Best of Core Forum: Ethics, AI, and Cataloging: A Practical Approach

CHICAGO—Join Core for the webinar "Best of Core Forum: Ethics, AI, and Cataloging: A Practical Approach" on April 14, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to streamline metadata workflows and increase the capacity of cataloging operations. Interest in the promise of AI has accelerated since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. Metadata practitioners have conducted many case studies using AI processes, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP). In addition to underscoring dramatic improvements in the speed and scale of metadata generation, these experiments demonstrate AI's ability to identify and correct inconsistencies in metadata and reveal trends in data sets that are not obvious to researchers. However, these case studies do not systematically address ethical concerns associated with the use of AI, such as data accuracy, algorithmic bias, environmental impacts, and privacy concerns. This webinar will discuss ethical codes and statements of principles related to cataloging and AI, such as the Cataloguing Code of Ethics and the Association of Research Libraries’ “Research Libraries Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence,” and how they may be used to assess the benefits and risks of implementing AI technologies in cataloging workflows. The speakers will guide the participants through a case study to demonstrate how one might perform this ethical analysis.
 

Best of Core Forum: Ethics, AI, and Cataloging: A Practical Approach

Presenters:

Abby Dover, Linked Data Librarian, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Jessica Grzegorski, Rare Materials Metadata Librarian, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Registration Fees:

Core Member: $57.85
ALA Member: $80.10
Nonmember: $89.00
Student: $44.50

How Do I Purchase Group Registration?

You can register a group by specifying the number of people who will be accessing the webinar during checkout. We offer webinars discounts based on the number of registrations you specify at checkout. If you are a Core member, you can purchase seats for yourself and your colleagues at the Core discount rate; ALA's new e-Learning store allows you to extend Core member savings to colleagues at your institution.

Can't attend the live event? No problem! All registrants will receive a link to the recorded session for later viewing at their convenience.

Register online or by phone at 1-800-545-2433 (press 1 to reach our customer service representatives).

For questions or comments related to Core webinars, please contact Core staff at corece@ala.org.

About Core

Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is the national association that advances the profession of librarians and information providers in central roles of leadership and management, collections and technical services, and technology. Our mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning. Core is a division of the American Library Association. Follow us on our Blog, Instagram and LinkedIn.