I have come to realise something that is easy to overlook in today’s digital environment: having access to the internet does not necessarily mean that a student knows how to carry out academic research. Most university students today have access to a smartphone, laptop, or other internet-enabled device. They can search Google, watch YouTube videos, use social media, and find information within seconds. With the growing use of artificial intelligence, they can also ask an AI chatbot a question and receive an answer almost instantly. It is therefore easy to assume that students can independently find the information they need for their academic assignments.
But this is not always the case. In my work supporting students with library systems and digital resources, I have encountered a different reality. Some students have the devices, internet access, and access to academic databases, but still struggle to find, evaluate, and use appropriate scholarly information. The challenge is not always access. Sometimes, it is knowing what to do with the access they already have.
When Google and AI become the research process
One of the changes I have noticed is how students approach information. A student may receive an assignment and immediately search the topic on Google. Another may open an AI chatbot and type the assignment question. Within seconds, they receive a well-written response. The problem is not that students are using AI. AI can be a very useful tool for learning and research when it is used properly.
The concern is when AI becomes a substitute for the research process. For example, a student may ask an AI chatbot to “write an essay on the effects of climate change on agriculture in Kenya.” The chatbot provides a convincing response and may even provide references. The student may copy some of the information and submit the assignment without opening the cited articles, checking the authors, reading the original studies, or verifying whether the references actually support the claims. In such a situation, the student has used AI as a search engine rather than as a research assistant. This creates a new information literacy challenge.
A citation is not the same as verification
One of the most important skills students need to develop is the ability to verify information at the source. If an AI tool provides a link to a journal article, that link should not simply be treated as proof that the information is correct. The student should open the article, check the title, authors, publication, date, findings, and context, and determine whether the source actually supports what the AI has claimed.
The same principle applies to information found through Google.
Finding something online does not automatically make it reliable.
Students need to move beyond asking:
“Can I find information about this topic?”
and begin asking:
“Can I verify this information, and is it appropriate for academic use?”
That is a very different skill.
The new challenge for academic libraries
This changes the role of the academic library. We can no longer focus only on teaching students how to search library catalogues and databases. We also need to help them navigate an environment where information comes from search engines, social media, websites, databases, and AI tools.
Students need to understand the strengths and limitations of each. AI can help generate ideas, explain difficult concepts, suggest keywords, summarise information, and help students identify possible areas for further research. But it should not remove the student’s responsibility to engage with the original scholarly literature.
A useful approach is:
Ask AI → identify sources → open the original sources → verify the information → read critically → use and cite the original source.
This keeps the student involved in the research process.
The solution is not to ban AI
I do not think the answer is to tell students simply, “Do not use AI.”
AI is already part of the information environment, and students need to learn how to use it responsibly.
The more useful question is:
How do we teach students to use AI without losing their ability to research independently?
This requires universities to strengthen information and AI literacy training.
Students should be taught how to:
- Develop effective research questions and search terms.
- Search academic databases and scholarly journals.
- Distinguish scholarly sources from general internet content.
- Use AI to brainstorm and explore topics without treating its answers as authoritative.
- Check AI-generated references against the original sources.
- Follow links and read the actual journal articles rather than relying on AI summaries.
- Identify inaccurate, outdated, or unsupported information.
- Compare information from different credible sources.
- Cite the original scholarly work appropriately.
- Understand that AI-generated information can sometimes be incomplete or incorrect.
The Systems Librarian’s role
For me, this reinforces the changing role of the Systems Librarian.
My role is not simply to ensure that Koha works, that electronic resources are accessible, or that the institutional repository is available. Those systems are important, but they are only part of the bigger picture.
We also need to understand how students interact with information systems and emerging technologies.
A university can provide access to hundreds of thousands of electronic journals, but if students do not know how to search them, evaluate what they find, or use the information responsibly, access alone is not enough.
Similarly, giving students access to AI does not automatically make them better researchers.
The real goal should be to develop students who can move confidently between technology and critical thinking.
From information consumers to independent researchers
The university student of today has more information available to them than any generation before.
The challenge is no longer simply finding information.
The challenge is knowing where to look, what to trust, what to verify, and what to question.
As librarians and educators, we therefore have an important responsibility. We need to help students move from simply consuming information to critically engaging with it.
The smartphone is a powerful research tool.
The laptop is a powerful research tool.
AI is a powerful research tool.
But none of these tools can replace the student’s responsibility to think, investigate, verify, and learn.
For me, that is one of the most important lessons emerging from the changing digital research environment.
Access to information is not the same as the ability to conduct research. And access to AI is not the same as information literacy.
Our responsibility is to bridge that gap.