Listening First When Your Community Is Skeptical of AI
eLearning
Webinar
Most public libraries exploring AI right now are figuring it out as they go. There is no established playbook, and the communities and staff we serve have well-founded reasons to be skeptical.
King County Library System (KCLS) in Washington state serves one of the most economically and linguistically diverse regions in the country, with a significant existing digital equity gap. KCLS believes public libraries have a role to play in making sure AI works for everyone, not just people who can already access it. With little existing research on what library patrons actually want from AI programs, KCLS conducted structured listening sessions and surveys with both staff and community members—including communities that are often left out of technology conversations entirely. The goal was not to build consensus around AI, but to understand what patrons actually need, what concerns they have, and what conditions would have to be true before they would trust a library AI tool.
In this webinar learn how those engagement programs were designed for skeptical audiences, what the facilitation approaches looked like in practice, and what staff and community members actually said. It will also cover how findings were analyzed using a structured qualitative method adapted for a small team.
Attendees will leave with practical tools they can adapt: session question guides, a facilitation framing tested with resistant audiences, and an analysis approach that does not require dedicated research staff.
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