This study looks at how American college students use, or do not, academic library chatbots and chat services. The reports helps its readers to answer questions such as: Which students use library chatbots, how often and for what purpose? How many use chatbots to find scholarly articles? To help navigate the library website? To locate books? To get help with citations? To get information on library hours or staff availability? As chatbots and manned online chat services get greater attention in libraries, it is essential that librarians know what students think of such services, and how they are currently being used, and by whom.
Just a few of this 120-page report’s many findings are that:
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13.3% of students “can’t stand” chatbots in general.
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Students from rural areas were the most likely to dislike chatbots intensely.
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Politically conservative and “middle of the road” students were much more likely than left wing students to use chatbots.
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Psychology majors were the most likely to have used an “Ask a Librarian” chat service.
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Students who were working full time or part time were far more likely than those not working to have used an Ask-a-Librarian chat service