AI at the NC State University Libraries
AI is transforming higher education in significant ways, and its impacts are being felt across NC State’s educational, research, and land grant mission, as well as its business and operations. Students, faculty, and staff are exploring how these new tools and techniques can enhance their own work.
Academic libraries work at the center of information and data literacy, open inquiry, privacy, access, and human-centered services, all of which are essential for navigating the AI landscape. The NC State University Libraries provides educational resources, experiential learning opportunities, and technology-rich spaces to support innovation and experimentation, supplementing students' curricula with opportunities to develop career-ready skills. We enable faculty excellence through access to robust collections, services, and support throughout the research and data lifecycle. We embrace an innovative and forward-thinking approach to leveraging emerging technologies that support this mission.
To that end, the Libraries is committed to ensuring that our students, faculty, and staff have the resources and foundational literacies required to understand, experiment with, and critically evaluate AI tools and methodologies. As AI technologies, including Generative AI, rapidly advance, we help our users access a range of tools, understand how they work, and make informed, ethical decisions about their application. In collaboration with campus partners, we aim to enrich the AI educational and research landscape at the university and beyond through a human-centered approach that thoughtfully adapts our services and tools to the evolving needs of our community.
How the Libraries Supports AI Literacy and Exploration
The NC State University Libraries has made several key strategic investments to inform and advance our thoughtful approach to AI. The Libraries’ Henry McDonald Tate Fellow is developing AI training opportunities while exploring new impacts on and methods of learning and engagement. The Libraries’ AI Strategy and Coordination Committee provides a forum for cross-departmental staff to share emerging knowledge and lead AI-related initiatives, informs the Libraries’ strategic priorities with respect to AI, and helps ensure alignment with the Libraries’ and the university’s missions. The Libraries’ Open Knowledge Center has been awarded multiple grants focused on values-led education and engagement around AI, including a Google Academic Research Award and an LSTA grant to support our EdTech Open Values program.
In addition, Libraries faculty and staff maintain a variety of online AI guides, while providing workshops, consultations, and course-embedded instruction and piloting technical applications that leverage AI.
- Learning and Working With AI
- Consultation support, Instruction, and Workshops
- Immersive, high-tech spaces, as well as data labs equipped with powerful computers and specialized software
- Communities of practice, such as the Open Pedagogy Incubator
- Access to Available AI Tools (AI for researchers) and licensed training data
Updated October 12, 2026