Arapahoe Libraries advances equity and innovation with Microsoft 365 Copilot

People head to the library in Arapahoe County, Colorado, to borrow books—and do so much more. Arapahoe Libraries serves 655,000 residents and runs eight community libraries, a bookmobile, and a library in the Arapahoe County Detention Center. They offer bilingual tutoring, children’s storytimes, community exercise groups, digital literacy training, job interview prep, and free meeting space, to name a few of its popular programs.

Like many public library systems, Arapahoe Libraries has huge ambitions—and limited means. “Our mission is to serve everyone in our community as well as we possibly can, yet we have finite resources,” explains Anthony White, Arapahoe Libraries Director of Innovation and Technology. To more efficiently and creatively serve its patrons, the library system recently adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, the AI-powered assistant.

“Libraries are often at the cutting edge of what’s new and what’s coming, and using new tools like AI helps us remain at the forefront,” White says. “In an ever-changing landscape, we’re all about making sure that everyone in our community has the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.”

Growing a culture of collaboration and communication

“Arapahoe Libraries encourages a culture of collaboration and innovation, and everyone here plays a part in fulfilling our mission,” White says. Yet single-use platforms siloed information, limiting collaboration and forcing the district’s 350 employees to constantly switch back and forth between applications.

The Microsoft tech stack enables seamless data transfer between SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and more. Instead of locating and sifting through hundreds of pages of manuals and internal documentation, staff simply ask Microsoft 365 Copilot, which searches across the different M365 apps. The AI assistant surfaces the answer, along with a link to the relevant section of the right document, in moments. In addition, Arapahoe Libraries is using the Answers Intelligent Importer in Viva Engage, which uses AI to transform lengthy documents into an easy-to-search Q&A format. This also helps staff answer patron questions in seconds.

“We see so much time savings from fetching that documentation,” White says. “It’s creating a level of transparency and accessibility across all our teams that we didn’t have before.”

Staff are also using Teams to create virtual bulletin boards for location- and department-specific information, from birthdays to branch closures to visitor alerts. Their enthusiasm for sharing on Teams creates a lot of content, so staff can ask Copilot to locate a conversation or summarize what they missed “in a way that’s easily digestible, not overwhelming,” White explains.

Arapahoe Libraries is also experimenting with Copilot Studio to streamline its ticketing system, which is built on Microsoft Power Automate. White envisions that AI will triage the most important work requests and direct users to internal documentation to fix other issues, such as a printer malfunction, themselves. The result: smoother operations for staff and patrons alike.

Staff also use Microsoft 365 Copilot to rewrite emails in Outlook, crafting concise, helpful, and friendly messages to both colleagues and external partners. “This helps ensure our communications reflect our values of collaboration, equity, and innovation,” White says.

Tools to improve collaboration and save time enable staff to find even more ways to improve Arapahoe County libraries. “We know every single person in this organization has a diverse, important perspective that helps them serve our patrons,” White says. “Better communication through technology is shifting our culture to be even more positive and engaged.”

Tightening security and protecting privacy

“While serving our patrons, we also have a very strong commitment to data protection and data governance,” White says. Arapahoe Libraries keeps patron information private, including materials checked out and events attended, in accordance with American Library Association guidelines.

White’s team used M365 Chat to locate files in Microsoft 365 apps that may have included patron identifying information (PII). A manual audit would have taken about six months, White estimates; Microsoft 365 Copilot surfaced the files in minutes. “We now have a very clear path to either close the access or eliminate the data,” he says.

Similarly, the Arapahoe Libraries HR team used M365 Chat to find documents with incorrectly applied permissions. “We locked those down fast,” White says. Copilot adheres to internal access rules, so it displays-only documents that a user has permission to view.

“We’re shrinking the time needed for administrative and infrastructure work, letting us spend more time on projects that patrons see and appreciate,” White explains. For example, the IT team recently revamped the technology in library meeting rooms to make it easier for patrons to connect their devices.

Meeting the changing needs of the community

As demographics and needs shift, Arapahoe Libraries is leveraging AI to find new ways to serve its community. White recently directed Microsoft 365 Copilot to review policies for accessibility concerns. For example, library computers are equipped with assistive technology, but if people with disabilities struggle to get to the library, they are unable to access those tools. “Copilot has helped us identify gaps in our policies so we can better serve our patrons,” White says.

Arapahoe Libraries plans to use Microsoft 365 Copilot to analyze post-event surveys, emails, requests for new materials, and more. Currently, patron feedback is not easily shared between departments and branches, but Copilot will be able to pull insights from across the organization. This data will empower leadership to make data-backed decisions to address gaps that otherwise may have remained hidden.

All this interaction with AI also enables library staff to help patrons understand new technology. Staff are fielding questions, addressing concerns, and demonstrating use cases for AI.

“Libraries are at the center of knowledge and innovation for the communities we serve. We are built on the principle that everybody has a right to information,” White says. “Technology is part of that. We believe AI is an everybody tool.”

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