Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Libraries)

The libraries at Virginia Tech and the University of California, Riverside will launch a Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Incubator Program to address the challenge of limited AI adoption in university libraries. Participants will start with learning fundamentals of GenAI, advancing through guided demonstrations, real-world examples, and targeted tasks. Participants will then work as a team on a capstone project to create a GenAI application for a library use case specific to four library themes: GenAI literacy, collection, preservation, and research. The targeted mentoring will feature a multi-day workshop, supplemented by consultation sessions and project management tools to assist participants in completing their capstone projects. Beyond the initial project participants, widely shared deliverables will include training materials, workshops, and the capstone projects. Participants in this incubator program will become GenAI practitioners, possessing a deep understanding, practical expertise, and the capacity to demonstrate the positive impact of AI within the broader library community.