Library and Information Science Commons^™

Aisha: A Custom Ai Library Chatbot Using The Chatgpt Api, Yrjo Lappalainen, Nikesh Narayanan

All Works

This article focuses on the development of a custom chatbot for Zayed University Library (United Arab Emirates) using Python and the ChatGPT API. The chatbot, named Aisha, was designed to provide quick and efficient reference and support services to students and faculty outside the library's regular operating hours. The article also discusses the benefits of chatbots in academic libraries, and reviews the early literature on ChatGPT's applicability in this field. The article describes the development process, perceived capabilities and limitations of the bot, and plans for further development. This project represents the first fully reported attempt to explore the potential …

Learning To Love Data (Week): Creating Data Services Awareness On Campus, Katie M. Wissel, Lisa Deluca

Kathryn Wissel, MBA, MI

Beyond Description: Converting Web Site Usage Statistics Into Concrete Site Improvement Ideas, Julie Arendt, Cassie Wagner

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Web site usage statistics are a widely used tool for Web site development, but libraries are still learning how to use them successfully. This case study summarizes how Morris Library at Southern Illinois University Carbondale implemented Google Analytics on its Web site and used the reports to inform a site redesign. As the main campus library at a research university with about 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the library included resources from multiple library departments on a single site. In planning the redesign, Morris Library's Virtual Library Group combined usage reports with information from other sources, such as usability tests …

Location, Location, Location: A Transaction Comparison Of Catalog Searches Originating From The Library Homepage And Aleph, Jimmy Ghaphery, Thomas Mcnulty, Susan Teague Rector

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Jimmy Ghaphery, Head, Library Information Systems, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU); Thomas McNulty, Integrated Library Systems Librarian, VCU; Susan Teague-Rector, Web Applications Manager, VCU. We will analyze several weeks of search terms from February 2009 in order to determine how different points of entry impact user searches. Specifically we will compare user searches originating from a search tool on the library homepage and searches originating directly from Aleph. This session should be of interest to those who are involved with usability and OPAC design as well as system administrators tasked with measuring OPAC activity.

Designing Search: Effective Search Interfaces For Academic Library Websites, Susan Teague Rector, Jimmy Ghaphery

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Academic libraries customize, support and provide access to myriad information systems, each with complex graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The number of possible information entry points on an academic library Web site is both daunting to the end user and consistently challenging to library Web site designers. Faced with the challenges inherent in designing online search interfaces and the ever-growing amount of resources available online, VCU Libraries sought to explore how to build effective search interfaces that, at the same time, support a wide variety of computer users and provide comprehensive access to assorted collections of electronic resources. Over a 9 …

Too Quick? Log Analysis Of Quick Links From An Academic Library Website, Jimmy Ghaphery

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Since the summer of 2001, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries has offered a “Quick Links” menu in the top right-hand side of many of its pages. Transaction log files have been run in order to analyze the use of the Quick Links, and several changes have been made based on those logs. This article will discuss those findings and offer contextual ideas for the use of Quick Links in comparison to the rest of the library website.

My Library At Virginia Commonwealth University: Third Year Evaluation, Jimmy Ghaphery

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

My Library is a personalization tool that allows the library user to consolidate frequently used library resources and services. Since 1998, My Library has been available as a web page to users of the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries. An evaluation of My Library use at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was completed and published in 2000. This article reports on a follow up study that took place between March 2000 and December 2001. The article also discusses the value of My Library as a teaching tool at VCU.

Advanced Searchers???, Jimmy Ghaphery

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Log analysis from 2001 focused on use and popularity of advanced search features of an online library catalog (OPAC).

Vcu's My Library: Librarians Love It. . . . Users? Well, Maybe, Jimmy Ghaphery, Dan Ream

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Virginia Commonwealth University's My Library project (circa 1998-1999) has chosen "ease of use" as its primary design criteria. The development of this tool using Perl scripting is described, and reports derived from usage logs are analyzed here. My Library tends to appeal a great deal to a small number of users as a personal tool. Librarians have found it popular as a class teaching tool, with pages designed for specific classes in library instruction receiving the heaviest use.