(30 Oct 2025) The post by Masud Khokhar, chief digital and information officer at the University of Leeds, highlights the challenges and transformations libraries face in adapting from traditional structured knowledge systems to the data-driven, algorithmic economy shaped by unstructured data and AI technologies like Generative AI. Libraries have been slow to adopt data science approaches and now must transition from knowledge curation to knowledge stewardship, embracing new roles such as digital storytelling and creativity.
Key points include the growing disparity in global knowledge access, the domination of English-language systems, and the increasing influence of big tech companies in academic publishing through AI platforms. Libraries must address critical thinking, information literacies including algorithmic literacy, knowledge equity, security, digital ethics, and evolving curatorial practices to remain relevant and valuable.
The article calls for active library engagement in developing skills and programs for communities, fostering equitable open access, safeguarding knowledge from geopolitical and technological threats, and innovating curatorial roles to integrate synthetic, social, and contextual knowledge. Libraries are urged to rethink their mission to stimulate not only learning but also imagination and societal advancement in a complex, fast-moving digital ecosystem.
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*This introduction is summarized with the assist of AI.
