Why We Are Building an AI Platform That Puts the Librarian in the Driver’s Seat

For years, librarians have been the essential guides for academic research. But as students increasingly turn to generic AI tools for convenience, a dangerous "Awareness Gap" is growing. Students are being steered toward non-authoritative sources, often bypassing the library’s curated resources entirely.

After years at the intersection of libraries and tech -including a formative chapter at EBSCO - I’ve realized that we don't need to change the mission of the library; we need to change how that expertise is delivered. I’m building WyderNet to ensure that librarian judgment remains the central force in the modern digital workflow.

Academic libraries are home to an incredible level of professional judgment, subject expertise, and care. Librarians do the vital work of helping students and faculty navigate increasingly complex information landscapes.

The Shift in Student Expectations

Students and researchers increasingly expect information to meet them where they are: inside their courses, assignments, and digital workflows. In parallel, the rise of AI as a primary interface for academic work introduces a new risk: the ease of encountering incomplete, misleading, or non-authoritative sources.

When convenience wins over authority, the library’s curated resources - the very tools designed to ensure academic success - often go unused simply because they weren't in the student's immediate path.

Introducing WyderNet: Bridging the Gap

I’m excited to share what I’m now building to address this: WyderNet. WyderNet explores how AI can be used responsibly and transparently to match trusted library resources to specific academic artifacts. Our goal is to create a more personalized connection between a student’s actual work - a syllabus, an assignment prompt, or a research project - and the relevant databases, journals, articles and other resources that support it.

We are focusing on three core pillars:

• Embedded Value: Bringing library resources directly into the LMS and the digital channels where students already communicate.
• Contextual Mapping: Using AI to understand the context of a syllabus or assignment and map it to library curated collections, while librarians retain full authority over which resources are recommended to students and researchers.
• Scaling Librarian Expertise: Providing the tools to apply librarian-curated guidance at scale, ensuring that expert institutional knowledge is woven into every digital touchpoint across campus.

Looking Ahead‍

We are early in our journey. We are currently rolling out our first version with a small number of partner libraries to learn, test, and iterate together. More broadly, this work sits inside a question I care deeply about: How can libraries continue to anchor the research experience in expertise and responsibility in a world where AI is becoming the common interface?

Join the Conversation

I am currently in "listening mode," trying to understand where this approach is genuinely helpful and where it needs to evolve. If you are a librarian, instructional designer, or educator thinking seriously about the future of academic workflows, I would genuinely love to connect and learn from you.

About the author

‍Tamir Borensztajn is the founder of WyderNet, an AI-driven platform exploring how to better connect students and faculty with trusted library resources at the moment of need. He previously spent nearly a decade at EBSCO Information Services, most recently as SVP of Product Marketing & Communications, and has worked closely with academic libraries across North America and Europe. He is currently working with a small group of partner libraries to reimagine how research guidance is delivered in modern academic workflows.

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