2026-09-22T12:41:18Z https://dcpapers.dublincore.org/oai

oai:dcpapers.dublincore.org:952636183 2026-09-10 dcmi-2026 openaire

From Six Years to Six Hours: Prerequisites and Implications of AI-Assisted Development in a Library Context Chan, May This paper presents a case study of using AI-assisted development to redevelop iSearch, a legacy cataloging application used daily at the University of Toronto Libraries. Redevelopment has been deferred for six years due to competing institutional priorities. Emboldened by success using AI to develop Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, the author produced a web-based prototype replacement in approximately six hours. This paper identifies the prerequisites that enabled rapid AI-assisted development and examines emerging implications for library practitioners considering using AI similarly. The paper argues that while AI-assisted development lowers the barrier to writing code, it does not reduce the need for preparation; rather, it changes what skills and knowledge practitioners must bring to the work, and what institutions must invest in to support them. Dublin Core Metadata Initiative 2026-09-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject Text application/pdf text/html https://doi.org/10.23106/dcmi.952636183 https://dcpapers.dublincore.org/article/952636183 Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Conference Proceedings eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/