Evaluating AI Tools on the LAM (Libraries, Archives, and Museums)

About This Event

This gathering advances the group’s commitment to examining the intersections of archives, museums, and artificial intelligence through lectures, readings, and discussions that “tap into the current state of the field.” Consistent with AM10’s entry-level, all-are-welcome approach, the workshop emphasizes shared learning about how AI functions (including text and visual generators) and—critically—how to evaluate emerging tools and their fit for library, archival, and museum contexts, including the ethics of AI applied to museums and archives.

Agenda

• 9:30-10:10am - Welcome and introductions by Juilee Decker (RIT) and Jeff Suszczynski (University of Rochester).
• 10:10-11:15am - Intro + hands-on session on evaluating AI research assistants, led by Joshua Finnell and Joe Donnelly (Colgate University). Participants will review an evaluation rubric and complete a hands-on activity.
• 11:15am-12pm - Round Robin discussion: what other AI tools are people using in libraries, archives, and museums, and how are you evaluating them? Led by Brett Barrie (Syracuse University).
• 12-12:45pm - Keynote: Dr. Angela Fritz (University of Iowa), “Ethical AI in GLAM” (in person and on Zoom), plus Q&A.
• 12:45-1pm - Wrap-up + suggestions for 2026–27 programming.

Featured Guests

Keynote speaker:

• Dr. Angela Fritz is Assistant Professor in the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science and brings extensive leadership experience across the GLAM sector, including roles at the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Notre Dame, and the Office of Presidential Libraries and Museums at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). She is the author of Sustainable Enterprise Strategies for Optimizing Digital Stewardship: A Guide for Libraries, Archives, and Museums (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). Her more recent book, AI and Digital Leadership: Transforming Libraries, Archives, and Museums for the Future, is published by Bloomsbury and focuses on leadership frameworks for GLAM/LAM institutions navigating AI-enabled digital transformation.

Other speakers:

• Juilee Decker (RIT)
• Jeff Suszczynski (University of Rochester)
• Joshua Finnell (Colgate University)
• Joe Donnelly (Colgate University)
• Brett Barrie (Syracuse University)

Co-sponsors

The event is supported by funding from University of Rochester, RIT Museum Studies Program, and the Endowment by Phil and Anne Wehrheim at RIT.