Research library strategy for imagined futures: The ARL/CNI Futurescape experience

Throughout the second half of 2025, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) held a series of workshops for research library leaders on using the Futurescape Libraries AI Toolkit—a modular resource for integrating the ARL/CNI AI Scenarios into institutional strategy and planning work. Judy Ruttenberg, who leads ARL’s Advocacy & Public Policy and Scholars & Scholarship programs, and Catherine Steeves, Program Director for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), address the development of the scenarios and the toolkit, and the deployment of the workshops in the US and Canada. They also address key themes that arose, lessons learned, and next steps. Webinar available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee2haB6HK4E Judy Ruttenberg Judy Ruttenberg leads ARL’s Advocacy & Public Policy and Scholars & Scholarship programs, which focus on balanced copyright, accessibility, AI, open and community-engaged scholarship, and research data sharing in collaboration with federal agencies, scholarly communities, and peer associations across the U.S., Canada, and internationally. She also guides ARL’s programming, communications, and event engagement, ensuring strategic coherence across teams and partnerships. Before joining ARL in 2011, Judy served as a program officer at the Triangle Research Libraries Network, coordinating collections analysis, shared collections, and large-scale digitization initiatives. She holds an MLS from the University of Maryland College Park, an MA in history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a BA from the University of Michigan. Catherine Steeves Catherine Steeves is the Program Director for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) and a Senior Librarian at Western University. She was a member of the ARL/CNI Task Force for AI Futures and Chaired the OCUL Task Force on AI and Machine Learning. From 2014 through 2024 Catherine served as Western University’s Vice-Provost and Chief Librarian and has been on the boards and led standing committees of organizations such as the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, Canadian Science Publishing, Canadian Association of Research Libraries, OCUL, OLA, ARL, and SPARC.