Online - AI Tools and Technologies - Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School 2026

William J Nixon

RLUK’s Deputy Executive Director

William J Nixon is Deputy Executive Director of RLUK and strategic lead for the RLUK's Digital Shift.

Prior to joining RLUK, William was the Assistant Director (Academic Engagement and Digital Library) at the University of Glasgow Library leading their College Librarians, Digital Library and Repository teams. Leading on a range of a research support, repository and building projects at Glasgow including the Library lead for REF2021 and our open-access repository infrastructure (Enlighten).

Beyond Glasgow, he is active in the Open Repositories series of conferences and as a member of the COAR (Confederation of Open Access Repositories) and SPARC Europe Boards supporting Open Access and Open Research.

RLUK recognises that its members' expertise, experience and capacity are at the heart of successfully implementing The Library Transforming strategy and in recent years it has launched several new networks. These networks have enabled RLUK to tap into the expertise and experience of a much broader range of members and to provide development opportunities for both the members and the co-convenors. The networks are the key drivers for the delivery of the strategy’s strands and themes.

Ayla Karaman

Ayla Karaman is a Digital Scholarship Manager in the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford).

Ayla has over 10 years of professional experience working in museum and library institutions (Ashmolean Museum, British Museum & Bodleian Libraries) and has extensive experience working with physical and digitised collections. She has an educational background in archaeology and holds a Masters degree in Public Archaeology from University College London.

Currently Ayla develops and leads the events programme in the Centre for Digital Scholarship (Bodleian Libraries), with a focus on digital tools and methods used in research and collections. The events range from workshops, webinars, conferences and hackathons. The Centre of Digital Scholarship aims to increase innovative digital uses of library collections and expand national and international partnerships.

14:00 - 15:30: Opening Keynote: A multi-faceted approach to AI adoption

Abstract: AI adoption in libraries doesn’t follow a universal approach; it depends on various factors and may progress quickly or slowly even within a single library service. This keynote presentation will share experiences from implementing AI at the University of Leeds research library, highlighting how institutional context plays a vital role in adopting new and innovative technologies.

Speaker: Claire Knowles, Acting Director of Library Services, University of Leeds

Claire leads three large-scale service portfolios across the University Libraries, including Content and Discovery, Research and Digital Futures, and Student Learning and Experience. Leading through collaboration, implementing digital transformation, advocating for open practices, and fostering inclusive leadership. Claire serves as Chair of the RLUK Digital Shift Working Group and is a member of the IIIF Executive Committee.

15:30-16:00 Refreshment break

16:00-17:00 AI Cafe

Abstract: This interactive session will provide an opportunity for attendees to share their experience, expertised and expectations on AI Tools and Technologies. It will open with an overview and introduction to the course and Research Libraries UK (RLUK).

Speaker: William and Ayla

09:00-10:30 Make the most of AI: intro to writing prompts

Abstract: This session is a hands-on introduction to practical AI skills. We will cover how generative artificial intelligence tools work, introduce specific tools available and evaluate their benefits and drawbacks before taking some time to practice writing prompts and different prompting strategies as well as discuss what ethical and responsible use might look like in different educational contexts.

Speaker: Oona Ylinen, Learning and Teaching Librarian, University of Surrey

Oona has worked across a range of libraries in her career, starting out in public libraries, and currently working as a teaching and collections librarian at a small Higher Education institution in the UK. Her role covers all areas of the library from acquisitions to information literacy teaching with a specialised personal interest in supporting students and staff with ethical use of artificial intelligence.

10:30-11:00 Refreshment Break

11:00-12:30 AI for special collections: insights from the AI for Cultural Heritage Hub project (ArCH)

Abstract: This session will focus on practical use cases for AI in special collections in libraries and archives, including transcription and metadata generation. The session will use as its starting point the AI for Cultural Heritage Hub (ArCH). ArCH is a pilot project to create a secure workspace and Community of Practice to empower non-technical users (practitioners and academics) to analyse cultural heritage data securely with AI tools.

Speaker: Amelie Roper, Jennie Fletcher & Amparo Gimeno-Sanjuan, Cambridge ArCH Team

Jennie Fletcher is Lead Software Developer at Cambridge University Library, leading a small development team that supports library services and digital humanities research. She has led the development of the Cambridge Digital Library and the AI for Cultural Heritage Hub (ArCH), with a focus on applying innovative technologies to enhance access to and discovery of cultural heritage collections.

Amparo Gimeno-Sanjuan is an Assistant Software Developer in the Digital Innovation and Development team at Cambridge University Library (CUL). Prior to this, she was an Editorial Associate for the Darwin Correspondence Project, also at CUL. Her mix of skills and perspectives have proven particularly useful for engineering prompts and solutions for various use cases in the AI for Cultural Heritage Hub project (ArCH).

Amelie Roper is Head of Research at the University of Cambridge Libraries and Archives (CULA), where she manages the University Library Research Institute, a centre for collections-led research. She is a Co-Lead on the AI for Cultural Heritage Hub project (ArCH) and supports the delivery of CULA's research grants portfolio.

12:30-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:30 AI Agents for Libraries & Museums: A Practical Introduction

Abstract: This introductory session offers a practical overview of AI agents and what they might enable in library and museum contexts. We’ll explore core concepts, key considerations, and common pitfalls, then use a short guided activity to sketch how an “agent-style” approach could support a real-world task.

Speaker: Graeme Kemp, Head of Library Collections, St Andrews University

Dr. Graeme Kemp is Head of Library Collections at the University of St Andrews, leading strategic collection management, metadata, and digital discovery. His work sits at the intersection of cultural heritage, data science, and emerging technologies - particularly AI, machine learning, and data visualisation - to enhance collections, workflows, and research.

16:00-17:00 Using Local AI Models for Research with Ollama

Abstract: Learn how to install and use local language models for research and work tasks on your laptop. This session will feature hands-on use of these tools and software alongside discussions of the benefits (testing, prototyping, privacy) and drawbacks (performance limitations) of running your own small language models.

Speakers: Jason Clark, Head - Research Optimization, Analytics, and Data Services, Montana State University

Jason A. Clark is a Professor at Montana State University, where he leads the Research Optimization, Analytics, and Data Services (ROADS) team. His work focuses on the technical side of libraries, specializing in metadata, web development, and the Semantic Web. Recently, he has been exploring how AI and algorithms shape our digital experiences and how to make scholarly data more accessible. Whether he's building software or teaching about the social impacts of technology, Jason is passionate about connecting people with information in smarter, more ethical ways.

09:00-10:30 Responsible AI & Cultural Heritage: Research and Practice

Abstract: This session will explore how artificial intelligence can be used responsibly and ethically in cultural heritage research and professional practice. It will introduce the concept of Responsible AI and show how it can be understood and implemented across the AI stack, from compute and datasets to models and applications, with a specific focus on cultural heritage contexts. The session will also present practical methods and approaches for applying and extending these principles in real-world settings.

Speakers: Anna Maria Sichani, University of London

Anna-Maria Sichani is a BRAID Research Fellow collaborating with The National Archives (https://braiduk.org/responsible-data-models-and-workflows-responsible-ai-digital-skills-provision-for-the-cultural-heritage-community), and a Research Associate in Digital Humanities at the Digital Humanities Research Hub, School of Advanced Study, University of London (https://www.sas.ac.uk/people/dr-anna-maria-sichani). Her research and teaching focuses on responsible data-driven research and emerging technologies, including AI, for Humanities and Cultural Heritage, sociocultural aspects of media and technological changes, and digital pedagogy. As part of her BRAID fellowship, she has developed an openly accessible course on Responsible AI for Cultural Heritage, currently hosted at SAS RESHAPED platform.

10:30-11:00 Refreshment break

11:00-12:30 Crowdsourced Digital Collections in the Age of AI

Abstract: Technological advances have transformed how we create, manage, share, and engage with digital collections. This session will introduce the ‘Their Finest Hour Online Archive', a digital collection of Second World War stories and objects, and share findings from this and the subsequent projects it inspired, speaking to experiences of using AI, and highlighting some of the challenges and opportunities encountered while working with this crowdsourced collection. Catherine will also introduce some (no-code) explorer tools she developed as a result of these projects, to support AI literacy and widen access to text mining approaches.

Speaker: Catherine Conisbee, Digital Preservation Officer, Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford)

Catherine Conisbee is a Digital Preservation Officer and Sassoon Research Fellow at the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford). She has a particular interest in collections-as-data, and her current research is focused on exploring how AI and digital humanities methods can be used to surface otherwise hidden connections across crowdsourced digital collections.

12:30-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:00 Closing Keynote: Reflections on digital scholarship and libraries

Abstract: Reflecting on how digital scholarship has developed in libraries.

Speakers: Kirsty Lingstadt, Director of Library, Learning, Archives and Wellbeing, University of York

Kirsty leads and manages the university's library collections, development of open access, scholarly publishing, digital scholarship and support for learning technology, academic skills including information literacy for students and digital skills for the full University community.

She has worked for a number of institutions ranging from museums to archives and historic environment collections to higher education where she has explored the use of technology to make content accessible but also ensure that collections and in particular born-digital collections are accessible for future generations. Kirsty is the Vice-Chair of Research Libraries UK