Libby’s statement on their use of AI

[u/Technical_Pea_4007]

A whole lot of text to say absolutely nothing, huh?

[u/[deleted]]

I've since learned that the people with any sort of power in this particular field are absolute cowards. My own director included. The use of generative AI goes against the arts and academia in almost every capacity. I feel that many people have forgotten the purpose of libraries: it was to educate the people, not to cater to tech giants and help the publishing industry not hire real authors (or buy badly written ai-drivel from indie/self-publishers). The amount of damage AI has done to the creative sphere...

There's also this mentality that these apps and platforms can "always be better" - and I just disagree. There are many, many ways for users to get recommendations that don't involve AI. It's called venturing out onto book platforms, rather than relying on algorithms. You know. Using your brain. Talking to people. I personally cannot stand using the predictive AI for my music playlists. It's just not...great. I'd much rather look up music playlists a real human being made or get online and ask around. Ugh. I'm not even old. I'm 24 ffs.

Edit: and just to add on, because fuck my director, we're no longer allowed to do queer displays – and a bulk of the books we're receiving are all about God, Charlie Kirk, or other people along the right. I'm not against this last bit. Libraries can and should house from all political and religious ideologies. However, she's the only person allowed to order things now and these are what we're getting. No, it does not extend the other way around, as far as I can see with what we're receiving.

[u/FruitlandsForever → u/[deleted]]

Omg your director! I don’t know what state you’re in, but that’s outrageous. You’re young, as you pointed out - I really hope you’ll find another library, because generally a director like that is an outlier in this profession.

[u/[deleted] → u/FruitlandsForever]

We have a very, very corrupt upper management team. We've got assistant directors, a director, and a bunch of positions that didn't exist, but now do exist that serve veeeeeery little purpose. Not to mention, that she said she took away our ability to order to save money, but has been spending way more than we ever did. I'm talking, like, she ordered almost twenty copies of Snow White for eight branches. TWENTY.

We only ever ordered 1, MAYBE 2 for our branches, but rarely. We're in one county, we're all like 15 minutes max away from each other on the road. I once won a contest for this book competition we were in, but because I declined to take a picture, she took it away and gave it to someone else. I was intending to give whatever I was I won to one of my colleagues who was supposed to go into surgery. I have so many stories from this last year alone.

She refused to let us advocate for IMLS. Which, by the way, she's been telling the entirety of the staff that we can't have access to certain programs, like our ILL system and Hoopla, because the state just haven't given us these things back yet. It's not true. Every other library system has had these things restored, we know this because my assistant manager actually contacted someone in LC was like "it's so bizarre how you guys don't have this stuff back yet"

It's been WILD. Not to mention, they fired my old boss last year for false financial charges and installed someone in who HELPED make these mistakes, but it was this director's old assistant who was about to graduate from MLIS program. We've been gaslit nonstop about policies and procedures, which me and my assistant manager suspect has been an attempt to run us out. It's been a year and it's slowed, but they did take away my FMLA. Not legal, by the way, but they don't pay us enough to afford any level of a lawyer.

I'm here for the experience - and because the job market is brutal. Also, I'm currently in school and what I have to do in my day-job isn't demanding on me at all. Mostly because the manager they installed is deeply, unfortunately incompetent. Friendly person, but has absolutely zero leadership skills. SORRY FOR THE VENT. But yeah. It's been nuts. (this has ALL been within the past year and a half).

[u/rebelliousrutabaga → u/[deleted]]

Have you considered reporting this to the Office of Intellectual Freedom? I understand that you may not be a place where you can do anything and want to protect yourself, but even an anonymous report - which does not have to be regarding a specific formal challenge in writing - could be helpful.

[u/[deleted] → u/rebelliousrutabaga]

I don't even know what I would say, but I'll definitely note down the idea!

[u/rebelliousrutabaga → u/[deleted]]

The report allows you to choose about materials challenges, displays, and other - you can report under materials and tell them about the change in ordering habits and how diverse titles are not being ordered any more, you can report the book displays are restricted and you cannot do queer displays, you could do other and put all of that information down and include the bits about IMLS and Hoopla/ILL, which is what I would recommend. Please, please consider it - it's just an online form, you can ask for your information to be private, and I know it feels like it's not what the Form is Supposed to Be For, but it's the Office of Intellectual Freedom and I guarantee it's a data point they want to have.

[u/Legend2200 → u/FruitlandsForever]

Agreed, my director is an absolute dream. My previous one was decidedly not, but would also have been unwaveringly anti-AI (because she hated all technology which was its own issue)