Editorial

Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT is a phenomenal technological advancement in transforming traditional systems of education, enabling us to radically rethink the way we teach and learn. ChatGPT is driving an education revolution. It’s here to stay but leads to some big questions. This article explains what ChatGPT is and how to use it; what we can do about it, current challenges and potential future applications. Read on to learn more about Chat GPT and strategies for learning to use it and avoiding potential misuse in the classroom.

This year’s UKSG conference is returning to the vibrant city of Glasgow, a favourite location amongst regular attendees at the conference. Why (in the words of Billy Connolly) do “I wish I was in Glasgow”, and why should you make sure that you’re there too? Joanna Ball reviews the upcoming conference offering and how it fits the UKSG strategy.

With this piece, Siobhan Haimé hopes to provide some thoughts for discussion and reflection on the role of Whiteness in academic libraries, and to generate positive disruption. These thoughts emerged from reflections on my experiences as a mixed-race, often ‘white-passing’ woman in libraries and academia.

In 2020 and during the pandemic, GBS (Global Banking School) embarked to the ambitious project of creating 7+ Libraries in a year and a half's time. Here is the story of a team that worked hard to reach the goal and how it found its way to the most prestigious Higher Education Awards in 2022 (THE Awards).

Are our libraries genuinely neutral? Are they places of sanctuary and safety for all? Are they accessible to everyone? Do our collections serve our users and reflect their lived experiences and outlooks? Do we reflect and acknowledge our own positionality and privilege when designing library services, support, facilities?

This autumn Southampton Digital Humanities celebrated one year since opening its doors to our staff and students. Reflecting back on its gestation and development, we believe that one of its great successes has been how it has proven to be a equal partnership between the Library and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

In this post lockdown environment, it was evident that we could never just put our existing, pre-pandemic communities straight in there, because everything has changed. For a start, the pandemic is still happening and some individuals remain too vulnerable to visit our spaces in person, but there are other, less obvious changes to our research communities.

Universities are not renowned for their ability to change quickly, so the task at hand can seem overwhelming. Cameron Neylon spoke to this, and I found it very reassuring to hear him speak about how small changes can make a big difference, the slow wheels of a big institution don’t have to be a barrier to change, it is possible for an institution to change its own narrative and become a platform for change.

As an Academic Liaison Librarian for business, I have some expertise in literature searching and secondary data collection, and in teaching others about these, but I’m aware that there are many other research areas that I don’t have as much knowledge of as I’d like… I also know that there are areas where I, and other staff working in academic and research libraries, could use our experience and expertise to play more of a part in academic research, including funded research as co-investigators on projects led by other people, and even leading our own projects.

What do 850 football players and their performance data have in common with academic libraries and online resources? More than you’d think! The connecting factor is data, how it is collected, used and for what purposes.