UNC to merge their library program with data science program to make "School of AI"

rodoheel said:
I was not a fan of the Roberts appointment or many of his actions but think the criticism on this is a little overblown at this point when we still have little idea what it practically means. I sympathize with the concerns about how it was rolled out, and i completely understand the concerns of faculty and students who are uncertain what this will ultimately mean for them, but IMO a lot of this is just the reflexive reaction to change and uncertainty that all of us have.

I have tremendous concerns about the long-term effects of AI - especially generative AI - on society, but it's not gong anywhere and it is going to be important for students and universities to have knowledge about it. This could obviously get implemented in a way that could harm the existing programs at UNC, but let's let it play out a little further before grabbing the torches and pitchforks.
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Given other actions by the current UNC leaders, most of us are not giving them the benefit of the doubt. I don't know how this was decided but from superficial appearances it was not created how most strong academic programs are created.
 
LeoBloom said:
Given other actions by the current UNC leaders, most of us are not giving them the benefit of the doubt. I don't know how this was decided but from superficial appearances it was not created how most strong academic programs are created.
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I'm not entirely disagreeing with that. Nor am I saying they deserve the "benefit of the doubt." But IMO it's way too early to start calling this a plan to dismantle the library services program. I think more likely this is just Roberts' business background coming through - every private equity guy in the county can't think of much else besides AI and how to take advantage of it at the moment.
 
rodoheel said:
I'm not entirely disagreeing with that. Nor am I saying they deserve the "benefit of the doubt." But IMO it's way too early to start calling this a plan to dismantle the library services program. I think more likely this is just Roberts' business background coming through - every private equity guy in the county can't think of much else besides AI and how to take advantage of it at the moment.
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I'm okay with the School of Information and Library Science and AI. (SILSAI).
 
rodoheel said:
I was not a fan of the Roberts appointment or many of his actions but think the criticism on this is a little overblown at this point when we still have little idea what it practically means. I sympathize with the concerns about how it was rolled out, and i completely understand the concerns of faculty and students who are uncertain what this will ultimately mean for them, but IMO a lot of this is just the reflexive reaction to change and uncertainty that all of us have.

I have tremendous concerns about the long-term effects of AI - especially generative AI - on society, but it's not gong anywhere and it is going to be important for students and universities to have knowledge about it. This could obviously get implemented in a way that could harm the existing programs at UNC, but let's let it play out a little further before grabbing the torches and pitchforks.
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As someone with a recent master's in library science, I'm sort of with you on this. The primary focus that I chose for my degree was the use of AI in libraries. There are a lot of long-term dangers regarding AI, but there is a great deal of potential to revolutionize the search and retrieval of information using AI. It opens up cross-language research and makes materials accessible in much more efficient ways than ever before. If we are being honest, I will likely apply for a doctoral program in the new department as soon as one becomes available, largely because this is a field that I have some unique perspectives, and qualifications, regarding. It would be really exciting to be at the cutting edge of research. I would love, in particular, to be a part of the think tank that shapes what the program looks like moving forward, even if I do so only from the perspective of a student.

With that in mind, Merging LSIS with anything needs to be done extremely deliberately. If this wasn't a part of some larger concerning trends regarding UNC, I'd be more optimistic that it could be done correctly. In this case, I trust the faculty to do the best that they can, but I don't trust the powers-that-be that are going to play a big role in deciding what the merged program can, and cannot, become.
 
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My wife has an MLS degree (not from UNC). I would think the biggest concern would be whether the future AI degree meets the requirements to be hired as a librarian.

Roberts and company burned a lot of political capital and goodwill with the Belechick cluster.
 
uncmba said:
My wife has an MLS degree (not from UNC). I would think the biggest concern would be whether the future AI degree meets the requirements to be hired as a librarian.

Roberts and company burned a lot of political capital and goodwill with the Belechick cluster.
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But the flag...
 
uncmba said:
My wife has an MLS degree (not from UNC). I would think the biggest concern would be whether the future AI degree meets the requirements to be hired as a librarian.

Roberts and company burned a lot of political capital and goodwill with the Belechick cluster.
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I would think that the umbrella program would include different sub-programs including, but not limited, to at least some of the following concentrations: academic libraries, archives/curation/records manager, digital libraries, law libraries, public libraries, school media libraries, etc.
 
sringwal said:
As someone with a recent master's in library science, I'm sort of with you on this. The primary focus that I chose for my degree was the use of AI in libraries. There are a lot of long-term dangers regarding AI, but there is a great deal of potential to revolutionize the search and retrieval of information using AI. It opens up cross-language research and makes materials accessible in much more efficient ways than ever before. If we are being honest, I will likely apply for a doctoral program in the new department as soon as one becomes available, largely because this is a field that I have some unique perspectives, and qualifications, regarding. It would be really exciting to be at the cutting edge of research. I would love, in particular, to be a part of the think tank that shapes what the program looks like moving forward, even if I do so only from the perspective of a student.

With that in mind, Merging LSIS with anything needs to be done extremely deliberately. If this wasn't a part of some larger concerning trends regarding UNC, I'd be more optimistic that it could be done correctly. In this case, I trust the faculty to do the best that they can, but I don't trust the powers-that-be that are going to play a big role in deciding what the merged program can, and cannot, become.
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Excellent post and well said. I'm not trying to tell anyone to trust the leadership at UNC, and suspicion is warranted. Just think that some of the first few posts on the thread were jumping to nefarious conclusions that aren't really appropriate at this stage.
 
For starters School of Information and Library Science is like renamimg the School of Medicine to the School Of Doctors and Medicine
Now we add on AI
Geez
And I am ONLY referring to the title, not the real issue
 
rodoheel said:
Excellent post and well said. I'm not trying to tell anyone to trust the leadership at UNC, and suspicion is warranted. Just think that some of the first few posts on the thread were jumping to nefarious conclusions that aren't really appropriate at this stage.
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If we are being honest, this is the best way for library programs to a) remain relevant, and b) have a leading voice in a field that is going to play an integral role in education, business, and entertainment moving forward. It may be the only viable option.
 
mpaer said:
For starters School of Information and Library Science is like renamimg the School of Medicine to the School Of Doctors and Medicine
Now we add on AI
Geez
And I am ONLY referring to the title, not the real issue
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I understand your concerns, particularly regarding redundant titling. With that in mind:

Branding matters. Librarians have historically been very bad at controlling the narrative regarding just how important their jobs are. The image persists of old ladies, behind desks, going “shush” every time someone speaks. The vast majority of people have no idea what running a modern library actually entails.

Rebranding to SILS helped to switch that narrative somewhat, but we are seeing a death of funding towards library programs at all levels (k-12, academic, archival, and public) once again. The intent from the powers that be may be suspect, but if this leads to more funding for libraries and librarians, then it is a necessary evil.
 
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sringwal said:
I understand your concerns, particularly regarding redundant titling. With that in mind:

Branding matters. Librarians have historically been very bad at controlling the narrative regarding just how important their jobs are. Rebranding to SILS helped to switch to that narrative, but we are seeing a death of funding towards library programs at all levels (k-12, academic, archival, and public) once again. The intent from the powers that be may be suspect, but if this leads to more funding for libraries and librarians, then it is a necessary evil.
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Thank you for your informed post!! I get what you are saying
BTW I miss freaking card catalogs-like a lot
 
mpaer said:
Thank you for your informed post!! I get what you are saying
BTW I miss freaking card catalogs-like a lot
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I do too, although changing them out and locating them when they are misfiled can be an absolute bitch.

Online MARC records, while laborious to create, are easier for my brain to keep organized.
 
mpaer said:
Thank you for your informed post!! I get what you are saying
BTW I miss freaking card catalogs-like a lot
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Oh lord do I miss card catalogs. I know, computers are more efficient, more accurate, more functional, less work to keep updated.

I can't help it. I rank using a library's computerized catalog as roughly twice as soul sapping as the second most soul sapping experience in our modern life (airports). I can't explain it, I just feel that way.

And while I'm ranting, why is every library forgetting that the first and highest function of a library IS TO BROWSE, EXPLORE, AND OTHERWISE DISCOVER BOOKS.

Why are you taking all the Science Fiction, all of the Mystery books and putting tiny labels on them (if you're even that lucky) and lumping them in one giant Fiction category?!?!?

Me: Hi I'd like to browse your Science Fiction collection, where is it?

Modern Librarian: Oh, we mixed all those back into the general fiction books. Just look on the computer and you can find the exact book your looking for.

Me [Head exploding]: I have spent literal years of my life in libraries taking home dozens of books on each and every visit and I can count on my fingers the number of times I walked into a library knowing exactly what book I wanted. Don't tell me "If you know the author or the title we can look it up on the computer"!

LIBRARIES ARE FOR BROWSING AND SHOULD BE CURATED AS SUCH, DAMMIT.

Grampa Simpson Grandpa GIF by MOODMAN
 
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