Category: Technology Advisory Group

The group met 1 time this reporting period.

After reviewing the current PLA Strategic Plan, please tell us:

Describe the current work of this committee and how it supports our strategic goals. Include work accomplished, decisions made, and any recommended follow-up actions.
The committee explored a range of potential project ideas, though we are still in the process of identifying members to lead specific efforts.

We did make progress by drafting and submitting a revised committee charge:

"To explore the role of artificial intelligence in public libraries, including its potential to enhance services, streamline operations, and support community engagement; to facilitate discussions on ethical considerations, privacy, and equitable access related to AI; to collect and share resources on AI tools, best practices, and implementation strategies; and to support library staff in developing AI literacy through education, training, and collaboration."

This new charge is intended to better define the committee’s focus and ensure our work supports PLA’s broader goals around technology, staff development, and equitable service.

We recommend that PLA leadership review and approve the revised charge.

Do you see opportunities to better align committee work with those goals?
While the committee’s updated charge reflects PLA’s goals around innovation and staff development, there is still room to better align our work with goals related to equity and professional growth. Future efforts could include developing guidance on equitable AI implementation in libraries, or collecting case studies on how AI tools are being used to support diverse communities. Identifying specific, manageable projects that match both member capacity and strategic priorities will help move this work forward.

What recommendations do you have for in-coming committee members? Are there particular streams of
work in progress to be carried over into the new committee year? (January–June reporting period only)
Incoming committee members are encouraged to bring forward project ideas they are personally interested in leading. To maintain momentum, it’s important that proposed ideas move beyond the discussion phase into small, manageable projects with clear goals and timelines.

At present, the main stream of work to be carried over is the newly proposed committee charge. Once approved, the committee will be well-positioned to begin identifying concrete next steps, such as initiatives related to AI in public libraries.

What specific activities will this committee undertake over the next six months to support that alignment? (July–December reporting period only)

Are there other PLA or ALA committees whose partnership and collaboration would accelerate meeting PLA strategic goals?
PLA Digital Literacy
Core Emerging Tech Trends

Is there anything else about your committee experience you’d like to share?

Submitted by Michael Bartolomeo on 06/03/2025

The group met 1 time this reporting period.

After reviewing the current PLA Strategic Plan, please tell us:

Describe the current work of this committee and how it supports our strategic goals. Include work accomplished, decisions made, and any recommended follow-up actions.
We are working on creating technology competencies for public libraries. We have created a universal list of positions for public libraries. The next step is to focus on each position and create a list of general technology competencies for each.

This directly supports the strategic goals of Transformation, Professional Growth, and Organizational Excellence, by providing avenues for training and growth in order to help solidify library staff's technology skills.

Do you see opportunities to better align committee work with those goals?
Not at this time – we need to keep progressing with the committee's goals.

What recommendations do you have for in-coming committee members? Are there particular streams of
work in progress to be carried over into the new committee year? (January–June reporting period only)
We have started breaking down the work to be done in order to complete the technology competency project. My recommendation is to divide up that work, place deadlines on it, and get it done. Also for committee members – make sure you are committed to helping the committee meet its goals.

What specific activities will this committee undertake over the next six months to support that alignment? (July–December reporting period only)

Are there other PLA or ALA committees whose partnership and collaboration would accelerate meeting PLA strategic goals?
Not at this time.

Is there anything else about your committee experience you’d like to share?

Submitted by David Lee King on 06/05/2024

The group met 2-3 times this reporting period.

After reviewing the current PLA Strategic Plan, please tell us:

Describe the current work of this committee and how it supports our strategic goals. Include work accomplished, decisions made, and any recommended follow-up actions.
This year, we have been focused on re-defining the Technology Committee. We have decided to focus on creating Technology Competencies for library staff. Once that task is complete, we plan to focus on assessment and training opportunities for library staff, potentially creating some type of technology competency certificate for libraries.

Our chair met with the PLA board and discussed changes to our deliverables and outcomes. The board liked and approved of our direction.

We believe that the work of our committee directly supports PLA's strategic goals of Transformation, Professional Growth, and Organizational Excellence.

Do you see opportunities to better align committee work with those goals?
In our case, we focused on PLA's strategic goals during our discussions of how to re-define the committee's goals. At this point, the Technology Committee is directly aligned with the strategic goals.

What recommendations do you have for in-coming committee members? Are there particular streams of
work in progress to be carried over into the new committee year? (January–June reporting period only)
It's a great time to join the Technology Committee – we have decided what we want to accomplish. This next year will be focused on actually accomplishing our goals.

What specific activities will this committee undertake over the next six months to support that alignment? (July–December reporting period only)

Are there other PLA or ALA committees whose partnership and collaboration would accelerate meeting PLA strategic goals?
Not sure at the moment. That said, there is a LOT of overlap with committees and goals, so probably so.

Is there anything else about your committee experience you’d like to share?

Submitted by David Lee King on 06/06/2023