The relationship between librarians and information technologies (2024)

The biggest difference between the librarians and the information technology professionals is that while the IT professionals focus in the systems and technologies related to information, we focus on the curation of the content and the user’s needs. Although closely related to IT, this type of work does not involve the direct usage of complex technologies. For example, it is possible to add value without programming. Our role is to clearly understand the demands of the user and to communicate that to the tech professional so they can design better systems.

However, the profession evolved with society. If before the information was only registered in books and physical documents, today it is registered in the digital environment. The logic is the same, but the working instruments have changed. Today, mastering internet research techniques is a highly valued skill, especially in areas such as health, legal, technology and the financial market. This migration of information to the Web environment caused new technologies to emerge. The Semantic Web and Artificial Intelligence are two examples of technology that directly impact the librarians’ work in this new era.

Of course, all this change has brought the debate about the end (or not) of the librarian. During my undergraduate years there was a lot of talk about the end of the physical book, the end of the physical library, and the end of the librarianship itself, which would be replaced by the dreaded robotization. However, I believe that, on the contrary, artificial intelligence and other technologies are now allied with the information professional to facilitate processes and improve delivery to the end user.

As I said at the beginning of this text, the instruments have changed, however, the logic of the information cycle remains the same. Although, we cannot pretend that the information professional can remain oblivious to technologies. Exactly because the instruments have changed, the way we work has also changed and, therefore, we need to learn and develop new skills. I still think a librarian can work without knowing how to program (for how long, though?), but the librarian cannot fail to understand everything that involves the technologies they deal with every day. Therefore, thinking about artificial intelligence, I have separated some terms that are crucial for understanding this topic and I will explain them below, giving examples of how we can use them as our allies within librarianship. I hope it can inspire you as it spired me to learn more about the usage of new technologies in the libraries.

Algorithm

It is a set of rules that define a sequence of operations. In artificial intelligence, algorithms are used by machine learning programs to make predictions from a set of analysed data.

Librarians can use algorithms to organize books and information, following standards. As well, it is possible to use them to recommend personalized works according to the user's profile.

Chatbots

They are services based on a conversation flow with artificial intelligence. In other words, it is possible to converse and interact with robots through messaging applications. With machine learning, the chatbot improves over time to make more human and personalized contacts.

In their role, librarians can gain an ally to talk to users. What optimizes working time and makes the professional's activity more strategic.

Natural Language Processing

It is the field of computer science and artificial intelligence involved with the interactions between computers and human languages. This area, in particular, is concerned with programming computers to process natural language data.

Librarianship has studied Natural Language Processing from the very beginning. In this way, throughout its history, it developed methodologies to understand linguistic phenomena. For example: ambiguity, hom*onymy, synonymy, polysemy, regionalism, among others.

With such knowledge, the librarian uses techniques to capture the different needs and contexts of the user who craves information. That is, the professional knows the difficulties, the associations of terms used and the paths of those seeking knowledge.

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