By Jennifer Martinez Wormser ’95, Director and Sally Preston Swan Librarian for the Ella Strong Denison Library
Libraries are no strangers to technological innovation—and Denison Library, now 94 years old, is no exception.
Adapting to change has always been the linchpin to improving patron access to Denison’s collection. Manual typewriters went through multiple changes since their debut, but the arrival of the IBM Selectric in the early 1960s accelerated the efficiency of library staff in producing catalog cards, collection indexes, reports, and reference correspondence. Since then, online catalogs have replaced the physical card-based catalogs, and digitized content from our collection attracts a worldwide audience.
Fast forward to today, and transformational technology has continued to shift Denison from a locally accessed resource to a global one. Reference correspondence can be accomplished by email, although many campus community members still prefer to walk inside with their inquiries. Students can download images from the library’s Women’s Suffrage and Equal Rights Collection or the Â鶹Çø Archives from the ease of their residence halls—but so can researchers in Bangladesh, Cameroon, or Denmark.
Frances Currie ’26, Tamar Ladd ’27 and Louisa Chiriboga ’29 working on a hardcopy issue of the Scripps Voice newspaperArtificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and natural language processing may be new to others, but not to the library mindset.
We streamline access to learning by organizing, synthesizing, and sharing large amounts of textual and visual information. AI tools have even helped us transcribe some of Ellen Browning Scripps’ handwritten speeches and transfer audio from oral history interviews into a readable narrative.
Yet human expertise and review remain critical. With each new iteration of AI and other tech, we strive to ensure transparency and fairness while being mindful of the ethical implications that may arise. As we continue to integrate emerging technologies, Denison Library remains grounded in its enduring mission: to connect people with knowledge, no matter the tools or distance involved.