The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), together with University of Ottawa, Library and Archives Canada, and Carleton University, are pleased to offer ARL/CNI’s Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit Workshop. This is the first Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit Workshop to take place in Canada, and the last of these workshops offered by ARL in 2025. The workshop is designed for senior library leaders and those leading strategic development in AI.
This workshop introduces participants to a toolkit featuring practical reusable activities and templates research libraries can use to plan for consequences, challenges, and opportunities vis-à-vis AI futures. Participants will learn tips and techniques for bringing AI future-planning back home to their own organizations for iterative reuse. They will collaborate and gain experience for using the toolkit to create actionable, cross-cutting, and scenario-specific plans, projects, and activities at their research libraries.
The ARL/CNI Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit is designed for leaders of research libraries who want to integrate the ARL/CNI AI Scenarios into ongoing planning activities—such as annual operating plans, strategic reviews, or cross-institutional conversations.
Organized into five flexible modules, the toolkit offers structured activities to help leadership teams, staff, and occasionally external stakeholders:
The toolkit was developed to explore scenario-specific strategies and activities that libraries can undertake to prepare for various AI-influenced futures.
The workshop is designed for senior library leaders and those leading strategic development in AI. Spaces are limited to a maximum of one or two attendees per institution. To confirm your place, please complete the registration form below and submit the CAD $150 commitment fee using the PayPal payment link provided.
Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown
361 Queen St, Ottawa, ON K1R 0C7
Tel: (613) 234-6363
A block of rooms has been reserved for December 15-16, 2025 at Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown, at a cost of $229 CAD/night. The special room rate will be available until November 20th, 2025 or until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first. We suggest that you reserve as soon as possible to ensure that you can get a room.
Monday, December 15: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 16: 9:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m.
| Start Time | Topic | Module |
|---|---|---|
| Day One - Monday, December 15, 2025 | ||
| 8:30am | Breakfast and Registration | |
| 9:00am | Introductions | |
| Scenario Planning and the ARL/CNI scenarios | ||
| Thinking about the Future | 1 | |
| 10:00am | Drivers and Signals | 2.1 |
| 10:30am | Environmental scanning | 2.2 |
| 11:00am | Three questions | 2.3 |
| 11:30am | Synthesis | 2.4 |
| 12:00pm | Lunch | |
| 12:30pm | Scenario Immersion | 3.1 |
| 1:30pm | Testing Strategic Readiness | 3.3 |
| 2:30pm | Scenario Action Planning Part 1 | 3.4 |
| 3:15pm | Synthesis before Action | 3.6 |
| 3:30pm | Scenario Action Planning Part 2 | 3.4 |
| Day Two - Tuesday, December 16 | ||
| 8:30am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00am | AI Opportunity Mapping | 4.2 |
| 9:45am | Impact vs Difficulty | 4.3 |
| 10:30am | Prioritizing Action | 4.4 |
| 11:15am | Wild Cards | 4.5 |
| 11:45am | Extending Foresight | 5 |
