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Weber County Library launches free, private AI assistant 'Brainy' at all branches
Summary
Bryant Reer told commissioners the library’s new locally hosted AI assistant, Brainy, is now live at all five Weber County Library locations. Reer emphasized privacy—conversations stay on county hardware—and staff will teach residents how to use the tool safely and effectively.
Bryant Reer, manager of IT services at the Weber County Library, told the Weber County Board of Commissioners on June 30 that the library has launched Brainy, a text-based artificial-intelligence assistant available free to anyone at the system’s five locations.
Reer said Brainy runs “on hardware inside our buildings,” not on third-party cloud services, and that library conversations do not leave the library network. “There are no ads. No one is profiling community members based on what they ask,” he said, adding that Brainy does not use user conversations to train external AI models.
The presentation stressed limits and guardrails: Brainy has no internet access and cannot fetch live news, so staff instruct users to treat it as an assistant, not as a substitute for professional advice. Reer said library staff will help patrons create accounts, frame tasks for the assistant and teach the critical-thinking skills needed to evaluate responses.
Commissioners praised the rollout. Commissioner Jim Harvey, who serves on the library board, said he was initially wary but supports public education around the tool. “I’m so proud of you,” Harvey told Reer, and noted the library’s role in closing digital divides.
Reer said Brainy is intended to help a wide range of residents—from job-seekers drafting resumes to veterans navigating benefits—by offering a private, staff-supported way to learn and use AI tools. The library will gather user feedback and adjust implementation as the service matures.
The presentation did not ask the commission for funding; library staff said Brainy is already deployed and the immediate need was commissioners’ awareness and referrals when constituents inquire.
