Three Different Ways to Hold Conversations About AI: Peers, Patrons, and Staff

Unconferences.com will be hosting free online events for librarians and teachers, where participants drive both the agenda and the conversations. Voting starts today for the first unconference topic (choices include "AI and Libraries," "AI in Education," "Burnout and Compassion Fatigue," "The Future of Libraries," "Difficult Patron Behaviors," and "Homeless / Unhoused Patrons." You can vote for one or all. We'll pick the most wanted topic and schedule it for October. The goal is to hold one three-hour unconference each month.

 

 

The AI Safety Awareness Project is leading a nationwide initiative to equip library staff to host thoughtful discussions about AI at their branches with resources at no cost. This is a great avenue for staff to host an engaging event for their community. If you are interested in hosting a discussion at your library, or if you're a librarian or teacher who would like to volunteer your abilities as a conversation host, reach out to them at info@aisafetyawarenessproject.org. 

They are looking to organize 100s of events nationwide in October. AI is developing very quickly, and they think communities should have the opportunity to learn about + discuss how this technology is changing society. These facilitated discussions are similar to book clubs - a library staff member organizes the event and leads a discussion based on a shared piece of media (in our case, a video). The goal is for facilitated discussions to be easy to pick up and deliver. More at aisafetyawarenessproject.org.

 

Our staff training program on AI is being recorded today, and you can find out how to purchase an inexpensive license to use it with your staff, your region, your consortium, or your state here. This is a four-part training program, 30 minutes each, with a facilitator's guide for local discussion.

"AI Foundations for Your Library Team" is designed to get an entire staff to a shared starting point. The content starts with the basics and is library-specific. For staff who already use AI, the sessions provide an opportunity to slow down, reflect on their habits, and strengthen their practice with new strategies for evaluating, prompting, and using AI responsibly. It doesn't assume anyone has used these tools before, and it doesn't try to talk anyone into using them. Breaking the material into four shorter sessions gives people time to absorb the ideas, discuss them with coworkers, and come back with better questions.

The goal is to give your staff enough shared understanding to ask better questions, make better judgments, and help patrons navigate AI with confidence.

Next Week: "10 No-Compromise Decisions Every Library Should Make About AI"

10 No-Compromise Decisions Every Library Should Make About AI
A Library 2.0 AI Workshop with Crystal Trice

OVERVIEW: 

Most AI questions in libraries are judgment calls: it depends on the task, the tool, and the community. Some decisions, however, call for a clear institutional line. Underneath the gray areas sits a set of principles where a library should plant its feet and stay there, no matter which tools arrive next or how the public conversation about AI shifts.

This workshop explores ten decisions where libraries should draw a clear line. The focus is on the choices that can give staff and leaders a shared foundation, so they aren't left re-negotiating the same fundamental questions at every desk, in every department, with every new tool.

We'll consider the reasoning behind these decisions, test them against real library situations, and explore how clear institutional commitments can make the messy parts of AI easier to navigate. Participants will also get language they can use when these questions come up with colleagues, leadership, boards, vendors, and their communities.

Library values hold steady even when technology doesn't. Libraries have navigated every information upheaval by knowing what they will not compromise, and AI is no different. The goal is to know where your library's lines are before you're standing on them.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Evaluate which AI decisions are genuine judgment calls and which deserve a firm institutional line
• Apply clear commitments to real-world scenarios involving patrons, staff, vendors, and library services
• Defend AI-related decisions with reasoning grounded in library values and professional practice
• Align AI decisions with the principles that should guide the library regardless of which technology comes next

WHAT YOU'LL LEAVE WITH:

A clearer sense of where your library may need firm ground in an increasingly complicated AI landscape, along with ten decisions to consider as you develop or revisit your library's approach to AI.

The recording and presentation slides will be available to all who register.

DATE: Friday, September 18th, 2026, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm US - Eastern Time

COST:

• $99/person - includes live attendance, anytime access to the recording and presentation slides, and a participation certificate. To arrange group discounts (see below), to submit a purchase order, or for any registration difficulties or questions, email admin@library20.com.

TO REGISTER: 

Click HERE to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

• Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $75 each for 3+ registrations, $65 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
• The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $299.
• Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $499 (hosted either at Learning Revolution or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

CRYSTAL TRICE

With over two decades of experience in libraries and education, Crystal Trice is passionate about helping people work together more effectively in transformative, but practical ways. As founder of Scissors & Glue, LLC, Crystal partners with libraries and schools to bring positive changes through interactive training and hands-on workshops. She is a Certified Scrum Master and has completed a Masters Degree in Library & Information Science, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. She is a frequent national presenter on topics ranging from project management to conflict resolution to artificial intelligence. She currently resides near Portland, Oregon, with her extraordinary husband, fuzzy cows, goofy geese, and noisy chickens. Crystal enjoys fine-tip Sharpies, multi-colored Flair pens, blue painters tape, and as many sticky notes as she can get her hands on.

 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 11, 2026

September 16, 2026

September 25, 2026