Laurie Bridges is an instruction librarian at Oregon State University. She has more than 15 years of experience as a librarian and researcher, examining how technology shapes the ways students and faculty use information to create new knowledge.
Over the past three years, her research has focused on generative AI, and in June 2025 she became director of the AI Literacy Center at Oregon State University. The virtual center, a partnership between OSU Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning, emphasizes a foundational understanding of generative AI through a critical and ethical lens and supports students and instructional faculty in making intentional decisions about whether and how to use generative AI. Drawing on this and previous work in librarianship, Laurie has authored or co-authored over 20 articles and book chapters; she is currently pursuing her PhD in Information Science at the Universitat de Barcelona, where her research focuses on critical AI literacy.
Libraries as Bridges to Critical AI Literacy
Generative AI (GenAI) technologies are rapidly reshaping the information landscape, from how information is created and distributed to how people make meaning from it. Building on libraries’ longstanding commitment to information literacy and lifelong learning, this presentation explores why developing critical AI Literacy is essential for an informed citizenry and equitable democracy. Libraries are uniquely positioned to guide learners in examining how GenAI systems shape society and individuals in both significant and subtle ways. The presentation will also highlight how the AI Literacy Center at Oregon State University is supporting critical AI Literacy across disciplines.