In our latest blog, we’ve compiled tips and information to help put librarians in the driving seat when it comes to the safe, accurate and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in school libraries.
In recent years, generative AI has rapidly become part of the conversation in education: helpful, powerful, but also potentially risky. As noted in a thoughtful piece by our friends at Concord Infiniti, “Ignoring AI isn’t an option. But nor is rushing it into classrooms without the right protections.”
For school librarians working with intelligent library management systems like Infiniti and LibPaths, there’s an important role to play and the stakes are high.
Adopting AI-capable tools in a way that supports your professional judgment, safeguards students and enriches your library’s digital content creation and curation capabilities is paramount.
Why librarians should engage carefully (and confidently) with AI
Here are some of the major concerns — and how librarians can stay in control:
- Accuracy: AI can generate content that appears plausible but is, in fact, false or misleading. Schools need to ensure any AI-derived material is checked for misinformation.
- Over-reliance: If students or staff treat AI as a shortcut, it risks undermining critical thinking, research skills or even the development of information literacy.
- Bias and representation: AI tools reflect the data they were trained on, which may carry hidden biases or exclude some voices and perspectives. Librarians must remain vigilant in curating fair and balanced resources for all.
How Infiniti & LibPaths library software can support librarians
When you’re working with cloud-native platforms like Infiniti (for your library management) and LibPaths (for digital content curation), you have an opportunity to make AI work with you, not for you.
- LibPaths, for instance, offers a curated environment: As Concord puts it, “Instead of sending students into the unfiltered internet or an unpredictable chatbot, LibPaths creates a safe and structured research environment. Teachers and librarians can curate multimedia, articles and readings into portals that model critical thinking and reliable sourcing.”
- This places librarians firmly in control: you define the resources, build the pathways and set the standards. In that sense, you are the AI! You’re simply using the tool to amplify your expertise, judgment and knowledge of your school curriculum and community.
- Infiniti, meanwhile, gives you the backbone: managing catalogues, circulation data, user engagement, integrating digital content, and more. This industry-leading combination means you won’t be passively using an AI tool, but actively shaping the digital library ecosystem.
Guidelines for safe and effective AI use in your school library
Here are some practical steps to keep things safe, ethical and effective:
- Set guardrails: Define when and how AI-generated content is used. Ensure that any AI outputs are reviewed and verified by a librarian or teacher before being made available to students.
- Emphasise human-in-the-loop: Library staff and educators must remain the final arbiters of quality. AI assists, but ultimately, you decide. The Concord article emphasises that AI should support rather than replace human judgement.
- Curate deliberately: Use LibPaths to create thematic, scaffolded research journeys rather than leaving users to wander through unfiltered content. A well-curated path fosters critical thinking and avoids the risks of “throwing students at the internet and hoping they find the right thing.”
- Teach information literacy: Use the introduction of AI tools as a chance to talk about how technology works, how to spot bias or misinformation, and why humans still matter in the information loop.
- Protect data and privacy: Ensure that no student-sensitive data is fed into AI tools without proper consent, anonymisation or protections. Data protection principles (transparency, control and integrity) apply universally.
- Monitor and reflect: Regularly review how the tools are being used — what’s working, what isn’t, whether the student outcomes are improving — and adjust accordingly.
Why this matters — and why library managers need to act
In a world where digital content, remote learning and hybrid library access are increasingly the norm, the role of the school librarian is more vital than ever.
AI offers potential shortcuts, efficiencies and new forms of engagement, but if managed unwisely, it could erode the very values you’re trying to promote: accuracy, critical thinking, guided research and equal access.
By embracing AI tools through Infiniti & LibPaths, but doing so thoughtfully, ethically and with you firmly in control, you turn potential risk into a genuine advantage. You help students access high-quality digital content, support the curriculum and build their information literacy for a future where AI is part of the landscape.
Remember: In essence, you are the AI!
Hopefully, one of the most empowering takeaways from this article is that when you design, create, curate and manage resource pathways in LibPaths, you become the intelligent system.
The “AI” isn’t just a black-box algorithm; it’s your decisions, your expertise, your understanding of your school community, wrapped in a tool that amplifies reach and impact, and most importantly, effectively supports the school curriculum and your learners.
Instead of fearing AI, embrace it. But on your terms. Let the tools support your vision and let your professional judgement lead the way.
In doing so, you will not only keep your library relevant, adaptive and future-ready, you will ensure it remains a place of trust, critical thinking and human-centred learning.
If you’d like to find out more about how Infiniti and LibPaths can support you on your library’s AI journey, please get in touch with our friendly (human) team for a free consultation and demo!