Call for Participation in Survey about Librarians and Artificial Intelligence

May 14, 2025

Hello, Colleagues:

I am soliciting participation by librarians in a survey that seeks to ascertain how North American librarians perceive and engage with artificial intelligence. Approximately 350 subjects will be asked to participate in this study. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey that will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The questions will ask about your perceptions of, assessment of, and experience with artificial intelligence. This research could potentially help future librarians develop plans about whether and if so, how, to implement strategies for using artificial intelligence in the library.

Additional information about the study is contained in the information letter that precedes the survey, which can be found at the following URL:

https://milwaukee.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5zQMgSjKT4CJAQm

I thank you in advance for considering completing this survey.

Sincerely,
Wilhelm Peekhaus, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
peekhaus@uwm.edu

A Study of Librarian Perceptions of and Experience with Artificial Intelligence

Researcher: Wilhelm Peekhaus, Ph.D., Associate Professor. School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM)

I’m inviting you to take a survey for research. This survey is completely voluntary. There are no negative consequences if you don’t want to take it. If you start the survey, you can always change your mind and stop at any time.

What is the purpose of this study?
I want to understand librarian perceptions of artificial intelligence and how artificial intelligence is used in library operations.

What will I do?
This survey will ask some basic demographic questions, your personal perceptions of and experience with artificial experience, and your beliefs about artificial intelligence in your professional life.

Risks:

• Some questions may be personal or upsetting. You can skip them or quit the survey at any time.
• Online data being hacked or intercepted: Anytime you share information online there are risks. I’m using a secure system to collect this data, but I can’t completely eliminate this risk.
• Breach of confidentiality: There is a chance your data could be seen by someone who shouldn’t have access to it. I’m minimizing this risk in the following ways:
  • No questions will ask for personally identifiable information.
  • I’ll store all electronic data on a password-protected computer.

Possible benefits:
This research could potentially help future librarians develop plans about whether and if so, how, to implement plans for using artificial intelligence in the library.

Estimated number of participants: 350

How long will it take?
It is anticipated that the survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete.

Costs: None

Compensation: None

Future research: Data will not be shared with other researchers.

Confidentiality and Data Security
To facilitate your participation in the survey, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of this computer will be collected. This information is necessary to ensure a person does not participate more than once in the survey. This information will not be linked to your responses, nor do any of the survey questions ask you to provide identifying information.

Where will data be stored?
Data will be retained on the Qualtrics website server for a maximum of one week after the close of the survey and will be deleted after this time. However, data may exist on Qualtrics backups or server logs beyond the timeframe of this research project. Data will be saved on a password-protected computer until the analysis, and any subsequent publications emanating from it, is fully complete.

How long will it be kept?
At maximum this material will be retained for up to five years.

Who can see my data?

• I will have access to de-identified data (no IP addresses). This is so I can analyze the data and conduct the study.
• Agencies that enforce legal and ethical guidelines, such as
  • The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at UWM
  • The Office for Human Research Protections.
• I will share my findings in publications and/or presentations. The results will be aggregated data, with no individual results. If I quote you, I’ll use pseudonyms.

Questions about the research, complaints, or problems: Contact Wilhelm Peekhaus, (414) 322-6707, peekhaus@uwm.edu.

Questions about your rights as a research participant, complaints, or problems: Contact the UWM IRB at 414-662-3544, irbinfo@uwm.edu.

Please print or save this screen if you want to be able to access the information later.
IRB #: 25.220
IRB Approval Date: April 25, 2025