An intense debate is taking place in the library community about whether AI should be involved in traditional reading experiences. The popular e-book and audiobook lending app Libby has just announced a new AI-driven feature called "Inspire Me," but this seemingly thoughtful upgrade has unexpectedly sparked strong opposition from readers and librarians.
The new feature, called "Inspire Me," allows users to get personalized book recommendations by entering keywords or based on previously saved books. The process is quite simple and intuitive: readers just need to click the "Inspire Me" option on the Libby homepage, first select the category of fiction or non-fiction, and then narrow down the recommendation range through more filters such as age group and content type.
The system provides creative options. Users can click on emotional tags like "Spooky" or "Humorous and Funny," and then further choose specific scenarios, such as "Dark humor about modern family dysfunction" or "Time travelers saving dragons from medieval knights." Based on these choices, the app will display five relevant books that meet the user's needs.
Image source note: The image was generated by AI, and the image licensing service is Midjourney.
The company that developed the Libby app, Overdrive, emphasized that this feature relies entirely on the digital collections of each library, so it will only recommend books that the library actually owns. The system will also prioritize books that can be borrowed immediately, ensuring readers do not lose their interest in reading due to waiting.
Although this application is relatively basic from a technical perspective, many Libby users and librarians have expressed strong opposition on social media platforms. They clearly stated that they prefer to get book recommendations without AI technology intervention. In addition to their resistance to AI technology itself, many people are also concerned about potential privacy issues that AI experiences might bring.
Facing these concerns, Overdrive quickly released a policy document regarding the use of AI technology in Libby to clarify the worries. The company explicitly promised to avoid collecting "unnecessary personal information." Even when user personal information is needed, this data will not be shared with third parties or AI models. More importantly, users' detailed profiles and activity records will also not be passed to the AI model.
In terms of specific data processing methods, Overdrive took quite cautious measures. When users share saved tags to get AI suggestions, the AI model can only receive the book titles for recommendations and cannot access any detailed information about the user, device information, or descriptions of the tag names.
Perhaps anticipating possible opposition, Overdrive specifically emphasized in its official statement that the goal of launching this feature is by no means to replace "human insight" with generative AI. Instead, the company positions it as a "complement" to the book discovery services led by librarians.
Jen Lichtman, Chief Marketing Officer of Overdrive, said in the statement: "The 'Inspire Me' feature helps readers explore the carefully curated collections of local libraries through responsible AI integration. By showing books that match the reader's search content, Inspire Me helps readers discover more books that the library has already invested in purchasing. It's not about replacing human insight, but making the discovery process easier, smarter, and more intuitive."
It is reported that the company started a soft launch of this feature earlier this month, allowing users to gain access by searching for "#InspireMe" in the Libby app. With the official release and full promotion of the feature, it is expected that all Libby users will have access to this new feature by September.
This controversy surrounding the AI book recommendation feature reflects a deeper issue: how to find a balance between traditional reading culture and emerging AI technology in the digital age. On one hand, AI technology indeed provides more accurate and personalized service experiences; on the other hand, many avid readers worry that over-reliance on AI may weaken human interaction and the unique value of the librarian profession.
