AI and Information Access: Benefits, Challenges and Lessons

by G. G. Chowdhury, Sudatta Chowdhury

Overview

Libraries and information services are constantly evolving and adapting to the capacity and capabilities offered by emerging technologies. With the emergence of Generative AI (Gen AI), what is the impact of these tools for access to information?

By undertaking an evidence-based approach and analysing and comparing the output generated by a range of Gen AI tools for access to specific information in everyday life, research and scholarly contexts, this book discusses the implications of these technologies for the end-users, as well as education and professional practice in the library and information sciences.

Designed for students, academics, researchers and professionals in library science, information science and computer science, this authoritative work takes a practical approach to demonstrate and critically analyse the benefits offered by emerging Gen AI tools for information access, as well as the potential challenges and questions associated with the use of these tools. Legal and ethical issues of using Gen AI are discussed as well as the skills needed in order to use these tools effectively to find data and information for research and in everyday life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783307753
Publisher:	Facet Publishing
Publication date:	08/14/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook

About the Author

G. G. Chowdhury is a Professor of Information Science in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. Previously, he had held several senior academic positions including Professor and Head of Mathematics and Information Sciences, as the Head of iSchool at Northumbria University and as a Professor and Director of Information and Knowledge Management at the University of Technology Sydney. Professor Chowdhury is a world-leading expert in digital libraries, cultural information management and sustainable information systems and services. He has published 16 books and over 160 research papers and has previously served as the European and Global Chair of the iSchools organisation.

Sudatta Chowdhury is a Research Associate in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. Previously, she had held several academic and research positions at universities in the UK, Singapore and Australia. Her research focuses on information-seeking behaviour and human-centred challenges for access to information, including digital divide and digital and information skills. She has co-authored five books, several journal and conference papers, and book chapters.

Professor Gobinda Chowdhury BSc Hons, MSc, PhD, FCLIP is Professor in Information Science at iSchool@northumbria, and Head of the Department of Mathematics and Information Sciences at Northumbria University. Before joining Northumbria University he was a Professor and Director of the Centre for Information and Knowledge Management at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. For over 25 years he has worked as an academic and researcher in information science in different parts of the world including Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. For the past few years he has been actively involved in the iSchools activities. Professor Chowdhury has written or edited 15 books and over 150 research papers.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Information access: tools and processes

Chapter 3: Information Seeking and Retrieval

Chapter 4: GenAI for everyday life information

Chapter 5: GenAI for research and scholarly information

Chapter 6: Gen AI and information-seeking

Chapter 7: Gen AI and User Skills for Information Access

Chapter 8: Gen AI for information access: a research agenda

Conclusion