Artificial Intelligence at the UVA Library

Lit-up exterior of a multi-story brick building at night, featuring large windows. The building sits adjacent to a street with blurred vehicle lights, indicating motion. The scene includes surrounding trees and additional distant structures.

Libraries have long been reliable resources for identifying trustworthy information, stewarding resources, and building accessible pathways to knowledge. The UVA Library brings this approach to its engagement with artificial intelligence by joining our University community in facilitating thoughtful engagement, seeking reliable tools, and fostering a curious spirit in pursuit of education and research.

Stewardship, discovery, and innovation for a changing world

Influenced by Dean Leo Lo’s AI Literacy Framework, the Statement of Shared Practice and UVA Archival AI Protocol offers a starting place for institutions seeking to protect and build on their long-term interests.

The AI Literacy and Action Lab builds relationships across departments at the University, engaging AI on a project basis with students and researchers.

Perhaps most importantly, we’re seeking to grow the body of trustworthy resources — AI and beyond.

materials laid out on a table, a worker is preparing materials for archival conservation

Statement of Shared Practice and UVA Archival AI Protocol

The UVA Archival AI Protocol is a broad document offering a consistent position from which to evaluate, negotiate, and govern AI partnerships while protecting donors, communities, and institutional trust.

The Statement of Shared Practice translates the Protocol's principles into a collective commitment any institution can endorse, followed by a support system for archival institutions.

Learn more about the AI Protocol and 
Statement of Shared Practice

AI Literacy and Action Lab

The AI Literacy and Action Lab, a joint initiative of the UVA Library and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, puts Leo S. Lo's AI Literacy Framework into practice: students and faculty develop AI judgment by working on real projects in their own disciplines, guided by trained librarian facilitators.

Learn more about the AI Literacy and Action Lab
A group of people sits at a long table in a modern room setting, with laptops and notes in front of them. They appear attentive and engaged. The focus is on the individuals, with blurred equipment and charts in the background.

AIAL Lab is organized around five linked competencies:

  • Technical Knowledge
  • Ethical Awareness
  • Critical Thinking
  • Practical Skills
  • Understanding AI's Societal Impact

Library AI resources for the UVA community

Library tools for harnessing hallucination-free AI

  • Consensus

    Library resource for AI-powered academic deep search, without hallucinations. Strongest in scientific and social science topics.

  • LeapSpace

    Designed to help researchers accelerate discovery, weigh the strength of available evidence, and sharpen critical thinking. Draws on deep well of peer-reviewed content from Elsevier and partners.

  • ProQuest TDM Studio

    Text and data mining tool that supports large text dataset analysis across multiple disciplines in ProQuest archives, newspapers, journals, dissertations, and more.

A group of students is sitting at a table in a library, working on laptops and books. Bookshelves filled with books are visible in the background. The atmosphere is focused and collaborative.
A few people walk up and down a modern, indoor staircase with a decorative wrought iron railing. The stairwell has clean white walls and ample lighting. The scene captures a sense of motion and activity.

UVA partners and resources

Recent AI news from the UVA Library

LeapSpace, from Elsevier, is a tool designed to leverage AI in the full research workflow.
Making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) is key to good data management, so that research data is easier to access and use. LibraData, UVA’s data repository, offers a variety of ways to support this critical goal.
The Library and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences have announced the creation of the AI Literacy and Action Lab, with four pilot projects currently underway and course offerings beginning in the fall. Library experts serve as facilitators and coaches, helping to develop experience, judgment, and replicable research.
The Associate Director of the Library’s Research Data Services explains why the AI tool Consensus is trustworthy for academic deep search.
The UVA Library is leading a national coalition in establishing shared standards for AI training requests.

UVA Library news from around the world

The Chronicle of Higher Education

The University of Virginia has opened an “AI Literacy and Action Lab” in its library, inviting students and faculty members to bring real-world problems they want to solve with AI.

U.S. News & World Report

This year, the University of Virginia launched its AI Literacy and Action Lab, based on a framework created by Leo S. Lo, UVA’s new university librarian and dean of libraries.

Inside Higher Ed

A new library-based initiative at the University of Virginia embeds hands-on AI learning and workforce skills across disciplines.

UVA Today

In December 2022, when University of Virginia Librarian and Dean of Libraries Leo Lo worked for another institution, students began asking for books and articles that did not exist. It alarmed him.