September 26, 2025
Rebecca Morris, a Teaching Associate Professor with SCI’ s Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship, and Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) alumna Annie Malady were recently published in the May 2025 issue of Library Trends. Their article, titled “Facing the Questions Together: Faculty and Student Perspectives on Integrating Generative AI in LIS Education,” explores collaborative viewpoints facing educators and students at Pitt and beyond.
“For me, these inquiries were novel, timely, and relevant for incorporating into MLIS courses and curriculum,” Morris (pictured right) stated.
Her curiosity about the importance of policy and the application of AI in higher education was initially sparked by a cross-disciplinary workshop and seminar series sponsored by Pitt’s Research, Ethics and Society Initiative (RESI). This experience led to a SCI mini grant that supported the facilitation of a Community of Practice in generative AI in teaching.
Morris’s exploration of AI continued through her role as an instructor for LIS 2921, a field experience offered by Hillman Library. In this role, she coordinated placements for the course and developed the accompanying field experience curriculum. The course served as an evolving introduction to critical tools and questions that librarians must evaluate when adopting and critiquing generative AI.
The field experience course also opened doors for Malady, who was mentored by Morris throughout the field experience, an opportunity that arose after Malady completed a Pitt Partnership with Ula Lechtenberg, the Learning Design Coordinator at Hillman.
Through this field placement, which Morris instructed with the valuable knowledge and support of Pitt faculty librarians Carrie Donovan and Ula Lechtenberg, Malady participated in an AI Community of Practice, delivered a professional conference presentation based on her work during the Pitt Partnership, and contributed to multiple LibGuides projects.
"The guidance that Dr. Morris provided during this time was incredibly helpful in thinking through the ways I can apply day-to-day work at my field placement to what I had learned in LIS courses,” Malady (pictured below) said.
Morris and Malady were inspired to write the article by the persistent work of MLIS students who dedicated 130 hours working under the guidance of information professionals in libraries or archives. At the time, the performance of AI was still being actively explored in these fields.
“I was learning about the integration of generative AI into academic libraries in real time, from employing features embedded in research databases to facing questions about academic integrity,” Morris said, reflecting on the field experience.
Following Malady’s graduation, the pair began collaborating to write the article, which reflects the dynamic, collaborative, and curious approach to learning demonstrated by students and faculty at SCI.
When Library Trends posted a call in early 2024 for papers exploring theoretical and practical responses to AI and the LIS curriculum, Morris and Malady saw the perfect opportunity for connection. Their article promotes thoughtful policy considerations and explores the use of generative AI for the purpose of enhancing higher education learning in the digital age.
Morris continues to be excited about furthering her research in the role of generative AI in academia, and since their time at SCI, Malady has been bringing their MLIS experience to their work as a teacher and writer focused on student services and promoting service learning in higher education.
Read more about incorporating generative AI technologies into library and information science education in the issue available through Project MUSE.