A Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of AI adoption in Libraries

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in libraries has changed the traditional information service into offering improved services in library activities such as: cataloguing, metadata administration, smart search, digital reference, and collection building. However, AI implementation offers advanced features in regard to environmental, economical, and social sustainability. This paper applies to a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) framework to talk about AI systems during their life-cycle not only during the acquisition, deployment, and day-to-day operations but also during the maintenance and the decommissioning. The assessment takes into account AI infrastructural environmental performance, economic sustainability in the long term, and social outcomes of equity of access, privacy of users, and ethics information operations, and concentrates on the overall execution of AI in library ecosystems.

Its findings indicate that AI implementation in libraries can lead to a significant efficiency gain and more positive user experiences, although the implementation should be carefully controlled to minimize the energy use, resource consumption, and the probability of algorithmic bias. By incorporating LCSA into the operation and planning of libraries, the institutions can achieve the balance between the innovation of the technologies and the long-term sustainable management of knowledge, sustainable stewardship of the resources and long-run operational viability. The paper concludes that the sustainability approach that is based on lifecycle is required to ensure that libraries might use AI opportunities without sacrifices to develop green information space as well as equitable and future-ready.