On 17 April SCONUL Small and Specialist Institutions Forum came together to discuss developments in AI for libraries and the current review of the SCONUL statistics.

Ann Rossiter shared highlights from the recent meetings between the SCONUL Technology and Markets Strategy Group with library providers about their plans for the development of AI tools for libraries, a summary of which will be published shortly.  The meeting discussed some of the challenges for small and specialist institutions including affordability, the danger of walled garden approaches to content provision, and the need for certainty around copyright and AI.  The meeting noted that there are fewer developments in the pipelines around back-office functions such as using AI for metadata generation.

Members were also asked for input into the review that SCONUL is undertaking into its benchmarking statistics, with an initial formal consultation undertaken by David Baker. Areas that had been identified for further work included measures on content and space usage. The review is also looking at how the data from the statistics are shared and used. Participants discussed how small and specialist institutions are using their statistics and exchanged ideas about enhancing data usage including using visualization tools, and training support. 

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