Del papel al algoritmo: cuando la inteligencia artificial entra a la biblioteca

Abstract

This article examines the impact of artificial intelligence on contemporary library practices, arguing that the current shift is not merely technological but epistemological and professional. As information production accelerates and abundance replaces scarcity, libraries face a redefinition of their core function: from providing access to exercising critical selection, mediation, and contextualization. The paper questions the growing assumption that algorithmic systems can replace human judgment in evaluating, organizing, and recommending information. It proposes that bibliotecarian expertise—understood as a situated, ethical, and interpretive practice—remains essential in navigating an increasingly saturated and uneven informational ecosystem. From a Latin American perspective, the article emphasizes that AI adoption must be critically framed within local conditions of inequality, digital divides, and diverse educational trajectories. Rather than rejecting technology, it advocates for subordinating artificial intelligence to professional criteria, reaffirming libraries as spaces of reflection, pause, and responsible knowledge circulation in the algorithmic age