“This is Where the Rubber Hits the Road for Us:” Academic Librarian Perceptions About the Environmental Impacts of Generative AI

Authors

• Olivia Chin, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Mandi Goodsett, Cleveland State UniversityFollow

ORCID ID

orcid.org/0000-0003-0477-2828

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2027

Publication Title

College & Research Libraries

Abstract

While transparent data about the environmental impact of generative AI is scarce, the evidence available shows that AI data centers require significant amounts of water and electricity, and they often disrupt the communities where they are built. Despite these negative effects and other ethical concerns, many academic librarians feel pressure to embrace generative AI, serve as campus AI experts, and assist patrons with AI. This study uses a survey and focus groups to explore academic librarians’ use of generative AI, their reactions to the environmental impacts of this new technology, and the ways that they find balance in an AI-saturated world.

Repository Citation

Chin, Olivia and Goodsett, Mandi, "“This is Where the Rubber Hits the Road for Us:” Academic Librarian Perceptions About the Environmental Impacts of Generative AI" (2027). Michael Schwartz Library Publications. 194.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/msl_facpub/194

Original Citation

Chin, O., & Goodsett, M. (2026). “This is where the rubber hits the road for us:” Academic librarian perceptions about the environmental impacts of generative AI. College & Research Libraries. [Preprint].

Version

Preprint

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License