The Role of Law Librarians in Promoting AI Literacy

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the legal profession, influencing how attorneys conduct research, draft briefs, analyze litigation risk, and advise clients. As AI tools like generative language models, legal search platforms, and predictive analytics systems become more prevalent, AI literacy has become essential for legal professionals. Law librarians, long recognized for their expertise in research instruction, information curation, and professional ethics, are well positioned to take the lead in promoting AI literacy across the legal ecosystem.

This paper examines the role law librarians should play in fostering AI understanding, outlines strategies for advancing AI literacy, and identifies the challenges and opportunities involved.

Understanding AI Literacy in the Legal Context

AI literacy involves more than a basic familiarity with digital tools. In the legal context, it requires the ability to:

Comprehend how AI systems function (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing)
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of AI tools used in legal research, document review, and litigation support
Recognize the ethical, legal, and professional implications of using AI in legal work, including issues of bias, transparency, and accountability

The importance of such literacy is reinforced by the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which emphasize technological competence. Rule 1.1, Comment 8, specifically states that lawyers should “keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.”

Law Librarians as Leaders in AI Literacy

Law librarians can promote AI literacy through a variety of functions that align with their professional strengths:

1. Educators and Trainers

Law librarians can develop and lead instruction on:

The functioning of AI powered legal research tools (e.g., Lexis+ AI, Westlaw Precision, vLex, Paxton)
How to assess the reliability of outputs from large language models like ChatGPT or Claude
Understanding the legal risks of relying on AI for citation generation, case summarization, or argument drafting

Such training is essential for law students, faculty, practitioners, and judges. AI integration into legal work requires not only practical familiarity but also critical evaluation.

2. Ethics and Policy Advocates

AI raises new ethical and regulatory questions. Law librarians can:

Organize programming on the ethical use of AI in legal settings
Educate stakeholders about risks such as hallucinated citations, privacy violations, and opaque algorithmic decisions
Develop institutional policies for appropriate AI usage in law schools, firms, and courts

The importance of such engagement is underscored by recent instances where courts have sanctioned attorneys for submitting filings that included fictitious case law generated by AI, highlighting the need for human oversight and source verification.

3. Technology Advisors and Research Partners

Librarians can help legal institutions:

Evaluate and compare AI tools on accuracy, cost effectiveness, transparency, and privacy protections
Analyze vendor claims about the capabilities of legal AI products
Promote best practices in AI implementation, including human-in the loop protocols

Such roles position librarians as critical allies in navigating emerging legal tech markets and safeguarding institutional integrity.

Strategies for Implementation

Law libraries seeking to promote AI literacy should consider the following strategies:

Integrate AI literacy into legal research curricula, including hands-on exercises and discussions of ethics and transparency
Create public facing guides and annotated bibliographies on AI topics relevant to legal practice
Collaborate with legal technology thought leaders and institutions to host webinars and develop practical frameworks for evaluating generative AI tools

Example Initiatives:

The New York Law Institute (NYLI) has been a leader in reflecting on how law libraries can navigate the promises and challenges of generative AI. In a recent institutional reflection titled “The Struggle and the Splendor,” NYLI identified the disruptive force of AI in law libraries and urged a proactive response grounded in education, experimentation, and ethical oversight. NYLI’s blog also discusses how generative AI can enhance or undermine legal reference services, pointing to the urgent need for librarians to lead AI-related policy conversations.

Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab has explored experimental legal data tools, including open-access case analysis engines, which serve as models for teaching explainable AI.

Key challenges for law librarians promoting AI literacy include:

Limited funding or staffing, especially for acquiring subscriptions to new AI-enabled platforms
Keeping pace with evolving technology, as AI tools undergo rapid iteration and require constant reevaluation
Overcoming skepticism or misinformation, as some legal professionals either over trust or under trust AI capabilities

Despite these challenges, law librarians have a unique opportunity to lead the profession through this technological transition by modeling responsible AI use and supporting community learning.

Conclusion

AI is fundamentally altering how legal information is produced, accessed, and interpreted. Law librarians, with their deep expertise in legal research, pedagogy, and ethics, are ideally positioned to foster AI literacy in law schools, courts, and legal practice settings.

By serving as educators, advocates, and advisors, law librarians can help legal professionals critically engage with AI tools, meet their ethical obligations under ABA rules, and ensure that the legal system adapts responsibly to emerging technologies. Promoting AI literacy is not only aligned with the mission of law librarianship, it is an essential service to the rule of law in the digital age.

References

Model Rules of Prof’l Conduct r. 1.1 cmt. 8 (Am. Bar Ass’n 2020).
Mata v. Avianca, Inc., No. 22-CV-1461, 2023 WL 4114965 (S.D.N.Y. June 22, 2023).
New York Law Institute, The Struggle and the Splendor: Harnessing the Disruptive Force of Generative AI in Law Libraries (2024), https://www.nyli.org/the-struggle-and-the-splendor-harnessing-the-disruptive-force-of-generative-/-ai-in-law-linraries
Harvard Library Innovation Lab, Exploring Legal AI Projects, https://lil.law.harvard.edu