{"id":1088,"date":"2025-07-18T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2025-07-18T11:00:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:00:55","slug":"reflections-on-attending-the-biall-conference-exploring-ai-and-legal-librarianship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2025\/07\/18\/reflections-on-attending-the-biall-conference-exploring-ai-and-legal-librarianship\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Attending the BIALL Conference: Exploring AI and Legal Librarianship"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1089\" style=\"width: 594px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1089\" data-attachment-id=\"1089\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2025\/07\/18\/reflections-on-attending-the-biall-conference-exploring-ai-and-legal-librarianship\/law-library-senate-to-mezzanine-view-with-students-studying-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?fit=1500%2C1001&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1500,1001\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Ian R Fleming&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D800E&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1552641283&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Copyright 2016 Ian Fleming&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.05&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Law Library Senate to Mezzanine View with Students Studying 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Law Library Senate to Mezzanine View with Students&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?fit=584%2C390&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1089 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?resize=584%2C390&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"View of students reading in a library on two floors\" width=\"584\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?resize=768%2C513&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?resize=450%2C300&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?w=1500&amp;ssl=1 1500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Law-Library-Senate-to-Mezzanine-View-with-Students-Studying-2.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">University of Edinburgh Law Library Senate Room to Mezzanine View with Students<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This year, I was lucky enough to attend the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) conference for the very first time\u2014and I hope it won\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t disappoint.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>For example, the talk on \u2018Leveraging GenAI for Competitor Research\u2019 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Other key points for me to consider in my own work:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How can we futureproof any contracts or agreements around AI tools, considering how quickly they develop?<\/li>\n<li>Using emotion or promising a reward will get you a better response from ChatGPT!<\/li>\n<li>It is difficult calculating the return-on-investment for AI tools as they are not providing new content \u2013 instead we have to consider how we measure and value time saved?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another interesting session was by Anne Coles and Helena Marshall, who discussed the Solicitor\u2019s Qualifying Exam (SQE) and its effects on legal research skills training for new lawyers. Although the SQE doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n<p>Anna Richards, Academic Support Librarian &#8211; Law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year, I was lucky enough to attend the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) conference for the very first time\u2014and I hope it won\u2019t be my last! From the moment I arrived, I was struck by how &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2025\/07\/18\/reflections-on-attending-the-biall-conference-exploring-ai-and-legal-librarianship\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[35],"tags":[177,176,225,224,17,162],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcUES5-hy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1112,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2025\/08\/22\/what-we-learned-from-our-conferences-academic-support-librarians-and-professional-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":0},"title":"What we learned from our conferences : Academic Support Librarians and professional engagement","date":"August 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Academic Support Librarians are a learning team, who have attended professional development events in line with the prioritised themes in our team workplan. Ishbel Leggat attended the RLUK conference in Liverpool in March, where she learned\u00a0 \u201chow colleagues at other institutions are embedding AI skills into the curriculum, how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ASL stories&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/08\/Picture1-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1074,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2025\/07\/05\/challenges-changes-and-collaborations-american-theological-library-association-conference-pittsburgh-june-18-21-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":1},"title":"Challenges, Changes and Collaborations\u2013 American Theological Library Association conference, \u00a0Pittsburgh June 18-21 2025","date":"July 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was delighted to be invited to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this year to speak at the Atla 2025 Annual meeting. It\u2019s actually the second time I have been to a library conference in Pittsburgh \u201cthe steel city\u201d, the first was to an ARLIS art librarians conference over 20 years ago. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ASL stories&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2025\/07\/Steps-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":721,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2024\/04\/01\/ai-theological-libraries-and-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":2},"title":"AI, Theological Libraries \u2026 and me","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The University of Edinburgh hosted the Association of British Theological and Philosophical Libraries conference this year at New College on 21-23 March. As usual there was the opportunity for discovering fascinating and historic libraries, including (of course) New College Library, the National Museum of Library of Scotland and the Signet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Conference reports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2024\/04\/Artificial_intelligence.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":839,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2024\/07\/26\/ai-vs-the-imago-dei-views-from-us-theological-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":3},"title":"AI vs the Imago Dei : views from US theological libraries","date":"July 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On Tuesday 18 June, I flew half way around the world to attend the Atla conference in Long Beach, California. There were two questions that Atla delegates asked me that I had to pause and think about to answer. The first was \u2018Why did you come such a long way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Conference reports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2024\/04\/Artificial_intelligence.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":606,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2023\/10\/09\/meeting-the-challenges-facing-ecclesiastical-libraries\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":4},"title":"Meeting the challenges facing ecclesiastical libraries","date":"October 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"BETH are a European group of national organisations representing librarians working in theological college, seminary, Church and monastic libraries. Solo librarians or librarians working in small teams are characteristic of their membership, although there is also representation from University libraries. I attended their conference on the theme of Challenges facing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Conference reports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Cordoba Mosque \/ Cathedral","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/files\/2023\/10\/Cathedral.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":801,"url":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/2024\/05\/14\/report-from-the-annual-lilac-information-literacy-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":1088,"position":5},"title":"Report from the annual LILAC information literacy conference","date":"May 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Between 25-27 March a host of librarians from across the globe descended on Leeds Beckett University for the annual LILAC information literacy conference. Information literacy is a key concept in the work of the Academic Support Librarians, covering all the skills that we teach, from referencing through to critical thinking.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Conference reports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1090,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions\/1090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk\/asl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}