AI and the Future of Academic Libraries: Understanding the Current Situation

In the third webinar of the series, “AI and the Future of Academic Libraries: Understanding the Current Situation,” ODI will continue the discussion on how artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every stage of the research process, from how students formulate questions to how scholars discover, evaluate, and synthesize information. As AI tools increasingly become the starting point for research, academic libraries, publishers, and technology providers are confronting fundamental questions about changing user behaviors, evolving expectations, and the future of scholarly discovery. What trends are emerging? How are researchers actually using AI? And what do these changes mean for libraries that have traditionally served as the gateway to scholarly information? Join panel experts Clifford Anderson (Yale University), Melissa Mallon (Vanderbilt University), and Russell Michalak (Goldey-Beacom College), and moderator, ODI Standing Committee member Andrew Adler (Western Kentucky University), to examine the current state of AI’s impact on higher education. Rather than focusing on predictions or solutions, panelists will explore what we are seeing today, discuss how AI is influencing academic libraries, and identify the opportunities and challenges that are already reshaping the academic information ecosystem.

Nov 17, 2026 2:30 PM — 4:00 PM