How AI Helps Library Assistants, Clerical
Circulation desks answer the same holds and card questions all day. 12² builds an approved-answer assistant and notice templates around the library system.
Library Circulation Desk Helper · From $2,500 + $249/mo, by team size · proposed estimate · It says it is an automated assistant whenever it talks to someone directly, and your team reviews what it drafts before it goes out.
Ai for library circulation: the short answer.
12² builds AI for library assistants that takes on the routine work: answering hours, holds and card questions from approved answers, drafting overdue and hold-ready notices, and drafting shelving and inventory lists. It runs inside the tools you already use. It never touches patron records.
Sources
- General office-writing evidence, not a study of this job: in an RCT, ChatGPT cut professional writing time 40% and raised quality (Noy & Zhang, Science 2023)news.mit.edu
Research figures above describe the cited studies, not results 12² promises. Results vary. Disclosures
Where the hours go now.
Hours, holds and card questions
Circulation desks answer the same holds and card questions all day.
Overdue and hold-ready notices
Written up by hand, one at a time, after the real work is done.
Shelving and inventory lists
Rebuilt from scratch each time, usually at the end of the day.
What it handles, and what it never does.
What it handles
- Hours, holds and card questionsIt answers hours, holds and card questions from approved answers.
- Overdue and hold-ready noticesIt drafts overdue and hold-ready notices.
- Shelving and inventory listsIt drafts shelving and inventory lists.
- Drafting volunteer schedulesIt drafts volunteer schedules.
- Hand-off to your teamAnything that needs a person goes to the right person, with the details attached.
What it never does
- Make up a price or a factIt works only from the documents, records and price lists you give it. Anything it can't find goes to your team.
- Promise a resultQuestions about outcomes go to the person who does the work.
- Pretend to be a personIt says it is an automated assistant whenever it talks to someone directly.
- Send anything on its ownDrafts wait for your team's approval before anything goes out.
Built and tested on your own work.
Before handoff, we run your build on your own real examples and fix anything that misses.
- Tested on your own workBefore handoff, we run your build on your own real examples and fix anything that misses.
- Retainer, then balance on deliveryRetainer up front. Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass.
- Fixed price, scope and timelineAll three in writing before work starts. The timeline is set in your quote.
- What 12² buildsAn approved-answer assistant and notice templates around the library system.
- How it connectsWe confirm how it connects to your library system on the first call and write it into your quote.
Related solutions: Teacher Planning & Paperwork Setup · Faculty Course & Admin Desk · Library Patron & Programs Desk · all solutions
See also: all industry packages · pricing
From $2,500 + $249/moSetup + monthly, by size. The monthly fee covers monitoring, fixes and re-tests for your package as your templates, documents and staff change. AI and software usage is billed at cost. Proposed starting estimates by team size, not fixed prices; the final price is in a written quote.
- Small: Small office (1-10 staff)From $2,500 + $249/mo. The core build for 1-10 staff: an approved-answer assistant and notice templates around the library system. Proposed estimate. Small tier; monthly covers hosting, monitoring and fixes.
- Mid-size: Growing office (11-50 staff)From $6,500 + $549/mo. Everything in Small office, for more users, inboxes and calendars, with hand-off rules set for each role. Proposed estimate. More users, locations or integrations.
- Enterprise: Multi-site / enterprise (50+ staff or multiple locations)From $15,000, custom quote. Everything in Growing office, across locations or departments, with system integrations and a security review scoped in your custom quote. Proposed estimate floor; scope, integrations and security review set the final number. No cap.
- Retainer up front Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass. Scope, price and timeline are agreed in writing before work starts.
- You own itThe accounts, scripts, templates and data sit in your name. You can leave at any time.
- Compliance and dataPatron-record confidentiality (unverified per state); public agencies buy under their own procurement rules (unverified per agency); public-records laws apply.
- Not professional adviceStudent records stay under your FERPA and privacy policies, and your educators approve what goes to students and families. 12² builds software and automations. It is not a licensed professional in your field, and your team makes every professional decision. Disclosures
Straight answers.
Does it see patron records?
No. It answers from approved policy text.
How does payment work?
Retainer up front. Work starts once the retainer is paid; the balance is due on delivery when the agreed test cases pass.
How long does it take?
Timelines are set per project in the quote, after we see your systems and volume.
Are these prices final?
No. They are proposed starting estimates. You get a written custom quote after a short scoping call.
Tell us how you handle hours, holds and card questions now.
A few lines is enough. If it's a fit we'll say so, and if it isn't we'll tell you why.
- You'll hear back within one business day12² reads your note and replies about your project.
- A free 20-minute callHow the work runs now, what gets missed, and what your team needs from it.
- A fixed quoteYour size, scope, date and price in writing before any work starts.
Prefer email? Write to [email protected]
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