ARL/CNI Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit Can Help You Thrive in the AI Landscape
Association of Research Libraries
Advancing an equitable, enduring, research information environment
ARL & CNI Communications | commteam@arl.org
Research suggests nearly half of all tasks in the information services sector could be transformed by AI. This isn’t a distant future scenario—it’s happening now. What can we do to shape the impact of AI on libraries and library workers?
The free Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit will help you and your colleagues plan, develop policies and operations, and position your organization to thrive in the AI landscape.
The toolkit was developed with early financial support from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and ongoing support from the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). Keith Webster , the Helen and Henry Posner Jr. Dean of University Libraries at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries and a professional futurist, created the toolkit for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and CNI as a means to explore scenario-specific strategies and activities that libraries can undertake to prepare for various AI-influenced futures.
The Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit integrates the ARL/CNI AI Scenarios along with priorities trialed and refined by strategic thinkers working in the research library field during a Strategic Implications forum in December 2024.
Research library leaders who want to integrate the ARL/CNI AI Scenarios into planning activities—such as annual operating plans, strategic reviews, or cross-institutional conversations—will find this toolkit useful.
Organized into flexible modules, the toolkit offers structured activities to help library leadership teams, staff, and external stakeholders:
Scenarios don’t predict the future, they prepare us to navigate uncertainty. Scenarios help us move from reactive to proactive positions, from defensive planning to strategic leadership. Use the Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit to strategically engage with AI and shape the future.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit membership organization of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and large public institutions in Canada and the US. ARL champions research libraries and archives, develops visionary leaders, and shapes policy for the equitable advancement of knowledge.
About the Coalition for Networked Information
The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is a joint project of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE that drives the future of scholarship and education through the creative use of information technology. With a dynamic membership of over 200 organizations spanning higher education, publishing, information technology, scholarly societies, professional organizations, foundations, and leading library institutions and organizations, CNI is at the forefront of shaping how knowledge is discovered, shared, and advanced. Learn more at www.cni.org.
Sign up to receive news and policy briefings from ARL.