{"id":1010,"date":"2024-05-17T11:55:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T10:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/?p=1010"},"modified":"2024-05-31T13:01:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T12:01:54","slug":"using-ai-to-explore-collections-at-the-university-of-sussex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2024\/05\/17\/using-ai-to-explore-collections-at-the-university-of-sussex\/","title":{"rendered":"Using AI to Explore Collections at the University of Sussex"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We&#8217;re excited to share some groundbreaking work our systems librarian Tim Graves has been doing in collaboration with Danny Millum from our Collections team and DISCUS, the Data Intensive Science Center on campus. His focus has been on leveraging the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock the hidden treasures within our collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Watch his latest video &#8211; Using AI to explore collections at the University of Sussex<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Using AI to Explore Collections at the University of Sussex\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i7df_XcV3Mk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>A talk to Sussex students, describing a project at the University of Sussex to use AI to explore digitised library collections.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Power of AI in Uncovering Hidden Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditionally, cataloging has its limitations. Important information often remains buried, only discoverable through meticulous, manual search. However, AI offers us a way to delve into collections and unearth content that traditional methods might miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of our goals is to develop tools that are versatile and adaptable, capable of analyzing any collection of materials. While our current focus is on a collections from Tricontinental, the techniques we\u2019re refining will be broadly applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>AI-Assisted Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine you are a new researcher approaching the Tricontinental collection with no prior experience. How can AI assist you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>Keyword Analysis and Heat Maps:<\/strong> By feeding several issues of Tricontinental into an AI, we can generate a heat map showing the frequency of common terms. This provides a quick overview of prevalent topics, though the context is essential for deeper understanding.<\/li><li><strong>Semantic Mapping:<\/strong> DISCUS is helping us create semantic maps that analyze words in context, matching them against established subject groupings. This approach promises to reveal the themes and subjects covered in the collection more comprehensively.<\/li><li><strong>Overcoming Language Barriers:<\/strong> Many documents in collections like Tricontinental are in various languages. AI tools can translate text instantly, breaking down language barriers that would otherwise hinder research. For instance, using large language models, we can translate Spanish or even Arabic texts into English, making them accessible to non-speakers.<\/li><li><strong>Visual Image Analysis:<\/strong> Tricontinental contains numerous images and posters. AI can identify and describe these images, providing context and additional information. For example, we can use AI to recognize figures like Che Guevara in posters and describe the content of these images, enriching our understanding of the visual materials.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3>Enhancing Discoverability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most exciting potentials of AI is its ability to enhance the discoverability of collections. Traditional cataloging picks out key subject terms, but AI allows us to probe documents at the word level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tim created a demo chatbot that can search through the content of several issues of Tricontinental. This chatbot responds to natural language queries, offering a more intuitive and human-like interaction with the collection. For example, you can ask about famous individuals mentioned in the documents or the subjects related to a specific figure like Castro. The chatbot provides succinct, accurate answers based on the content it has analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Future Aspirations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What can we aspire to use AI to do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Discover detailed semantics and topics within collections.<\/li><li>Overcome language barriers for multilingual materials.<\/li><li>Catalog and describe images accurately.<\/li><li>Implement a chatbot interface for a more conversational exploration of collections.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This AI-driven approach transforms how we interact with and understand our collections, making research more accessible and insightful. We\u2019re excited about the possibilities and look forward to sharing more updates as our librarians continue our journey into the future of library sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information and a deeper dive into our work, check out the video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch\/cbGgNGGG37o\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned for more updates!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Tim Graves is the Systems Librarian at the University of Sussex Library, spearheading innovative projects to enhance research and accessibility through advanced technologies.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re excited to share some groundbreaking work our systems librarian Tim Graves has been doing in collaboration with Danny Millum from our Collections team and DISCUS, the Data Intensive Science Center on campus. His focus has been on leveraging the<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2024\/05\/17\/using-ai-to-explore-collections-at-the-university-of-sussex\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[151102,4491],"tags":[153438,202468,202487,137822,151104,151045,202486,24],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":793,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2023\/11\/06\/unboxing-and-mapping-black-history-in-sussex-library-legacy-collections\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":0},"title":"Unboxing and Mapping Black History in Sussex Library Legacy Collections","date":"6 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Reposted from Decolonial Maps blog\u00a0by\u00a0Alice Corble. This summer the Library was blessed to host its first\u00a0Junior Research Associate (JRA): Myisha Box (History and International Relations BA student, now in her final year). The project was supervised by Gavin Mensah Coker and Anne-Marie Angelo, with a support team in the library\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Black History Month&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"JRA Myisha Box with her poster: Mapping Sussex University Library\u2019s Black History Archives","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/files\/2023\/11\/231106-JRAblog-MyishaBox-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":421,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2021\/04\/16\/collections-reading-group\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":1},"title":"Collections reading group","date":"16 April 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Richard Wragg - Collections Manager For the last few months, the Collections Team have been meeting for a reading group. The texts we have chosen to discuss have all had a focus on decolonisation, equality and diversity. The reading group formed in response to the events of Summer 2020\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BLDS (British Library for Development Studies)&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1095,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2024\/07\/04\/ai-at-sussex-library-conference-workshop\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":2},"title":"AI at Sussex: Library Conference Workshop","date":"4 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sean Goddard and Daisy Phipps This was a well-paced and interesting led workshop. Using a mixture of presentation styles, including small table group work and discussions, PowerPoint presentations, and longer q and a\u2019s with the workshop leads (George Robinson and Sam Hemsley). Something for everybody. The workshop started with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Library&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Students sitting in front of the Library on Library square","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/files\/2024\/07\/141124_LibraryUsers_StudentsSitting-scaled.jpg?fit=915%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":968,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2024\/03\/26\/the-power-of-ai-and-image-generation\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":3},"title":"The Power of AI and Image Generation","date":"26 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/_ZRfGhUs6wg With new software becoming available all the time, could AI text-to-image tools redefine how we create and use images at work? Join our Systems Librarian, Tim, as he uses software that is freely available to staff to explore creating AI-generated images through prompts. He also discusses recent issues with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Library&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/_ZRfGhUs6wg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":920,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2024\/02\/09\/ai-productivity-tips-from-a-librarian-who-prefers-words-over-spreadsheets\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":4},"title":"AI productivity tips from a librarian who prefers words over spreadsheets","date":"9 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Graves Spreadsheets. Comma separated files. Databases. Endless columns of data scrolling away vertically and horizontally. I bet you love them, eh? In my last blog post I talked about how Artificial Intelligence has been saving me time with long textual documents. Now I want to focus the labour-saving\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Library&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"AI generated Librarian creating a spreadsheet.","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/files\/2024\/02\/240902-AIgeneratedimage-LibraryLookoutBlog-e1707495118288.png?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":826,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/2023\/12\/20\/archiving-and-administering-the-library-and-afras-at-sussex-guest-blog-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":1010,"position":5},"title":"Archiving and administering the Library and AFRAS at Sussex: guest blog post","date":"20 December 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Reposted from the Decolonial Maps of Library Learning blog By Alice Corble and Rhiann Tester This overdue blog post features a guest contributor, Rhiann Tester, Assistant Library Administrator at Sussex. I\u2019ll briefly introduce the context of our collaboration before handing over to Rhiann. Future blog posts will build on Rhiann\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Library&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Two lever files labeled 'Library Committee Papers' and 'AFRAS School Meetings 7th Autumn 65 - 35th Summer 71'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/files\/2023\/12\/Library-AFRAS-folders-1024x768-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/399"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1010"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1013,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010\/revisions\/1013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/librarycollections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}