AI LITERACY CULTIVATION FOR OLDER ADULTS IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN CHINA: PRACTICES, CHALLENGES, AND OPTIMIZATION PATHWAYS

Yan Quan Liu; Hongjuan Ren

doi:10.29121/shodhai.v3.i1.2026.95

Authors

Yan Quan Liu Professor, Southern Connecticut Stee University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Hongjuan Ren Professor, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Henan Province, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhai.v3.i1.2026.95

Keywords:

Ai Literacy, Older Adults, Public Libraries, Digital Inclusion, Information Literacy Education

Abstract

Public libraries are key institutions in promoting digital inclusion, yet their role in fostering AI literacy among older adults remains under-examined. This study investigates the current implementation of AI literacy services for older adults in Chinese public libraries through content analysis of multi-source web-based data across 32 provincial public libraries and representative institutions at varying administrative levels. Analyzing service content, delivery formats, educational objectives, and institutional support mechanisms, the study finds that such services are institutionally established but structurally fragmented. Practices prioritize introductory, tool-oriented content; rely on short-term, face-to-face delivery; and state objectives at a broad policy level without competency-oriented evaluation. These patterns reflect underdeveloped support systems and a mediating, rather than institutional, library role. The study contributes an empirical mapping of AI literacy services for older adults and advances understanding of public libraries as mediators of AI-related knowledge in later-life learning contexts.

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