[CASL-L] [EXTERNAL] Re: Google Gemini Gems -- examples?

[LaPlante, Casey]

I completely agree with everyone's concerns about using AI for collection
development, but my original question was using Google Gems with our
secondary-level students, so if anyone has ideas about how to
appropriately use these in class to guide students, I'd love to hear
examples. I like that the prompt and the background information is built-in
by the teacher, so students can begin asking their questions right away. If
anyone has any tips for creating Gems or for using them with students, I'd
welcome those!

Also, if anyone has any cool uses for Notebook LM, I'd love to hear those
as well. Our history department is using it successfully in class, and I'd
love to see other departments in the building use this amazing tool!

Thanks for all your input!
Casey

On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 9:18 AM Pia Ledina <pia_ledina at greenwich.k12.ct.us>
wrote:

> I agree with your concerns, Jenny… let’s def talk more about its
> potential, its impacts, and what we’d consider best practices…
>
> ;) pia ledina
>
> typed on a tiny keyboard just for you...
>
> On Feb 12, 2026, at 8:02 AM, Past President <pastpresident at ctcasl.org>
> wrote:
>
> 
> Hi everyone - I'd like to echo what Ellen said. I also want to be clear -
> I too see the value of generative AI for certain tasks. I also think this
> group is amazing and collaborating is one of the things I love most so I
> hope we can use this as a way to see things from different perspectives and
> learn from one another.
>
> But I want to add a caution as well. Using AI in this way is not something
> we have discussed very much on the list-serv or in CASL's professional
> learning opportunities.
>
> However, when I attend Intellectual Freedom meetings and hear from school
> librarians from around the United States, there is a great deal of concern
> about using AI for Collection Development or Weeding. In many states,
> school administrators and citizen groups are using AI to disregard the
> professionalism of the school librarian and demanding that books be removed
> based on the results of the prompts. This is an Intellectual Freedom issue.
>
> If anyone would like to do a google meet to talk about this together, I
> would be glad to do so!
>
> Better together!
> Jenny
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 1:29 PM Ellen Paul <epaul at ctlibrarians.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi All –
>>
>>
>>
>> I want to jump in because this is important. And I will preface this by
>> saying:  I use AI regularly and think it can be a helpful tool. But I would
>> be cautious about using it to determine whether a book is “suitable.”
>>
>>
>>
>> First, this is about professional authority and policy. Our new Freedom
>> to Read law explicitly acknowledges that school library media specialists
>> are “professionally trained to curate and develop collections.” And that is
>> so fantastic to have our laws call out the librarians professionalism!  It
>> goes on to say that our collection development policies, adopted by boards
>> of education, are what guide selection decisions.
>>
>>
>>
>> If a book is ever challenged, the question will be whether it was
>> selected in alignment with that policy and professionally accepted
>> standards — and whether you can clearly articulate your reasoning. And if
>> AI isn’t identified in your policy as a selection tool, relying on it could
>> create vulnerability during reconsideration. Our protection, both legally
>> and professionally, comes from following our adopted policies consistently.
>>
>>
>>
>> Second, I want to gently name the issue of soft censorship, or censorship
>> by exclusion — not selecting a book because it might be challenged. I
>> completely understand the instinct for self-preservation. The pressure is
>> real, and no one wants to invite conflict. But avoiding books because of
>> “frequency of challenges” shifts the focus away from educational value and
>> student need and toward anticipated controversy. That’s a slippery place
>> for us professionally.
>>
>>
>>
>> AI can absolutely help with efficiencies but determining suitability is
>> core professional work.  Please don’t take this as criticism, I know
>> everyone here is doing their best for students in a very charged
>> environment and all of you are stretched incredibly thin.   I just worry
>> that outsourcing that professional judgment, even partially, diminishes the
>> role of the school librarian that the law explicitly affirms.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ellen
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
>>
>> *Ellen Paul* | Executive Director
>>
>> Connecticut Library Consortium
>>
>>
>>
>> 860-344-8777 | www.ctlibrarians.org
>>
>>
>>
>> *Buying things for your library?  Remember to ask for your CLC discount.
>> Find out how to get started here.
>> <https://www.ctlibrarians.org/page/bidcontracts>*
>>
>> *Need a login to our website?  Find out how here.
>> <https://www.ctlibrarians.org/page/connect> *
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* CASL-L <casl-l-bounces at mylist.net> *On Behalf Of *Haddad,
>> Christine via CASL-L
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 11, 2026 11:23 AM
>> *To:* LaPlante, Casey <LaPlanteC at granbyschools.org>
>> *Cc:* CASL <CASL-L at mylist.net>
>> *Subject:* Re: [CASL-L] Google Gemini Gems -- examples?
>>
>>
>>
>> Great idea Casey! Here's one that I use regularly for myself:
>>
>>
>>
>> *You are a young adult book analyst and consultant for high schools.
>> Please determine if this book is suitable for a high school library based
>> on crude language, sexual content, and frequency of challenges.*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Christine*
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 11:06 AM LaPlante, Casey via CASL-L <
>> casl-l at mylist.net> wrote:
>>
>> Good morning trusted colleagues!
>>
>>
>>
>> I started playing around with Gems <https://ditchthattextbook.com/gems/>
>> recently and now I'm hooked! Has anyone else created specific Gems for
>> their high school students to use? Could we possibly share them with each
>> other -- maybe even a slideshow of different Gems that we find useful?
>>
>>
>>
>> Here's the one I created for Capstone
>> <https://gemini.google.com/gem/170tXnKMQU-TLgYBsHCr-URgCrfUObnCa?usp=sharing>
>> to help students brainstorm a topic and land in the "Goldilocks" zone of a
>> researchable topic that isn't too broad or too narrow. Please help me test
>> it out!
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Casey
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Casey LaPlante
>>
>> Library Media Specialist
>>
>> Granby Memorial High School
>>
>> Granby, CT
>>
>>
>>
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-- 
Casey LaPlante
Library Media Specialist
Granby Memorial High School
Granby, CT

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