How Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Knowledge Representation and Access in Libraries and Information Institutions

Abstract

The article examines the impact of artificial intelligence on knowledge representation and access in libraries and information institutions, focusing on the transformations that AI applications introduce to knowledge management, information organization, user services, and library data analytics. It begins by explaining the relationship between AI, knowledge representation, and reasoning, emphasizing that such systems do not merely store data but seek to simulate intelligent behavior through perception, learning, knowledge representation, planning, and execution. The article presents the main types of knowledge in AI environments, including declarative, procedural, structural, meta-knowledge, and heuristic knowledge, and explains their role in building systems capable of understanding, inference, and recommendation. It then analyzes the relationship between libraries and AI, highlighting its potential to develop the roles of information professionals, improve library operations, employ robotic process automation, build smart libraries, and provide more personalized and flexible user services. The article also stresses the importance of data literacy and AI literacy for both librarians and users, enabling them to understand AI functions, limitations, and potential impacts. It concludes that AI adoption in libraries should be effective and ethical, extending to knowledge organization, services, training, and data analytics in ways that strengthen libraries’ ability to respond to the demands of the smart society.