This presentation was provided by Amanda Wheatley and Sandy Hervieux of McGill University, during the NISO Webinar "Discover and Online Search, Part Two: Personalized Content, Personal Data," which was held on June 19, 2019.

1. VOICE-ASSISTANTS, ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, AND THE FUTURE OF
INFORMATION LITERACY
Amanda Wheatley, McGill University
Sandy Hervieux, McGill University
NISO Discovery and Online Search, Part Two: Personalized Content, Personal Data
June 2019

2. THE RESEARCH TEAM
Amanda Wheatley -
Liaison Librarian for Management, Business, &
Entrepreneurship
Sandy Hervieux -
Liaison Librarian for Political Science, Philosophy,
and the School of Religious Studies

3. TODAY’S TOPICS
Intro to Voice Assistants
AI in Libraries
The Future of Information Literacy
Next Steps

4. Intro to Voice Assistants

5. HEY SIRI… WHAT IS A VOICE ASSISTANT?
Voice-drivensoftware
agent
Recordingssentto
server
Commandis
interpreted
Computer sends
answer toassistant
Assistantrelaysdata,
playsmedia,or
completestasks

6. MAJOR PLAYERS
• Apple’s Siri – 2010
• Microsoft’s Cortana - 2013
• Amazon’s Alexa - 2014
• Google (Assistant) - 2016

7. WHAT CAN THEY DO
According to Hoy (2018), the combined capability of these four voice assistants includes:
• Texting, phone calls, email
• Basic informational queries
• Sets timers, reminders, alarms, and calendar entries
• Makes basic math calculations
• Controls media playback from connected services (Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, etc.)
• Controls Internet-of-Things enabled devices (lights, thermostats, alarms)
• Tell jokes and stories

8. *RECORD SCRATCH* BASIC INFORMATIONAL
QUERIES?
• Each of these devices is capable of answering questions within their known-
item limits.
• Pushing the voice assistants to answer more complex questions could result
in relevant and accurate answers.
• Voice assistants can be updated independently/by third parties to enhance or
grow features.

9. Statista. (2019). Total number of Amazon Alexa skills in selected countries as of January 2019. Retrieved from Statista database.

10. Statista. (2017). Ownership of smart home devices and smart speakers in the United States from 2015 to 2022 (in million households/unit in use). Retrieved from Statista database.

11. AI in Libraries

12. ENVIRONMENT SCAN - METHODOLOGY
● Evaluated the university and university library websites of 25 research-intensive
institutions
● Searched for keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, AI
hub
● Library websites:
○ Strategic plans/mission/vision
○ Topic/research/subject guides
○ Programming
○ Partnerships
● University websites:
○ AI hubs
○ Courses
○ Major researchers

13. ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN - SAMPLE
U15
● University of Alberta
● University of British Columbia
● University of Calgary
● Dalhousie University
● Laval University
● University of Manitoba
● McGill University
● McMaster University
● University of Montreal
● University of Ottawa
● Queens University
● University of Saskatchewan
● University of Toronto
● University of Waterloo
● Western University
US Top 10 – Times Higher Education
● California Institute of Technology
● Harvard University
● Johns Hopkins University
● Massachusetts Institute of Technology
● Princeton University
● Stanford University
● University of California Berkeley
● University of Chicago
● University of Pennsylvania
● Yale University

14. 100%
Of university libraries do not mention artificial
intelligence in their strategic plans.

15. ENVIRONMENT SCAN - RESULTS
● All universities have an AI presence (AI hubs or course offerings)
● Only 1 academic library has a subject guide on AI (Calgary)
● Few libraries offer programming and activities related to AI (3)
● 68% of universities have significant researchers in the field
● Although some libraries have digital scholarship hubs, there is no
involvement with AI

16. OF THE 25 ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
SAMPLED, ONLY 2 ARE
COLLABORATING WITH AI HUBS.

17. CASE STUDY: WATERLOO
Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute: Centre for Pattern Analysis and Machine Learning
● Not currently affiliated with any library projects, however, the projects have great potential
impact on the research process
● Speech Transcription
○ 1) speech decoder engine to transcribe audio into understandable sequences
○ 2) search and semantic engine to retrieve results
● LORNET (Learning Object Repository Network)
○ Theme 4 - Knowledge Extraction and Learning Object Mining
○ “Addresses problems such as the representation and the extraction of learning object
repository contents, be it phrases, semantics, graphics or metadata. It also addresses the
organization and clustering techniques to extract common knowledge and classify the
elements of a collection of learning objects.”

18. KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS
AI in the Library
Agent technology to streamline digital
searching and suggest articles
“Conversational agents” or chatbots using
natural language processing
Digital libraries and information retrieval
RFID tags in circulation
AI in Higher Education
Digital tutors and online immersive
learning environments
Programs and majors dedicated to the
study across disciplines
Student researchers in AI hubs

19. The Future of Information
Literacy

20. INFORMATION LITERACY CONCEPTS
1. Information has value
2. Information creation as a process
3. Authority as constructed and contextual
4. Research as inquiry
5. Searching as strategic exploration
6. Scholarship as conversation
ACRL Framework Information Literacy Threshold Concepts
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

21. INFORMATION LITERACY CONCEPTS
1. Information has value
2. Information creation as a process
3. Authority as constructed and contextual
4. Research as inquiry
5. Searching as strategic exploration
6. Scholarship as conversation
ACRL Framework Information Literacy Threshold Concepts
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

22. RESEARCH AS INQUIRY
Researcher Practices
● Formulate questions based on information
gaps
● Determine appropriate scope
● Use various research methods
● Organization information in meaningful
ways
● Deal with complex research by breaking
complex questions into simple ones
Researcher Dispositions
● Consider research as open-ended
exploration
● Seek multiple perspectives during
information gathering
● Value intellectual curiosity in developing
questions
● Demonstrate intellectual humility

23. SEARCHING AS STRATEGIC EXPLORATION
Researcher Practices
● Identify interested parties who might
produce information
● Utilize divergent and convergent thinking
● Match information needs and search
strategies
● Understand how information systems are
organized
● Use different types of searching language
Researcher Dispositions
● Exhibit mental flexibility and creativity
● Understand that first attempts at
searching do not always produce results
● Realize that information sources vary
greatly
● Seek guidance from experts (such as
librarians)
● Recognize the value in browsing and other
serendipitous methods

24. AI, VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS, AND THE EVOLUTION OF
HABIT
“Many academic skills and rules are never found in research handbooks or statements of
learning goals. It is acquired knowledge, working as reflexes rather than conscious
actions.” (Lorgren, 2013, p.74)
“There is a slowly accumulated competence of cutting corners, skimming and skipping,
knowing what emails to answer, what memos to read, judging a book by holding it in
one’s hand. Although such routines may be experienced as very personal they are
intensely cultural...” (Logren, 2013, p.83)

25. THE MACHINES ARE COMING FOR US ALL
ArxivML
● Integrates with Amazon Alexa
● “reads the 50 most recent machine learning papers from arXiv”
● Alexa starts with the article title, followed by the abstract with an option to skip to
the next item

26. IS AI PREPARED TO ALLOW
RESEARCHERS TO CONTINUE
THEIR INFORMATION LITERACY
PROCESS?

27. IS AI CAPABLE OF BEING
INFORMATION LITERATE?

28. Next Steps

29. PHASE 1: THE ENVIRONMENT SCAN
PHASE 2: LIBRARIAN PERCEPTIONS
PHASE 3: DEVICE TESTING 1
PHASE 4: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS
PHASE 5: DEVICE TESTING 2
PHASE 6: AI EXPERIENCE

30. PHASE 2: LIBRARIAN PERCEPTIONS
● RESEARCH ETHICS BOARD APPROVAL (PENDING)
● DISTRIBUTION OF THE SURVEY
○ US and Canada
○ All types of libraries
● COMPILATION OF THE RESULTS
● PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS AT A CONFERENCE
● PUBLICATION OF THE RESULTS IN AN INFORMATION SCIENCES JOURNAL

31. PHASE 3: DEVICE TESTING 1
● SELECTION OF REFERENCE QUESTIONS
● CALIBRATING DEVICES
○ Apple’s Siri
○ Google Home
● EVALUATION MATRIX BASED ON RELEVANCE, ACCURACY, AUTHORITY
● POSTER PRESENTATION AT ALA ANNUAL
● PUBLICATION OF THE RESULTS IN AN INFORMATION SCIENCES JOURNAL

32. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
• More libraries and librarians need to be aware of the impact of artificial
intelligence and begin planning for this next wave of technology.
• Conversations about how AI and voice assistants will alter our understanding
of information literacy should be taking place now.
• New standards that integrate data/digital literacy with information literacy
will be crucial in creating a co-existent future.

33. REFERENCES
Allison, D. (2012). Chatbots in the library: is it time? Library Hi Tech, 30(1), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378831211213238
Cao, G., Liang, M., & Li, X. (2018). How to make the library smart? The conceptualization of the smart library. Electronic Library, 36(5), 811–825.
https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-11-2017-0248
CFLA-FCAB. (2018). CFLA-FCAB national forum paper: Artificial intelligence and intellectual freedom, key policy concerns for Canadian libraries.
Retrieved from http://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CFLA-FCAB-2018-National-Forum-Paper-final.pdf
Frederick, D. E. (2019). Information seeking in the age of the data deluge. Library Hi Tech News; Bradford, 36(2), 6–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-10-2018-0065
Tay, A. (2017). How libraries might change when AI, Machine learning, open data, block chain & other technologies are the norm. Musings about
librarianship. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2017/04/how-libraries-might-change-when-ai.html
Hoy, M. B. (2018). Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and More: An Introduction to Voice Assistants. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 37(1), 81–88.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2018.1404391
Jacknis, N. (2017, June 21). The AI-Enhanced Library. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from Norman Jacknis website:
https://medium.com/@NormanJacknis/the-ai-enhanced-library-a34d96fffdfe
Khalifa, A. B. (2017, January 18). arxivML: An Alexa skill to read latest machine learning papers from arXiv. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from Medium
website: https://medium.com/@aminert/arxivml-an-alexa-skill-to-read-latest-machine-learning-papers-from-arxiv-5da0562c7b79#.9umudto83

34. REFERENCES
library-policy. (n.d.-b). The Robots are Coming? Libraries and Artificial Intelligence « Library Policy and Advocacy Blog. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from
http://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/2018/07/24/the-robots-are-coming-libraries-and-artificial-intelligence/
Löfgren, O. (2014). Routinising research: academic skills in analogue and digital worlds. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 17(1),
73–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.854022
Plosker, G. (2018). Artificial Intelligence Tools for Information Discovery. Online Searcher, 42(3), 31–35.
Statista. (2017). Ownership of smart home devices and smart speakers in the United States from 2015 to 2022 (in million households/unit in use).
Retrieved from Statista database.
Statista. (2019). Total number of Amazon Alexa skills in selected countries as of January 2019. Retrieved from Statista database.
Coleman, C.N. (2017, November). Artificial intelligence and the library of the future, revisited. Retrieved April 16, 2019, from Stanford Libraries website:
http://library.stanford.edu/blogs/digital-library-blog/2017/11/artificial-intelligence-and-library-future-revisited

35. THANK YOU!
AMANDA.WHEATLEY@MCGILL.CA
SANDY.HERVIEUX@MCGILL.CA