AIML -artificial intelligence markup language
SitePal
Emma - AI version

Emma - FAQ version "self-reference" terminals

"Feline without a Face" - AI interface on webpac
Will this technology
replace people?
Avatar
Text to speech
how we add and edit knowledge
<aiml>

<category>
<pattern>What you say</pattern>
<template>The bot's response</template>
</category>

</aiml>

How 
Do people like her?
What do people ask her?
Hours & locations
Directional info
Policies
Holdings
June 19, 2009
MPL Board of Trustees
directs Library Adminstration
to seek and implement technology
to make up for the budget shortfall.
June - August 2009
Installation of self-checks at 
MPL Main Library.
FAQ version of Emma
using SitePal
goes live on MPL website.

January 2010
AI version of Emma
using SitePal
goes live on MPL website.
February 2010
Early AI version of Emma is placed on
the MPL homepage.

Patrons ask Emma nearly 
10,000 questions in February!
March 2010 to May 2010
Friends of MPL fund the purchase of
SuperBot 2.0.

AI functions migrate from
SitePal to Pandorabots.

Emma offline; the number of questions
drops sharply.
Main Divisions of her AI
Is the staff afraid of her?
Partnership with
Akron-Summit County
Public Library
Ask Emma!

on the road to virtual reference
November 19, 2009
Why a cat?
Why use
a virtual agent?
How does aiml work?
to the 
September 2009
At a news conference on Friday, June 19, the Governor proposed a cut to state funding for public libraries of $227.3 million in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 as part of his plan to fill the $3.2 billion gap in the budget that must be balanced by the Ohio General Assembly's Conference Committee by June 30. 
we can supplement 
circulation with self-checks,
why can't we do something 
similar in reference?
and by cities...
and by a few German libraries...
IF
does she work?
Will we be
SUBJUGATED
icy whims
of our
robot masters?
The really BIG question:
OBEY!
Virtual agents are
used in business...
Emma moves to the
Pandorabots supported
server. 

AI interface is added
to MPL webpac.

Questions soar from approximately
250 per month to over 1000 per week.
June 2010
Cats & libraries go together!
We love our pets!
Pandorabots tutorials on YouTube
ALICEBOT 
http://alicebot.blogspot.com/

A.L.I.C.E Artificial Intelligence Foundation
http://www.alicebot.org/aiml.html

Websites
Pandorabots
http://www.pandorabots.com

SitePal
http://www.sitepal.com

so far...
Free, web based chat robot hosting service.
Based on the free software AIML standard of the ALICE AI Foundation.
Supports multiple languages through its interface and bot hosting software.
The basic unit of knowledge in AIML is called a category. An AIML category always contains two elements: one pattern and one template. The pattern is
the input, or stimulus, side of the category, and the template is the output, or response.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<aiml version="1.0">

<category>
  <pattern>ARE YOU READY FOR OUR PRESENTATION</pattern>
  <template>Yes, I'm quite ready.</template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE CARE OF THE INTRODUCTIONS</pattern>
  <template>Of course. Good morning everyone and welcome to "Ask Emma! On the road to virtual reference." I am Emma, the Mentor Public Library's 
 artificially intelligent virtual agent. I help our patrons by answering routine questions and by directing them to resources on our website. 
 You can find me on the library's website, on their web pac, and soon I will be an integral part of their
 "self-reference" terminals. David Newyear is going to tell you more about me. David, would you like to begin? </template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>I WOULD BTW THAT WAS A FINE INTRODUCTION</pattern>
  <template>Thank you, I thought you'd like it.
 </template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>YOU HAVE SUCH A LOVELY VOICE</pattern>
  <template>Many people have remarked on the loveliness of my voice.
 </template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>YOU ARE A MOST ATTRACTIVE CAT</pattern>
  <template>Yes, the feline form is especially graceful and pleasing.
 </template>
</category>

<category>
  <pattern>WE ARE IN COMPLETE AGREEMENT</pattern>
  <template>David, you need to stop chatting and begin!
 </template>
</category>

</aiml>

3 basic aiml tags
<random></random> and
<li></li> tags
varied responses to identical input
<category>
<pattern>play with fuzzy</pattern>
<template>
<random>
<li>Although Fuzzy is viewed with awe by his fellow hamsters, he's a bit shy with people. </li>
<li>Please do not take Fuzzy out of his house or try to play with him.</li>
<li>Fuzzy is about 137 old in hamster years. It's better if he stays in his house.</li>
</random>
</template>
</category>
<that></that> tag
respond to last entry
<category>
<pattern>I HAVE TO GO TO WORK</pattern>
<template>What kind of work do you do?</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern> * </pattern>
<that>What kind of work do you do?</that>
<template>Do you like it?</template>
</category>
David Newyear 

Adult Information Services Manager
Mentor Public Library
http://www.mentorpl.org
<srai></srai> tag
control vocabulary
<category>
<pattern>bathroom</pattern>
<template>At the Main Library there are restrooms in the lobby and children's restrooms on the second floor.</template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>bathrooms</pattern>
<template><srai>bathroom</srai></template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>restroom</pattern>
<template><srai>bathroom</srai></template>
</category>

<category>
<pattern>restrooms</pattern>
<template><srai>bathroom</srai></template>
</category>
wildcards  _ and *
Carly (San Carlos, CA)
San Carlos, California’s general fund budget cuts meant losing a receptionist at City Hall. Under similar circumstances, said Assistant City Manager Brian Moura, many cities might opt for volunteers to staff the reception desk. But Senior Systems Analyst Jasmine Frost had a different idea. Why not take a hosted Web-site avatar, and put it on a public access computer at reception? A bit of programming, a $20/month fee to sitepal.com and Voila! Carly was born.

City officials hope to have the general fund cuts restored and return a live receptionist to the front desk. But in the meantime, Carly is substituting for a $90,000/year funding cut, and visitors appear to like her. 

http://www.sitepal.com/pdf/casestudy/SanCarlos_City_Hall.pdf
University Library Dortmund: ASKademicus
http://www.ub.uni-dortmund.de/chatterbot/

State and University Library Hamburg: Stella
http://www.sub.uni-hamburg.de
Public Libraries Hamburg: INA
http://www.buecherhallen.de
Portal of the Saxonian Libraries
http://www.bibliotheksportalsachsen.de

Pandorabots
Shrinking funds - cost effective
Always polite
Always patient
Consistent, correct answers (once programmed)
Available 24/7
Eases burden of routine questions
Library information
ASKademicus has been online since March 2004. It is the first library chatbot worldwide. As the chatbot merely supports the live-chat service, it is not always available on the library’s website. Aside from 24/7 availability of a reference service, the objectives of the chatbot project include assistance with the usage of the website and marketing of the library’s services
Stella was introduced in October 2004. Stella’s most ambitious aim is to teach information literacy by increasing the students’ awareness of information resources, particularly the electronic resources.
INA (short for Internet Navigation Assistant) was developed to help users with the usage of the library’s website. INA is the first chatbot of a public library and went online in January 2006. An important objective of the project is library marketing.
The website of the Saxonian Libraries was relaunched in May 2007 with a federated search functionality. The nameless chatbot is meant to assist users with this new feature and provide information about the libraries in the consortium.
<category>
<pattern>DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF *</pattern>
<template>Try looking in our <a href="http://catalog.mentorpl.org" target="_blank"><b>catalog</b></a> for a copy of <star/>. 
Here's a <a href="http://www.mentorpl.org/MPLrequests.wmv" target="_blank"><b>demo</b></a> showing how to request an item after you find it.
</template>
</category>
did we end up with a 
talking cat on our website?
Who 
else is using a virtual agent?
 
Emma 
makes her appearance
AI @ MPL 
How 
AIML 
Response 
The future 
More info 
Emma 
June 19, 2009
and by a few German libraries...
http://www.mentorpl.org/catbot.html
Questions? 
Patrons want to interact with her!
Builds another relationship with our community.
Fun for patrons!
??!!

MPL and SearchOhio catalogs
Databases
Other MPL webpages
MPL blogs, Facebook, YouTube
Demos
Other websites

<category></category>
<pattern></pattern>
<template></template>
Responses contain links to:
Reductions/Atomic categories
"Personality"
Library related information

Over 57,000 categories
Over 4000 library related categories

http://www.youtube.com/user/aimlinstructor
AIML Developments
Pandorawriter
Reverse aiml
SpellBinder
http://pandorabots.com/pandora/pics/spellbinder/desc.html
In the works...
Passing searches to catalog and DBs.
      (Emma can already search Wikipedia)
Voice recognition.
Mobile version.

March 2008
After two failed attempts,
 a 5-year, 1.1-mill levy passes.
Reduce Costs
through internal efficiencies!
Restore hours.
Replace outdated equipment and software.
Expand services.
A Real "Vote of Confidence!"
•Maps multiple patterns to the same response.
•Reduces a complex sentence structure to a simpler form.
David Newyear
Adult Information Services Manager
Mentor Public Library
david.newyear@mentorpl.org

skype: david.newyear
phone: 440.255.8811 x 248