Enhancing Library Services with Conversational AI Agents
Yrjo Lappalainen, Data Services Librarian, Zayed University
In early 2023, Zayed University Library (United Arab Emirates) began developing Aisha, an AI-powered chatbot using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Python, a vector database, and the LangChain framework. This was a pioneering project in academic library services, creating a chatbot that can communicate in naturally in multiple languages and provide users with enhanced access to the library’s resources. Aisha has since been integrated with many internal and external data sources such as Google, Wikipedia, the library catalog and the institutional repository, to offer additional support. The project goes on and we are currently evaluating Aisha’s effectiveness with various large language models, such as GPT-4, Google Gemini, Llama 2 and Anthropic Claude, to understand their applicability in the library setting. This presentation will cover the journey of developing Aisha, including the challenges we encountered, and our insights into different large language models in the library context. The presentation will explore how conversational AI can make library services more personal and efficient, potentially redefining library interactions globally. Through our ongoing efforts, we hope to offer valuable insights to other libraries considering similar technological advancements. Conversational AI agents like Aisha have a lot to offer and they could potentially become the future interfaces to all library services.
