Implementing a Chatbot on a Library Website

Abstract A library’s website is a virtual point of contact for interacting with its patrons. Ensuring a library’s website has easily findable content is critical for providing access to library resources and highlighting services and events. One tool for assisting with content findability is a chatbot, a form of artificial intelligence software. In this case study, Lehman College’s Leonard Lief Library implemented Ivy, a proprietary educational software chatbot on its website, the first of its kind for an academic library. This chatbot functioned as a new tool that assisted users seeking information and provided insight to librarians about the kinds of topics students search for via the library website. This article provides the first detailed description in the literature of an implementation of a proprietary chatbot for an academic library.