Artificial Intelligence And The Discovery Of Electronic Resources: A Review Of User Attitudes And Perceptions In Academic Libraries

Abstract

Academic libraries are increasingly embedding artificial intelligence (AI) into the systems that connect students and researchers with electronic resources, from discovery layers and natural-language search to chatbots and recommender systems. This paper reviews recent literature on AI-enabled e-resource discovery and the attitudes of academic library users toward these tools. It finds that users generally value the efficiency, convenience and personalisation that AI offers, while expressing persistent concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, transparency and reduced human interaction. Drawing on technology-acceptance research and the digital-economy literature, the paper argues that user trust, rather than technical capability alone, will determine whether AI-enabled discovery tools succeed. It concludes with implications for library policy, digital literacy programming and vendor governance, situating the academic library as a small but instructive case study within the broader digital economy.