Northern Arizona University opens library-based AI Hub to build campus and community AI skills
Northern Arizona University has opened a new AI Hub at its Cline Library, creating a shared, on-campus space where students, faculty, staff, and community members can explore generative AI and build practical AI skills.
The move reflects growing efforts by universities to treat AI as a core literacy linked to employability, critical thinking, and regional workforce development.
Located within the Cline Library, the AI Hub is intended to give the NAU community a central place to test ideas, compare approaches across disciplines, and access real-time support for using generative AI. Library staff and student AI ambassadors provide guidance to help visitors get comfortable with AI tools, share work, and experiment with new approaches.
The hub is funded by a gift from NAU alumnus James Owens, a 1971 graduate of the School of Communication. NAU describes the space as a way to help the campus engage early with AI during what it calls a Year of AI Empowerment.
Libraries and AI literacy
Cynthia Childrey, Dean and University Librarian at NAU, says the library’s role is central to how AI is introduced and understood on campus. She says: “By collaboratively designing and creating the AI Hub as a shared campus and regional resource, Cline Library is providing a space where all members of our community can learn by doing and learn from each other.”
She adds: “Librarians’ expertise in information literacy and critical thinking prepares them to be natural guides for exploring AI as well as navigating the challenges presented by AI.”
University President José Luis Cruz Rivera also frames AI as a form of modern literacy rather than a standalone technology. He says: “That’s when I began to see AI not just as a toolset, but as a literacy—a kind of modern fluency that determines whether we remain in control of our thinking, of our creativity, of our humanity, or hand it off too easily.”
He adds: “That shift in posture is why we’re here. This university is not choosing between hype and fear. We are choosing to equip our community with the skills, confidence and discernment needed to engage AI thoughtfully, critically and ethically.”
Community input and next steps
The launch event included interactive stations that invited participants to test their AI knowledge and share perspectives on ethics, opportunities, and concerns. Activities such as drafting an ethics statement for the hub and reflecting on hopes and risks associated with AI are set to remain available throughout the semester.
NAU says the library will publish a feature later in the term outlining how the AI Hub was developed using community input. Drop-in support and scheduled sessions with student AI ambassadors will continue, with additional programming planned for the spring.
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