Doing More with One Librarian：How a Library Led, AI Augmented University History Gallery Became a Campus Showcase

Abstract

This poster presents a transformative case of a university history gallery managed by a single librarian under the academic library, demonstrating how AI augmented collaboration enables sustainable, high-quality services centered on on-site visitor engagement. The gallery supports campus activities, alumni homecoming events, and international visitor programs, serving as an important cultural and reception space.

To enhance service capacity and operational efficiency, the librarian strategically integrates digital AI tools, including AI voice guides to support guided and semi guided tours, real time temperature and humidity dashboards for facility and collection monitoring, and NotebookLM to assist with curatorial research, archival organization, and exhibition narrative development. These tools help reduce routine workload while strengthening professional interpretation and service consistency.

Through this human centered, library led model, the gallery has evolved into a key campus showcase for outreach and cultural representation. Over the past five years, visitor numbers have increased by 48%, and guided tour sessions have grown by 174%, demonstrating the effectiveness of AI supported practices in expanding impact without increasing staffing. This case illustrates how libraries can transform services and strategies by augmenting professional expertise with AI to meet growing institutional and user demands.