Course overview
Start hereAI for Librarians
START HERE

Nadia's Wednesday, Two Ways

8 lessons · 26 prompts

A day in the life of a Librarian: what changes with these prompts.

Track progress as a member

Nadia, a reference librarian at a busy public library.

Nadia starts Wednesday with a patron who wants peer-reviewed studies on the town's water quality. She opens ChatGPT and uses the Patron Research Support prompt: 'A patron wants studies on local water quality. Give me a search plan for our databases and a plain-language summary of what to look for.' She checks the plan against the library's databases, then walks the patron through two good sources.

Next, a teen asks for a read-alike for a popular novel. Nadia uses Claude with the Reader Advisory Help prompt: 'Suggest read-alikes for a teen who liked a popular novel, with talk ideas and a short themed list.' She prints the list, crosses out two titles the library does not own, and adds her own notes for the teen.

After lunch, she plans a community seed swap. She uses Gemini with the Library Program Planning prompt: 'Plan a small library seed swap. Write promotion copy for social media and a supply checklist.' She edits the copy to match the library's voice, shares it with a colleague, and prints the checklist.

A patron cannot log into Libby. Nadia uses ChatGPT with the Digital Resource Support prompt: 'Explain common Libby login problems in plain language for a patron, and draft a one-page database guide for staff.' She fixes the login issue, saves the guide, and because of the time saved, she leaves on time, walks home, and reads a few pages for pleasure.

Before

  • Tabs open, questions stacking up.
  • Patron waits while I search.
  • Program notes half done.
  • Leaving late again.

After this course

  • Clear search plan in minutes.
  • Reader list ready to print.
  • Program copy written and shared.
  • Home on time, calm.

What you'll learn

  • Patron Research: Turn a patron question into a search plan, database strategy, and plain-language summary.
  • Reader Advisory: Suggest read-alikes, talk ideas, and themed lists that match a reader's interests.
  • Cataloging Notes: Draft catalog notes, suggest subject headings, and explain metadata choices while you verify against local rules.
  • Program Planning: Plan library programs, write promotion copy, and build supply or setup checklists.
  • Info Literacy: Build lesson plans, handouts, and practice questions that teach patrons to find and evaluate information.
  • Digital Resources: Explain e-resource access problems, draft database guides, and compare platform features.
  • Collection Work: Draft policy language, summarize inventory data, and create weeding criteria for collection decisions.
  • Interlibrary Loan: Draft ILL requests, explain copyright limits, and build a workflow checklist for borrowing and lending.

How this course works

  1. 8 lessonsOne task of your job each, from patron research support to interlibrary loan workflow.
  2. Ready-to-paste promptsCopy, fill in the parts in {{brackets}}, paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
  3. Tick and completeTick the prompts you tried and mark each lesson complete.
  4. Get certifiedFinish and keep the prompts as your own library.