AI for Archival Research?

As the "Next Big Thing," artificial intelligence (AI) has taken off as of late. Using chatbots to help with tasks and answer questions is proving to be quick and convenient. In the Reference Services Department, my colleagues and I are noticing a sharp increase in the use of these tools for creating reference questions and requesting relevant library materials. From our side of the interactions, a few trends are becoming clear.

First, in my own use of these tools, I can attest that our collections are being drawn out and placed in the search results of researchers who may not have noticed the Hagley Museum and Library in previous searches. This is a positive and serves to increase engagement with our collections. However, AI chatbots are very eager to please, and they have a tendency to over-promise on what is available. The programs will populate their results with unprocessed new materials and non-existent, ultimately leading to fruitless searches and disappointment when these items are not found.

Therefore, we must provide a caveat for researchers using AI to bolster their search results: if you believe you have found something interesting and useful in our collections via an AI search, please verify your findings using Hagley’s online databases. Here are the four primary access points to search for information about our collection:

Hagley Finding Aids Database: detailed descriptions and inventories of archival collections.

Hagley Library Catalog: records of collection material such as books, pamphlets, folios, and manuscripts.

Hagley Digital Archives: digitized collection materials.

Hagley Museum Collections: information on object-based collections.

We actively update and maintain these databases to ensure they provide the most accurate information on our holdings available for research. Should you have any questions about your results, we invite you to contact us via askhagley@hagley.org and Reference staff will provide you with precise, hands-on information.

Note: The image for this article was produced using AI.