University of Edinburgh Law Library Senate Room to Mezzanine View with Students
This year, I was lucky enough to attend the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) conference for the very first time—and I hope it won’t be my last! From the moment I arrived, I was struck by how welcoming and friendly the event was. Thanks to the buddy scheme, I connected with librarians from across the profession, opening doors to future opportunities for sharing knowledge and ideas.
One of the big themes at all library conferences this year is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and BIALL was no different. As one of the AI leads in our team, I was keen to learn how AI tools are being used in legal practice and library-led support. The sessions didn’t disappoint.
For example, the talk on ‘Leveraging GenAI for Competitor Research’ highlighted how lawyers and library staff are increasingly using generative AI tools in their everyday work. According to one survey, 79% of lawyers used AI in work according to a 2024 survey, with 20% using it multiple times a day and 23% daily! That said, we cannot ignore the well-documented problems and concerns around AI, and I found some of the insights in Matthew Leopold’s plenary particularly useful in this regard. I particularly liked the formula of trust = credibility + reliability + intimacy/self-orientation, which provided good ways to think about how we decide whether or not to trust an AI tool.
Other key points for me to consider in my own work:
- How can we futureproof any contracts or agreements around AI tools, considering how quickly they develop?
- Using emotion or promising a reward will get you a better response from ChatGPT!
- It is difficult calculating the return-on-investment for AI tools as they are not providing new content – instead we have to consider how we measure and value time saved?
Another interesting session was by Anne Coles and Helena Marshall, who discussed the Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam (SQE) and its effects on legal research skills training for new lawyers. Although the SQE doesn’t apply in Scotland, many of the challenges law librarians face mirror those in higher education. Conferences like BIALL are invaluable for exchanging ideas and strategies across different sectors.
I’m grateful to the conference committee for awarding me a bursary to attend the conference. I came away with fresh perspectives and plenty to consider as we continue to develop our AI support and legal research training here at the University.
Anna Richards, Academic Support Librarian – Law