Universities are racing to embrace artificial intelligence. But who is helping students decide when its answers deserve to be trusted? Global Media and Information Literacy Week is a timely moment to recognize the academic library’s place in that task. Yet amid discussions of innovation, automation and future skills, the library is often overlooked.
Many still see it as a place that buys, stores and lends books. In that view, Google reduced its importance and AI may finish the job. L-R: Diana Baidollinova, a librarian at the Teaching and Learning Support Office (TLSO); Darya Zvonareva, the head of TLSO; Aigerim Akparova, TLSO Librarian; Saqib Raza, PhD student NU; Venera Niyazbayeva, TLSO Librarian.
Photo credit NU Library. The opposite is closer to the truth. AI has not made academic libraries less relevant. It has made their deeper purpose impossible to ignore. The central problem facing students today is no longer access to information. Information is everywhere.
Answers appear within seconds. Generative AI can summarize articles, suggest references, produce arguments and imitate academic language with remarkable confidence. But confidence is not credibility. AI can invent citations. Search engines rank rather than judge. Predatory journals can look professional.
Weak evidence travels quickly. A polished paragraph can hide a poor source, and an impressive answer can conceal almost no understanding at all. This changes the meaning of literacy. Knowing how to find information is no longer enough. Students must know how to question it.
They must understand where evidence comes from, why one source deserves more trust than another, how scholarly knowledge is produced, and when an AI-generated answer should be challenged rather than accepted. This is where the modern academic library should be understood differently.
A serious university library is not a warehouse of books. It is part of the university’s intellectual infrastructure. Nazarbayev University Library offers a useful example. Yes, it provides books, electronic journals, databases, study spaces and extensive digital access.
It is technologically well equipped and has introduced systems that make academic resources easier to discover and use. But judging the library only by its collection would miss its most important work. NU Library supports students in literature searching, source evaluation, referencing, citation management and responsible use of information.
It helps researchers navigate databases, systematic review resources, publication strategies, research visibility, bibliometrics, open access and journal selection. It also provides guidance that can help scholars identify questionable publishing practices and avoid predatory outlets.
These are not administrative services. They are academic capabilities. The distinction matters because universities often speak about developing critical thinkers while underinvesting in the very institutions that teach students how knowledge should be located, tested and used.