Purdue university libraries, collaborating with ohio state university libraries, will train academic librarians to lead campus AI literacy initiatives, fostering student-instructor partnerships to…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Purdue University $224,896 on September 1, 2026, under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (CFDA 45.313) to train academic librarians to lead campus AI literacy initiatives.

Purdue University Libraries, collaborating with Ohio State University Libraries, will conduct a workshop for a cohort of 15 librarians to adapt a proven AI literacy program for their institutions and scale it nationally. The program fosters student-instructor partnerships to co-create AI literacy in the classroom, positioning academic libraries as third spaces outside classroom pressures where students and faculty can honestly explore AI hopes and concerns. Participating librarians will implement pilots at their home institutions with ongoing support, providing AI literacy leadership tailored to their communities' needs. The project recognizes that librarians nationwide desire to facilitate AI literacy dialogues but many lack institutional structure to do so confidently.

The award runs through August 31, 2028, with place of performance at West Lafayette, Indiana. This is a Project Grant assistance type under the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, which supports training and professional development to library professionals, develops information leaders, and builds institutional capacity of libraries and information science programs.

Purdue university libraries, collaborating with ohio state university libraries, will train academic librarians to lead campus AI literacy initiatives, fostering student-instructor partnerships to CO-create AI literacy in the classroom. Academic libraries are ideally positioned to lead AI literacy dialogues on campus, since they provide a valuable third space outside classroom pressures to honestly explore AI hopes and concerns. Librarians nationwide communicate a desire to facilitate these dialogues, but many lack institutional structure to feel confident doing so. Through this project, a cohort of 15 librarians will attend a workshop to adapt a proven AI literacy program for their institutions, scaling IT nationally. With ongoing support, the librarians will implement pilots, providing AI literacy leadership to meet their communities' needs.