Current Affairs

University of Virginia Library: New ‘AI Literacy and Action Lab’ Creates Pathway For Understanding, Judgment, and Experimentation

April 17, 2026

From the University of Virginia Library:

On April 17, 2026, the Library and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences announced the creation of the AI Literacy and Action Lab, a program meant to consider the complexities of AI in higher education head-on.

With four pilot projects launching in spring and summer 2026, and course offerings beginning in the fall, the lab is already off and running. Pilot projects focus on a variety of topics, such as the future of work, critical and ethical thinking, and AI-integrated lesson planning for humanities and STEM courses. Each project involves a librarian facilitator — an expert who is also trained to work as a coach for the team through the entirety of the project.

One such facilitator is Meridith Wolnick, Director of Teaching & Learning at the Library. “I’m excited about the opportunity to help students navigate AI tools in ways that are thoughtful, critical, and grounded in the kinds of literacies the Library has always supported,” Wolnick remarked. “It’s energizing to see students, through case-based discussions, surface the deeper ethical implications of AI themselves and use those conversations to push their thinking further.”

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The lab seeks to meet these challenges by finding ways to level the playing field across differing schools and departments; facilitating appropriate judgment associated with AI engagement; and working toward structured, evidence-producing outcomes to support experimentation and research.

Mira Waller, Associate University Librarian for Research & Learning Services, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, is working with teams across the University to help bring the vision together: “People come to AI with enthusiasm, fear, and everything in between. What excites me is that our role isn’t to tell people what to do, but to help them develop the judgment to navigate a technology moving faster than our institutions. This work builds directly on the Library’s long tradition of helping people evaluate information and think critically.”

Two University leaders joined forces to make the AI Literacy and Action Lab a reality. Leo S. Lo, UVA University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, and Christa Acampora, Dean of the College, have collaborated to shape the first semesters of the lab, and build its momentum for the future.

As Lo noted in his recent interview, “A research library has always done two things: help people find information, and help them judge it. AI changes the tools, not the mission. If anything, the mission gets sharper.”