OUR AI
Imagine2030
Annual report 2024-25
Academic integrity and GenAI support on Library training skills support programmes and services
This year, the Teaching, Learning and Students (TLS) Team embedded GenAI guidance across our portfolio of blended support.
We launched the Academic Integrity resource to support learners in understanding the implications of using GenAI in their work, and revised guidance on using and referencing AI tools was added to the Library’s referencing guide. The Academic Integrity resource had 3,600 hits between September 2024 and August 2025 and our AI FAQ saw over 12,000 views collectively. The team has also brought the Library’s support on GenAI and learning together into one online guide for students: ‘Using Generative AI in your learning’.
Finally, TLS developed and delivered GenAI Literacy workshops aimed at academic staff and learners at all levels, for the My Learning Essentials programme. The workshops were well attended, received excellent feedback, and the networks established have led to a significant number of teaching requests for GenAI support via the My Learning Essentials embedded programme.
"[The workshop] was hugely appreciated and very valuable for all of us"
"[The workshop] has changed how I view AI. It has prompted me on verifying information I receive from GenAI"
'DSI Time': building confidence and curiosity in AI
This year, the Digital Service Innovation (DSI) Team introduced a new initiative called DSI Time; a dedicated hour every two weeks for colleagues to come together and focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). These sessions created a safe space to horizon scan, experiment with new tools, share case studies, and learn from one another.
The aim was to begin building the team’s confidence in using AI, recognising that no one is yet an expert. The sessions gave colleagues time to explore, to ask questions without judgement, and to start developing the fundamental skills needed to support the wider Library community in engaging with AI responsibly. These sessions have laid strong foundations and created momentum for the team’s continued learning and growth.
As the Library transitioned into the new AIIA (Artificial Intelligence and Ideas Adoption) Directorate, the responsibility to facilitate learning and experimentation around AI for all staff has grown. The experience gained through DSI Time now provides a platform for the next step: opening opportunities to the wider Library. Over the coming year, the team will begin hosting knowledge cafés and drop-in sessions where staff across the Library can explore AI in a supportive, collaborative environment.
DSI Time reflects our belief that experimentation, openness and shared learning are essential as we navigate the fast-changing world of AI and build confidence across our community.
AI work in the Digital Development Team
The Digital Development Team have been involved in a variety of AI-related work over the past year, including:
- Working with the Oxford Visual Geometry Group to develop a version of their AI-powered Image Comparison tool (‘Seeing Change’). This highlights and explains differences between two images, making it easier to detect and interpret changes over time.
From 'Exploring metadata creation for early photographs with ChatGPT and DeepFace'
- Supporting other Library teams in using AI tools to enhance and speed up their work. This has been most fruitful with our Special Collections teams who have been keen to explore how AI may support metadata generation and processing (e.g. Exploring metadata creation for early photographs with ChatGPT and DeepFace). We have also supported academics working on the Mary Hamilton papers by fine-tuning AI models using existing collection data to generate potential transcriptions for items not yet transcribed.
- Building a demo version of ePADD (an Open-Source email archiving and preservation tool) that can integrate with external generative AI tools to allow curators to query and categorise the content of email as part of their appraisal. Benefits include identifying emails with sensitive, harmful or irrelevant content.
- Collaborating with colleagues across the University and beyond to explore how AI intersects with digital inclusion, from the accessibility of AI tools themselves to how these technologies change user behaviours in engaging with our Library services, support, resources and collections.
Library AI Oversight Group: Shaping the future of AI in the Library
The Library AI Oversight Group was established this year to coordinate the Library’s work on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to connect with University-wide initiatives. Its role is to ensure our exploration and use of AI reflects Library values, supports Imagine2030 priorities, and creates meaningful benefits for students, researchers, and staff.
The group is shaping thinking in areas such as teaching and learning, research, special collections, and staff ways of working. It aims to help students develop the skills and judgement to use AI responsibly, support researchers in accessing AI-ready collections and tools, and to create safe spaces for colleagues to explore AI-powered workflows that could improve efficiency and free up time. The group also explores opportunities to trial and shape new technologies while guiding discussions on wider issues such as ethics, copyright and responsible adoption.
This year, the group has begun providing steer on two key initiatives: the creation of a Library AI Hub (one-stop space for Library staff to access AI resources and training), and developing guidance for teams evaluating AI tools, ensuring adoption is safe, transparent, and equitable.
As the pace of change accelerates, the group will continue to provide the Library with clear guidance, safe spaces for experimentation, and a joined-up approach to AI that positions us as a leader across the University and sector.
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