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The Intelligent WebpacEnhancing the user experience with .aiml

David NewyearAdult Information Services ManagerMentor Public Library

Michele McNealWeb SpecialistAkron-Summit County Public Library 1IntroductionHow did we end up with a talking cat on our website?

2Governor Strickland proposes a cut to state funding for public libraries.

Proposed budget cuts announced by Gov. Ted Strickland potentially could strip 50 percent of the state's funding for public libraries in the next two years.

Nearly 70 percent of the state's more than 250 public libraries rely solely on state funding. A reduction of this magnitude could mean many will close branches or reduce hours and services.1

June 19, 20093 June August 2009: Self checks installed at the Main Library, installation at the branches soon follows.

July 2009: Initial tests with SitePal begin. September 2009: MPL Board of Trustees directs library administration to seek and implement technology to make up for the budget shortfall.MPL Response

4 November 19, 2009: Emma appears on the MPL website. Patrons select from a list of twelve FAQs.

January 2010: SitePal artificial intelligence is enabled. In February, Emma answers nearly 10,000 questions.

March May 2010: Emmas brain migrates from SitePal to Pandorabots. Emma is rebuilt using SuperBot 2.0 files.

July 2010: MPL and ASCPL form a partnership.Emma makes her debut

5 Patrons have embraced her.

Will you marry me?

Teens especially like her.

People from all over the world ask her questions.

Use has increased dramatically!

Her correct response rate forlibrary questions has increased from12% to an average of 90%.Oh My Gosh! A talking cat!

6How does Emma fit into our reference department?

7What questions are we answering?8What questions are we answering?9In the course of Strategic Planning, MPLs community focus group ranked reference services next to last in their desired service responses.

1. Create Young Readers: Early Literacy

2. Understand How to Find, Evaluate, and Use Information: Information Fluency

3. Satisfy Curiosity: Lifelong Learning

4. Stimulate Imagination: Reading, Viewing, and Listening for Pleasure

5. Connect to the Online World: Public Internet Access

Dont you love us anymore?

10 Statistics from virtual reference interactions (SMS text messaging and IM/chat sessions) indicate that requests for immediate information about library hours (including Are you open?) and for specific books or other materials/resources (study room availability) predominate.2

There were relatively few hardcore research questions. What questions are reference staff answering at other libraries?

11Are reference services in decline? Zabel noted that reference transactions began to decline in 1998 and have decreased every subsequent year.3

Banks and Pracht found anincreased emphasis on developing Web-based reference services, focus on the Internet, and a decreased number of questions asked at physical reference desks.4

12Professional staff should do professional work!

Chatbots can ease the burden of routine questions so libraries and library staff can make better use of their time.13Such as Reference/research questions

Collection development

Content creation, blogs, wikis, etc.

Community relations

Outreach

14 A cost-effective way to answer routine questions

Provide immediate answers, 24/7

Connect the library with new groups of users

Always patient and polite

Engage a wide range of users

Why use a chatbot?

15Christansen found that chatbots could benefit libraries in a variety of ways.5

Provide a natural language interface

Personalize the user experience

Appeal to users as being new, fun, helpful

Provide a marketing tool for reference servicesWhy use a chatbot?

16 Fill voids left by budget cuts

Enhance navigation of existing resources

Improve productivity of existing staff

Chatbots cannot replicate the complexity of the reference interview (yet).6

More reasons to use a chatbot

17A case study conducted by SitePal of one of their clients indicated a 50% decrease in the average time spent on each customer service telephone interaction, and a 30% decrease in the length of their in person consultations.7 This was because:

Customers were better informed about resources and services. Customers had a better idea of what they wanted. The client was better able to monitor the information needs of the customers and tailor the bot and supporting materials to those needs.

This is in addition to the advantage of letting the bot supply basic hours, directional, and policy information about the library and its services allowing the professional staff to focus on doing professional work.Improve staff productivity?18What the Heck are we doing?Enter the CatBots

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Chatbot is a term being used for AI or Virtual Agents appearing on the web.

They enhance websites by providing interactivity, FAQ information access, branding, and a touch of whimsey

Our catbots are mobilizing this technology for the library

Our CatBots

20Were implementing our Catbots in a number of different ways:

Text only interactive help for the WebPacInteractive talking avatars on Web pagesPrerecorded mini avatar for the library home page

Our CatBots21

Our CatBotsWere implementing our Catbots in a number of different ways:

Text only interactive help for the WebPacInteractive talking avatars on Web pagesPrerecorded mini avatar for the library home page

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Were implementing our Catbots in a number of different ways:

Text only interactive help for the WebPacInteractive talking avatars on Web pagesPrerecorded mini avatar for the library home page

Our CatBots23To provide interactive help from within the WebPac:

By linking to the catalogs help pages By linking to step by step instructions and videos outside the catalog

To direct users to the WebPac:

With questions about the availability of particular materialsWith questions or tasks to complete related to their account Two goals for the CatBots with relation to the WebPac:24How do we do it?

25The Brain

The intelligence (AI) of the Virtual Agent and determines how it will respond to queries.Composed of a series of .aiml filesWere using Pandorabots.com as our AI host.

The Face (optional)

Visible avatarVoiceTTS (text to speech) capabilityWere using SitePal as our avatar host.

Two Components of the Virtual Agent26Pandorabots.com offers a free demo AI experience.

Users create a basic text interface chatbot which can be inserted into new or extant web pages.

Users then enhance their chatbot by developing additional .aiml files to address topics not covered in the general intelligence files.

The .aiml files can be edited in a text, script or html editor (e.g.. Notepad, Dreamweaver, SeaMonkey, etc.) or you can use a program specifically designed to edit .aiml (e.g.. Simple AIML Editor).

.aiml file components

Completed files are uploaded to the Pandorabot site and the bot is published on the server.

The Brain27

The Brain28

The Brain29

The Brain30

The Brain31

The Brain32

This is what youll matchThis is the response to your match

The Brain33

The Brain34SitePal (formerly Oddcast Vhost) offers a demo version via thePandorabots interface consisting of 4 avatar face choices and 13voice selections.

Weve selected a non-human avatar because:

They automatically avoid issues of race/class.Cats have a long tradition of association with books and libraries.The cats have cute and fun appeal.

Text to Speech is available only with paid accounts

Window Dressing: the .html frame

Remember the face and voice are really optional - the mostimportant component is the intelligence!

The Face35

The Face36

The Face37

The Face38

The Face39

The Face40On the Horizon

41Completed since EGL-IUG (October 2010):

Pass through to additional resources (catalog, Ohio Web Library, Wolfram|Alpha, etc.) Information kioskMobile access page

On the Horizon

42In the Works:

Desktop Icon for library computersReaders advisoryVoice recognitionImproved prompting and direction of questions

On the drawing board:

Direct link to patron accountMultiple resource linking (single query opening multiple resource links)Balance between immediate answers, linking to resources, and chatting

Our New Horizon

43References

44"Governor Ted Strickland's proposed budget cuts endanger future of public libraries." Sun News Wednesday, June 24, 2009: n. pag. Web. 13 Mar 2011. http://blog.cleveland.com/garfieldmaplesun/2009/06/governor_ted_stricklands_propo.html. Radford, Marie et al. Taking the Library with You: VR Going Mobile. ALA Virtual Conference. 7 & 8 July 2010. Web. 5 October 2010. http://www.amandaclaypowers.com/2010/06/28/taking-the-library-with-you-vr-going-mobile/ Banks, Julie, and Carl Pracht. "Reference Desk Staffing Trends: A Survey." Reference & User Services Quarterly 48.1 (2008): 54. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.orgZabel, Diane. "Trends in Reference and Public Services Librarianship and the Role of RUSA Part One." Reference & User Services Quarterly 45.1 (2005): 7. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Mar. 2011 http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.orgChristansen, Anne. A Trend from Germany: Library Chatbots in Digital Reference. International Ticer School, Digital Libraries la Carte Module 2: Technological Developments: Threats and Opportunities for libraries. Tilburg University. 28 August 2007. Web. 12 October 2010 http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/ticer/07carte/publicat/07christensen.pdfReferences45Zick, Laura. The Work of Information Mediators: A Comparison of Librarians and Intelligent Software Agents. First Monday. 5.5 (2000). Web. 13 October 2010 http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/748/657Virtual Meeting with Kathleen Improved Sales Productivity by 50%. SitePal case study #15. Web. May 2008. http://www.sitepal.com/pdf/casestudy/loftusphotography.pdf

References

46External Image Credits:

http://baker-taylor.com/mascots.htmhttp://www.girl.com.au/old-possums-book-of-practical-cats.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Whittington_and_His_Cathttp://www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.htmlhttp://victoriangardengourmet.blogspot.comhttp://vintageephemera.blogspot.comhttp://eastlakevictorian.blogspot.comhttp://postcardive.blogspot.comhttp://www.reuther.wayne.eduhttp://newdeal.feri.orghttp://digital.denverlibrary.orghttp://pixaus.comhttp://icanhascheezburger.com

References

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The Intelligent WebPac:Enhancing the user experience with .aimlDavid NewyearAdultInformation Services Manager - Mentor Public Librarydavid.newyear@mentorpl.org

Emma the MPL Catbot: http://www.mentorpl.org/catbot.html

Michele McNealWeb Specialist Akron-Summit County Public Librarymmcneal@akronlibrary.org

Dewey ASCPL Catbot: http://www.akronlibrary.org/dewey.html

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