Roseline Bawack (PhD), ADLSN’s Cameroon Country Coordinator, recently presented on AI and libraries in the Cameroonian context at the CACAIS 2024 Conference.
The theme of the Central African Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (CACAIS) conference was “Combining Indigenous Knowledge with Digital Technologies for a Sustainable Future”. It was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon & Online, June 6-8, 2024.
Bawack’s presentation provided an overview of Cameroon’s libraries concerning technological advancements, knowledge organization, and AI awareness, highlighting AI’s potential to enhance library operations. She proposed various AI technologies to support knowledge organization systems and recommended that Cameroonian libraries adopt AI to improve services, especially in knowledge organization and representation.
Some of the opportunities Bawack identified include:
- Cataloging and Classification: AI aids in automating the cataloging process, making it faster and more efficient.
- Predictive Analytics for Collection Development: Custom AI models can predict visitor interests and trends, helping institutions plan their collections and exhibitions.
- Collaborative Filtering and Content-Based Filtering: For personalized book and resource recommendations.
- Document Analysis to identify trends & patterns.
- Educational and content generation: Developing educational content such as interactive guides using tools such as Chatgpt.
Bawack’s recommendations acknowledge that the following challenges must be addressed to ensure AI adoption in libraries – staff training, infrastructure, governance, and policy development.
