Implementing a Chatbot on a Library Website

Ehrenpreis, Michelle; DeLooper, John

doi:10.1080/19322909.2022.2060893

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…A recent systematic review by Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola (2021), found higher education adapting chatbots to answer student questions, provide course content, assess student abilities and perform administrative tasks. During COVID-19, universities transitioned to largely online learning and virtual services, a modality that left many students feeling isolated and some unable to reliably connect to campus resources (Shi et al, 2021;Ehrenpreis and DeLooper, 2022). In response, the California State University system evolved chatbots, along the lines of the Mitsuku bot, to provide emotional support to freshman and transfer students struggling during the pandemic.…”

Section: Adoption In Libraries and Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there are many full-service chatbot options available for purchase or subscription, these services can run well into the tens of thousands a year depending on the number of users and transactions. These costs may not be sustainable at public or non-profit organizations such as libraries; lack of means and resources are often cited for the slow adoption of AI and chatbots in libraries (Bilal and Chu, 2021; Ehrenpreis and DeLooper, 2022). Additionally, many libraries are discouraged by the perceived technical requirements of chatbot implementation and upkeep.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During COVID-19, universities transitioned to largely online learning and virtual services, a modality that left many students feeling isolated and some unable to reliably connect to campus resources (Shi et al. , 2021; Ehrenpreis and DeLooper, 2022). In response, the California State University system evolved chatbots, along the lines of the Mitsuku bot, to provide emotional support to freshman and transfer students struggling during the pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ehrenpreis and DeLooper (2022) describe challenges they encountered in their case study from CUNY's Lehman College. These include students' possibly failing to understand they are utilizing a chatbot and rather than speaking directly with a librarian.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0090-7324.htm organizations such as libraries; lack of means and resources are often cited for the slow adoption of AI and chatbots in libraries (Bilal and Chu, 2021;Ehrenpreis and DeLooper, 2022). Additionally, many libraries are discouraged by the perceived technical requirements of chatbot implementation and upkeep.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Uncoding library chatbots: deploying a new virtual reference tool at the San Jose State University library

Rodriguez

Mune

2022

RSR

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PurposeThis paper aims to detail how a university library developed an AI chatbot to meet a growing need for virtual reference services. This chatbot was developed using Google's free Dialogflow bot platform and embedded in the library's website. With the onset of COVID-19 and a greater reliance on virtual services, chatbots have become of increasing interest to libraries as a tool to provide enhanced services during non-staffed hours and to perform basic information triage when virtual chat transactions reach an overwhelming number of available staff.Design/methodology/approachUsing in-depth research into current practices and readily available tools, a small non-technical team at a university library designed and piloted an AI chatbot that employs natural language processing and AI training. This article describes the chatbot development and implementation process. Results of chatbot interactions after one academic year of usage are also reviewed.FindingsThis study reveals that a university library chatbot may be developed and deployed with minimal coding knowledge using existing tools. Chatbot content can be populated through current library information sources and trained to address typical information inquiries. However, additional development and testing is needed to increase user engagement.Originality/valueThis study indicates that libraries can develop and deploy chatbots to meet user information inquiries without onerous technical training or IT resources. It describes best practices for chatbots and the steps necessary to deploy a chatbot on a library website.

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Section: Adoption In Libraries and Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%