How to Start an AI Literacy Course at Your Library

Chances are your patrons are hearing about artificial intelligence in the news and arriving at the library with questions. If your library is anything like mine, you probably have creative staff members who are artists, writers, or deeply committed to human-centered work. Some may have strong concerns about AI. You might even be one of them.

I understand those concerns and share many of them. However, librarianship requires us to provide resources that help people think critically about emerging technologies. With that in mind, I will say something that may feel uncomfortable: it is difficult to teach AI literacy effectively if you have never used AI tools yourself.

You may have thoughtful reasons for avoiding AI. Still, approaching it as entirely harmful risks oversimplifying a complex technology and alienating patrons who want to explore it for themselves. Our role is not to prescribe conclusions but to create informed space for inquiry.

Step One: Use the Tools

An effective AI literacy course begins with hands-on exploration. Try several tools. Ask them how they work. Ask them how to use them. One immediate lesson you will discover is that AI systems are often quite good at idea generation.

By experimenting directly, you will gain a clearer understanding of both strengths and limitations. That firsthand knowledge is essential when guiding others.

Step Two: Research and Curate

AI evolves rapidly, which makes curriculum design challenging. Expect your course to change. Plan for revision. Build a living list of articles, research studies, and commentary that you can update regularly.

Once you begin reading about AI, you will quickly encounter a steady stream of related content. It is a rabbit hole, but it is also an opportunity to build expertise over time.

Step Three: Design with Intention

When designing your course, continue using AI tools thoughtfully. Can an image generator help illustrate a concept? Can a tool such as NotebookLM help organize your notes into a clearer structure? Modeling responsible experimentation demonstrates critical engagement rather than passive adoption.

At a minimum, your course should address these core questions:

Leave time for guided practice. Leave space for discussion. In my experience, once participants understand the basics, they are eager to talk about ethics, creativity, and implications.

You may also find that advertising your course attracts local professionals working in AI-related fields. These community connections can grow into partnerships and expanded programming tailored to different industries or audiences.

Final Thought

Even if you feel unfamiliar with AI now, you can learn enough to guide others through the fundamentals. Librarians play an important role in shaping how the public encounters new technologies. AI literacy is not about endorsement. It is about equipping communities with the tools to ask better questions.

Start there.