The dawn of artificial intelligence has opened up new possibilities for chatboxes. This study looks closely at how academic libraries deploy chatboxes, and how the availability of ChatGPT, Bard, AI-enabled Bing and other programs is influencing their chatbox plans and proclivities. The study gives detailed data on use of programs used for chatboxes, such as LibAnswers and LibPress.
It also looks at the use of artificial intelligence programs and at applications commonly used in industry, such as Salesforce, and examined how librarians feel about developing their own chatboxes vs. the use of chatboxes developed by or assisted by major commercial vendors. The report helps its readers to answer questions such as: how will the availability of ChatGPT, Bard and AI-enabled Bing impact the development and use of library-supplied chatboxes? How much do librarians want to customize their chatboxes? How far along are they in this process?
Just a few of this 93-page report’s many findings are that:
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Public colleges are nearly twice as likely as private ones to use chatboxes for reference and research support.
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Libraries with directors who have an advanced degree in a non-library field in addition to a graduate library science degree were more than three times as likely as libraries with directors who were humanities undergrads with an advanced library science degree but no further education to field chatboxes for their libraries.
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Research universities were the most likely type of library in the sample to use Springshare
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9.26% of those sampled believe it is a top priority for them to integrate ChatGPT, Bard or other AI program into their chatboxes.
Data in the reports is from a survey of 54 upper level academic library officer, primarily library directors. Data in the report is broken out by institutional variables such as Carnegie class or type of college/university, enrollment, tuition level, and public private status – and by personal variables of the survey respondents such as age, gender and type and level of library science education.
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