Harnessing Generative AI to Support Exploration and Discovery in Library and Archival Collection

Richard Marciano, PhD students Lori Perine and Rajesh Kumar Gnanasekaran, and Mark Conrad of the AICollaboratory (AIC) launched a new AIC initiative called HERITAGE–AI (Harnessing Enhanced Research & Instructional Technologies for Archival Generative Exploration using AI.)

In 2024, the team received a $194,229 IMLS National Leadership Grant, which supported HERITAGE–AI’s inaugural project, GenAI-4-Arch (Harnessing Generative AI to Support Exploration and Discovery in Library and Archival Collections). This project, in partnership with with the Maryland State Archives and Kennard African American Cultural Heritage Center, explores the potential for incorporating genAI into future library and archival services while ensuring trustworthiness.

Duration:
08/01/2024 - Ongoing

Principal Investigator(s):

• Richard Marciano

Additional UMD Investigator(s):
Lori Perine (INFO), Rajesh Kumar Gnanasekaran (INFO), Mark Conrad (INFO)

Partnering Organization(s):
Maryland State Archives; Kennard African American Cultural Heritage Center

Research Funder:

• Institute of Museum and Library Services - 8/1/2024 - 4/9/2025

Research Areas:

• Archival Science
• Machine Learning, AI, Computational Linguistics, and Information Retrieval

Center and Lab Affiliation:

• Advanced Information Collaboratory (AIC)