Northeast Ohio Regional Library System

Explore the world of artificial intelligence and learn ways to protect your library from cyberattacks. This conference will bring together industry experts, technologists, and librarians to discuss innovative AI applications and cybersecurity strategies.  Our keynote will be Jia (Kevin) Liu from The Ohio State University, with breakout topics including takeaways from data breaches, CISA Best Practices, Using AI Robots with Neurodivergent Youth, Breaking Boundaries and Harnessing the Power of AI and ChatGPT to Transform Libraries, and More.

Keynote:  Recent Trends in Generative AI

In this talk, we will first discuss the history, evolution, and milestones and important breakthroughs of AI. Then, we will discuss the background, motivations, and the basics of generative AI, which has taken the world by storm recently. With the basics of generative AI, we will present several recent trends in generative AI. Finally, we will also discuss on a high level our recent innovations done at AI-EDGE that leverage the opportunities and address some challenges arising from these recent trends.

Keynote Sponsor:

Presenter:  
Jia (Kevin) Liu is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) and an Amazon Visiting Academic (AVA) with Amazon.com. He currently serves as the Managing Director of the NSF AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence (AI-EDGE) at OSU. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2010. His research areas include theoretical machine learning, stochastic network optimization and control, and performance analysis for data analytics infrastructure and cyber-physical systems. Dr. Liu is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM. He has received numerous best paper awards at top venues in the areas of networking and communications. He has also received multiple honors of long/spotlight presentations at top machine learning conferences, including ICML, NeurIPS, and ICLR. He is an NSF CAREER Award recipient in 2020, a winner of the DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) in 2024, and a winner of the Google Faculty Research Award in 2020.

Breakout Session 1
Recovering From & Avoiding Ransomware
The Daviess County Public Library had three consecutive run-ins with ransomware in 2019. In this session, Wesley Johnson, from DCPL’s IT department, will discuss how it happened, how they recovered from it, and what they implemented to help them avoid it in the future.
 
Presenter:
Wesley Johnson, wjohnson@dcplibrary.org, is a Library Associate/IT Technician at the Daviess County Public Library. His time is split between computer repair and adult programming. He has presented at the Kentucky Public Library Association Conference, Kentucky Library Association Conference, and Computers in Libraries. 




Breaking Boundaries: Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT to Transform Library Services​
Join the Artificial Intelligence revolution in libraries by leveraging the potential of machine learning applications to enhance library services. Attendees will explore a holistic strategy to guide evaluating AI's role in the research process using information literacy frameworks. This comprehensive three-part presentation will equip attendees with a theoretical foundation for understanding the role AI can play in libraries, give practical demonstrations on integrating AI into library services, and provide valuable insights on building alliances within their institution to overcome the challenges of incorporating AI. A component of the session will be real-time crowdsourcing of AI tools, prompt engineering, AI literacy concepts, and potential AI initiative opportunities. Take advantage of this growing opportunity to explore the empowering potential of Generative AI and its impact on the future of library services. 

Learning Objectives:

Presenters:
Melissa Del Castillo (she/her) is the Virtual Learning & Outreach Librarian at Florida International University, the largest minority-serving institution in the State of Florida, and the largest Hispanic Serving Institution in the United States. She is a dedicated academic reference librarian passionate about public service and information literacy. Her primary work responsibilities include coordinating the virtual chat reference services, assessing service offerings, creating learning objects, administration of LibApps, and library instruction. Melissa’s commitment to lifelong learning, collaboration, and mentoring is reflected across all aspects of her librarianship, through her service work, scholarship, and day-to-day practice. She fosters collegiality, spreads awareness, shares new knowledge, and diligently advocates for her library users’ needs. Her research interests include visual literacy, threshold concepts, instruction, active learning pedagogy, embedded librarianship, diversity, accessibility, and the value of reference. Melissa is also interested in developing tools to promote AI literacy and the evaluation of generative AI. Ultimately, we will need to strike a balance between traditional human decision-making and AI algorithms.

Rebecca Bakker is the Digital Collections Librarian at Florida International University, leading digitization and digital archiving initiatives and conducting workshops on metadata, digitization, and oral history methods. She collaborates with community and university partners on digital and data repository projects, with research focused on AI and privacy in digital collections. She holds an MLIS from Florida State University.

Breakout Session 2

Cybersecurity Best Practices: Understanding the Fundamentals
The presentation will discuss the current threat landscape and trends we are seeing.  Some foundational steps to take to protect their networks and educate users.  I will also talk about a few services Ohio Cyber Reserve offers that may be beneficial to help increase security and awareness.

Presenter: 
Kent King graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in Computer and Information Science. Transitioning from systems programming to cybersecurity in the early '90s, he earned his CISSP in 1999. With over two decades of leading security teams across various industries, Kent's expertise spans energy, higher education, computer services, insurance, and transportation. Recently, he served as the Agency Information Security Officer for three state cabinet agencies. Kent holds numerous certifications, including CISM, CISA, CRISC, and is an ISC2 certified trainer.




Talpa: How to Build an AI Product for Libraries and Not Lose Your Soul
Is AI a game changer or another inflated tech trend? Is it invaluable or useless? Should libraries embrace it—or reject it? Tim Spalding, the founder of LibraryThing and creator of Talpa Search, cuts through the hype and horror around artificial intelligence, to offer a balanced perspective: AI is neither panacea nor plague. It can be horribly misused, but it has good uses and much potential, especially when aligned with library values and know-how.

Tim will ground his reflections in his experience as the principle developer of Talpa Search, a new library search system based on both AI and library data, best known for something that isn't even really AI at all—answering the age-old question "Do you have that book… it's blue?"

Presenter:
Tim Spalding is the founder and president of LibraryThing. LibraryThing is known for the cataloging and social networking site LibraryThing.com, with millions of devoted members. LibraryThing also co-develops Syndetics Unbound, with ProQuest/Clarivate, enhancing thousands of OPACs around the world. Recently, Tim and his team of programmers and librarians created Talpa Search, the focus of his session. A one-time aspiring Classics scholar, Tim lives with his wife and son in Portland, Maine.

Breakout Session 3 Ryan McCoy, Technology Director, will provide an in-depth analysis of the cybersecurity incident that affected Akron-Summit County Public Library in 2023. The presentation will cover the response actions, insight into the threat actors involved, and the valuable lessons learned. 
 
Ryan McCoy serves as Technology Director for the Akron-Summit County Public Library, bringing over 14 years of experience and 7 certifications from the Information Technology field. He has a Master's degree in Library and Information Science and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He actively contributes to the community as a member of the North High School Technology Advisory Board, volunteer computer teacher for Project Learn Summit, and a member of Akron Torchbearers. 



 

Using AI robots with Neurodivergent Youth for a library based Robot Mediated Behavior Intervention program
This presentation will provide an overview of Santa Ana Public Library's AstounD Robot-Mediated Behavior Intervention (RMBI) program. This program connects Neurodivergent youth with RMBI Robots and technology tools, using advanced artificial intelligence programming, which helps them develop social and life skills as well as facilitate learning. This presentation will provide a showcase of several different types of RMBI programmed robots and technology tools, as well as best practices that have been utilized as part of the AStounD program at the Santa Ana Public Library for the past two years of our program's pilot. Additionally the presentation will discuss program components that engage teen volunteers, parents, and community stakeholders. There will also be a focus provided on programmatic elements that support the lending out of robotic companions for home use. This program was featured in a CNN evening news segment and articles in both Mother Jones and American Libraries.

Presenters:

Cheryl A. Eberly is the Principal Librarian for the Young Adult and Volunteer Services at the Santa Ana Public Library.  She is the responsible for the creation and development of the 2014 National Arts and Humanities award winning TeenSpace Circle of Mentoring Project.  She has over 15 years of experience in engaging youth and emerging adults via a targeted mentorship approach to civic engagement and youth workforce development via the various mentorship based programs at the library like the Teen Community Historians, Youth Health Ambassadors, and Seeds to Trees Digital Media Technology Institute Program at Santa Ana Public Library. She was the Project Director for the Memories of Migration Project.  It is a three-year, library-based community memory program funded by the Federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to build community connections and cultural heritage collections through documenting the stories of migration in America.  Partners for the project are Historypin, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens Library, West Hartford Public Library and REFORMA.  She was also the project Director for the “Youth Know CS” project  which is an ALA “ Libraries Ready to Code” sponsored program. In 2020, she piloted a Robots in Residence and  an AStounD Robot-Mediated Behavior Intervention program for Neurodivergent Youth at the Santa Ana Public Library.

Yocelin Esqueda is the primary STEM educator at the Santa Ana Public Library. She engages youth in a variety of engineering and mathematical activities, introducing them to STEM concepts through programs like Robo Digi-Buddy and Robo Fun-Time. Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering, Yocelin is passionate about utilizing robots to actively engage students on the spectrum in their learning journeys, tailoring interactions to accommodate and support their unique learning styles. The Robot Mediated Behavior Intervention program at the Santa Ana Public Library allows her to explore innovative educational techniques, enhancing the learning experiences of neurodivergent youth.
 

Lawrence Singer entered the library and information services field in a roundabout way, first being in the mental health field as a doctor of psychology. This past experience helped him greatly in the adventure that awaited when he took a job at the Santa Ana Public Library working in the Teenspace.  Lawrence began mentoring and conducting life skills and executive functioning presentations, as well as taking part in the various programs offered. With the launch of AStounD and Robots in Residence began, Lawrence was a natural choice to help helm the program, learning about Robot Mediated Behavior Intervention (RMBI) in order to utilize clinically sound and proven techniques to reach the youth on the spectrum. The program has been a success and is unlike any other program offered in the library profession.

Closing Session:
A structured round table discussion and an opportunity for more networking. 

Featured Vendors:

• FacilitySight – FacilitySight is a browser-based application which gives users real-time information about facility occupancy, current and past traffic, and safety events like inclement weather or shelter-in-place orders issued by the federal and local governments.  
   
• Hoopla – Hoopla puts your public library at your fingertips. Borrow and enjoy audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, or music everywhere you have a screen-your computer, your phone, your car, even your TV. All you need is a library card.  
   
• Talpa – Talpa is a new search tool that helps you find books and media using a mix of AI and trusted book data. For instance, Talpa answers questions like "what is that fiction book on zombies adapted from a classic" and can even find books by their color or what's on the cover! 
   
• Today’s Business Solutions, Inc. – Today’s Business Solutions, Inc. (TBS) is focused on improving your patron, guest, staff, IT, and finance departments’ user experience with modern, self-serve solutions for PC/MAC/Chromebook management, print management, simplified mobile printing, self-serve payment release for print/copy kiosks with Credit Card, and scan/fax/copy solutions. We listen to libraries’ challenges and integrate solutions that include both hardware and software with excellent service and support.