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Prototyping expert systems in reference services (1980–2000): experimentation, success, disillusionment, and legacy
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Abstract

In the late twentieth century librarians prototyped expert systems in reference services in order to respond to the reference ‘crisis’ of the time and to harness the power of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Creating intelligent systems required librarian designers to codify the expertise of reference librarians and the resources of reference services into knowledge representation mechanisms suitable for inferences by the system. In this process, librarians explored the theoretical and pragmatic bases of reference and experimented with how to implement them in AI. The successes and failures of these prototypes reveal how librarians felt about these new technologies and how they might transform libraries. While expert systems in libraries failed and were abandoned by the end of the century, lessons and insights from this seminal work can inform current activities in the application of machine learning.

Keywords: expert systems, artificial intelligence, reference services, reference librarians
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About this Journal

Library & Information History (formerly Library History) was established in 1967 under the aegis of the Library History Group of the Library Association, now the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals. It is the only British periodical devoted exclusively to the history of libraries and librarianship and to the burgeoning field of information history.

Throughout history, libraries have been the repositories of knowledge of all kinds. In recent times library history has been enhanced by the flourishing scholarly interest in provenance research and the history of reading. As we have entered the information age, these histories have broadened into a history of information, with historians reconsidering the fundamental concepts and manifestations of information in society.

Library & Information History is a fully-refereed journal publishing articles of a high academic standard from international authors on all subjects and all periods relating to the history of libraries and librarianship and to the history of information, in its broadest sense. Issues include substantial articles as well as book reviews, occasional surveys of recent publications, and guides to relevant sources.

Library & Information History is a journal for anyone interested in the social, cultural and intellectual history of libraries and of information. 

Editors and Editorial Board

Editors

Dr Jill Dye, National Library of Scotland, UK

Professor Nadine Kozak, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA

 

Book Reviews Editor

Dr Maxine Branagh-Miscampbell, University of Stirling, UK

Mhairi Rutherford, University of Edinburgh, UK

Editorial Board

Dr Karen Attar, Senate House Library, University of London, UK

Dr Sara Barker, University of Leeds, UK

Professor Alistair Black, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Dr James W Cortada, IBM Institute for Business Value, USA

Dr John Crawford, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK

Mr Peter Hoare, Salisbury, UK

Julieanne Lamond, Australian National University, Australia

Dr Brendan Luyt, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Dr David McKitterick, Trinity College, Cambridge, UK

Professor James Raven, Magdalene College, Cambridge, UK

Professor Peter Reid, Robert Gordon University, UK

Dr Laura Skouvig, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Professor Mark Towsey, University of Liverpool, UK 

Dr Luke Treddinick, London Metropolitan University, UK

Dr Julian Warner, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

Dr Toni Weller, De Montfort University, UK

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CILIP is the UK library and information association, the only chartered body in the world dedicated to uniting, supporting and advocating for information professionals and librarians – the people who help the world make better decisions.

Membership is open to everyone working in libraries, information or knowledge management, data science and analytics or a related professional role.

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Library & Information History

Print ISSN: 1758-3489 Online ISSN: 1758-3497
Published on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals
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Sample Issue

Library & Information History Volume 39, Issue 1

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