Checking out AI: University library puts emerging technology to the test
In a meeting room at the C. V. Starr East Asian Library, a Chinese film poster flickers onto a large screen. Haiqing Lin, the library's head of technical services, is demonstrating an interface he built. With a few practiced clicks, he sends the image—one of 2,000 posters from the Paul Fonoroff collection—through an artificial intelligence model. Seconds later, a draft catalog description appears.
At the C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Haiqing Lin, head of technical services, showcases an AI-powered interface that translates and generates metadata for posters in the Paul Fonoroff collection. This tool promises to revolutionize cataloging by leveraging Google's Gemini AI models via an API. Lin emphasizes that AI enhances, rather than replaces, librarians' expertise.
In the UC Berkeley Library, Carolyn Caizzi, associate university librarian for digital initiatives, advocates for a human-centered approach to AI adoption. Associate natural resources librarian Becky Miller successfully applies AI to catalog agricultural extension publications from the 1960s and '70s, digitizing previously inaccessible materials for researchers. Over 300 items have been cataloged using AI-generated descriptions.
At The Bancroft Library, Christina Velazquez Fidler tackles the challenge of processing born-digital archives. She employs AI-generated Python scripts to identify sensitive data, such as Social Security numbers, allowing staff to protect and make public materials more efficiently. This innovation enables archivists to process larger volumes of digital files and accelerate research access.
The Library's Scholarly Communication and Information Policy team, led by Rachael Samberg, plays a crucial role in navigating legal barriers for AI applications in research. By collaborating with experts like David Bamman, they successfully secured a Copyright Office exemption, enabling researchers to legally digitize DVDs for scholarly analysis.
This breakthrough allowed Bamman's team to study the increasing onscreen diversity in Hollywood films since 2010, publishing their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These advancements underscore the Library's commitment to harnessing AI responsibly to enhance research and broaden access to knowledge.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
