This new report examines charteristics of the academic library help-desk: its structure,use of automated chat services and AI chatbots, its level of responsiveness, range of inquiry types, among other issues. It also covers staff training, ticketing systems, staff confidence, student technology assistance, and the current impact of AI on staff inquiries.
Data is based on a survey of 33 academic libraries; data is broken out by size and type of academic institution, for public and private status and other variables.
The report finds that campus-wide help desks are the dominant model. 60.61% of respondents report campus-wide IT help-desk service, while 21.21% report a library-based desk and 18.18% a hybrid model. No respondent reports having no formal help desk.
Automated patron-facing IT support remains uncommon. 81.82% say the library does not use an automated bot or chat service for patron IT inquiries. Current use is reported by 15.15%, including 12.12% using a service provided by college IT and 3.03% using one provided by the library.
Help-desk responsiveness is viewed positively but not overwhelmingly. 12.12% are very satisfied and 48.48% satisfied, for a combined positive rating of 60.60%. Printing and website navigation are the leading sources of demand, rated very frequent or frequent by 51.51% and 48.48%, respectively.
Staff IT training is limited. Only 9.09% provide training quarterly and 21.21% annually, while 45.45% provide it rarely and 21.21% never do. Ticketing systems are used fully by 51.52% and partially by another 15.15%.
AI chatbots have not yet displaced much staff work. The mean reported replacement of staff inquiries is 3.75%, while the median is 0.00%.