Enhancing library accessibility and relevance with cechat

CEnet's cechat, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution, is continually being refined through collaboration with Catholic schools across Australia, with a significant area of development being the direct assistance to students and staff in managing and accessing school resources, particularly in library settings. John Therry Catholic College (JTCC) was the first secondary school in Australia where students engaged with this AI tool, using it in unique ways to address specific challenges within their college environment

The challenge: Managing extensive library inventory and providing tailored recommendations

A significant challenge identified for the library at John Therry Catholic College was the sheer volume of books, with over 2000 books in the library. Such a vast number of books, staff could not know all of them which led to the difficulty of providing a suitable book suggestion for a reluctant reader, coupled with concerns that a suggestion might be unhelpful. This highlighted a need for a more efficient and comprehensive system for library management and personalised book recommendations.

The cechat solution: The Virtual Library: BookWhiz

To tackle this specific library management and recommendation challenge, Hamish Jefferys, Leader of Library and Educational Technology at JTCC, implemented cechat as a Virtual Library: BookWhiz. This specialised AI agent was designed to know the library's entire inventory and where the books are located. Importantly, it also has the ability to recommend books based on a user's request, and to suggest similar books.

Impact and benefits

The implementation of cechat as the Virtual Library: BookWhiz at John Therry Catholic College has yielded several positive impacts and benefits, directly addressing the initial challenges:

  • Enhanced library accessibility and relevance: With BookWhiz, students now have an AI agent that knows the entire library inventory and can recommend books based on their specific requests. This overcomes the challenge of staff not knowing all 2000+ books.

  • Tailored and engaging suggestions: The agent ensures more tailored and engaging suggestions for readers, which is particularly beneficial for reluctant readers.

  • Increased efficiency and support: By leveraging cechat for tasks like library recommendations, staff can potentially save time and direct their focus to more complex or individualised needs.

This case study illustrates how cechat directly addresses administrative and resource management challenges within a school library, offering a sophisticated AI-driven approach to support enhanced accessibility and personalised recommendations. The creative use cases of cechat at JTCC reinforce CEnet’s ongoing journey with Catholic schools to discover new and exciting ways to support learning and teaching.

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