to weeding, display design, and the nuanced judgment calls in between. Not as a replacement for your expertise, but as an amplifier of it.Inside, you'll discover how to:Use AI to surface gaps in your collection before patrons notice themStreamline metadata quality control without sacrificing accuracyDesign displays that stop patrons mid-step and invite them inAsk better questions about the ethical implications of AI — and feel confident in your answersYou became a librarian because collections matter. Because representation matters. Because the right book in the right hands at the right moment can change everything.This guide helps you build that collection — smarter, faster, and more intentionally than ever before.The fourth book in the series Integrating AI into Libraries. Read more