Artificial Intelligence in Kenyan Libraries

Kenyan libraries are using AI technologies in core areas – search, digitization, chatbots, plagiarism detection and cataloguing – with most institutions still in the planning or pilot phase. Key challenges include a lack of institutional AI guidelines despite the 2019 Data Protection Act, concerns about privacy, bias and disinformation, and infrastructure and resource shortages. Nevertheless, the basic attitude is positive: librarians see AI's potential for improving access to information, knowledge preservation, research support, and the transformation of their professional role.