By Aimee Sullivan, Communications Intern
Martson Science Library is the busiest of the six libraries across the University of Florida’s campus. With more than a million visitors yearly and some of the latest hours open on campus, this branch (almost) never sleeps. The epitome of a nonstop college library, there are always events that thousands attend yearly and a vast array of resources and technology for students to borrow and explore.
The title of “Public Service Coordinator” for a library at a major university is an all-encompassing job, requiring the employee to change hats frequently. Along with organizing student engagement events and coordinating building maintenance with the facilities team, CJ Ellward, the current coordinator at Marston, has made programming innovative technology part of the job description.
Ellward started with the UF Libraries in the summer of 2021 as an Access Services assistant and moved to her current coordinator position in 2024. Though self-described as “not completely tech illiterate,” Ellward used the knowledge from her previous position and few mechanical engineering classes, along with learning new programs, to implement additional ways for students to receive online support.
Like libraries across the country, UF has in-person and virtual ways for students to contact librarians and ask questions to aid in their research. The most frequently used tool has become UF’s Ask-A-Librarian system found on the Libraries’ website. This feature allows web users to ask questions and receive real-time answers for almost 12 hours each weekday.
Unlike other university libraries, which have a full-time team dedicated to assisting students online, the University of Florida has a schedule composed of around 80 librarians who volunteer their time to help students, in addition to their other daily responsibilities.
“Our demand is crazy,” Ellward explains. “We get a lot of questions.”
Ellward runs this program, developing training programs and policies around the software, creating the schedule for all available librarians, and keeping them informed of any changes that may impact on the information they share with students.
Over time, the demand for librarian support on the library’s website became too strenuous for the volunteers, and Ellward knew an automated system could help streamline student questions.
“The chatbot really came from a desire to try to meet our patron needs more effectively with the staffing that we have,” Ellward said.
Previously to Ellward’s role change to coordinator in 2024, a team had started to work on a new programmed chatbot to answer students’ frequently asked questions. The team had already identified some common questions and answers for the system to respond with, but the actual implementation on the website still needed work.
“Through some trial and error, we got it up and running,” Ellward said. “Since then, it’s just been refinement and playing around with the program.”
On the UF Libraries website, a small tab labeled “Ask Us!” greets users with Alice, the automated chatbot system with pre-written text options, guiding users through navigational questions they have. The system uses no generative-AI; the answers are written and verified by staff.
“We use the Springshare system, which is used widely by a lot of different libraries,” Ellward said. “So it’s also pretty beneficial to go look at what other libraries are doing as well.”
Since it’s 2024 implementation, the chatbot has answered 65% of total inquiries, giving librarians more time to fulfill their other duties.
Along with answering questions, the chatbot also tracks where users are clicking, giving Ellward direct feedback on what students are looking for and how to further assist in their pursuits.
“We get a lot of the same questions, and we’re more than happy to answer them,” Ellward explained. “If a chatbot can answer the basic, starting questions, we can spend our time on the more complex questions.”
This year, Ellward received a division-level Superior Accomplishment Award from the University of Florida, recognizing her work implementing this program. Though tasked to run the Ask- A-Librarian feature, Ellward went above and beyond, improving the system for both students and staff.