Artificial Intelligence Interest Group Meeting (10/23/26)

Join us for our next Artificial Intelligence Interest Group meeting

on Friday, October 23rd, at 11:00 AM!

Let's Talk About AI Agents

AI tools are moving beyond answering questions to taking action. Agents can independently search, organize, draft, and complete multi-step tasks on your behalf. Join us for our next AI Interest Group meeting as we explore AI agents and what they could mean for our work in the library.

We'll cover:

• What agents are: how they differ from the chatbots we already know
• What they can do: real capabilities, current limits, and where the hype outpaces reality
• Safety and data handling: best practices for protecting student, patron, and institutional data, and knowing what not to hand off to an agent
• How to create one: an overview of the tools and building blocks, no coding background required
• Library use cases: brainstorming practical ideas for reference, instruction, collections, and operations



Time permitting, we'll close with a live demo of building an agent from scratch.

Interest Group Facilitator: Trina McCowan Adams

Trina McCowan is the Director of Library Services at the Proctor Library of Flagler College, where she combines her love of research, assessment, and creative endeavors to create better library experiences for students and faculty. With a background in graphic design and almost 20 years in academic libraries, she's built a leadership style that balances creative vision and practicality. Her experience managing libraries at multiple institutions has taught her that the best ideas come from bringing diverse perspectives together – whether developing innovative student programs or tackling strategic challenges. She empowers her team to experiment with new technologies and approaches to ensure the library's relevance as it transforms and adapts to new social norms. When she's not at the library, Trina enjoys playing XBox, Dungeons & Dragons, and board games with her family and friends.

This project is funded under the provisions of the Library Cooperative Grant program awarded to the Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN). Florida’s LCG program is administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services.