{"id":46,"date":"2026-07-27T06:01:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T06:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/?p=46"},"modified":"2026-07-27T06:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T06:05:21","slug":"reflection-blogging-4-new-horizons-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/2026\/07\/27\/reflection-blogging-4-new-horizons-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blogging 4: New Horizons Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many immigrants visit the library for their informational, technological, educational, reading, and entertainment needs (Shuva, 2024). However, limited English skills can create a barrier to accessing library services, especially since more than 64% of our city’s population speak a language other than English at home. Research shows that library users of color are more likely to ask reference questions when bicultural and bilingual staff are present (Asch, 1998). I have witnessed this myself at the Member Services Desk, where I have noticed that even members who speak English well often feel more comfortable and are more likely to ask follow-up questions in their native language when bicultural and bilingual staff are present. On the other hand, non-English speakers tend to avoid interacting with staff entirely. So how can we support non-English-speaking members who might feel intimidated about approaching the Member Services Desk? Even the best machine translation tools won\u2019t be much help if people are hesitant to reach out. This brings us to an interesting question: Can robots help members feel less hesitant about asking for help?<\/p>\n

Pepper, a social humanoid robot, first made its appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area at shopping malls in 2016 and later at the Oakland International Airport in 2017.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Pepper outside the Microsoft store in San Francisco\u2019s Westfield Mall<\/p><\/div>\n

Pepper stands just under 4 feet tall and has a cheerful, high-pitched voice and big expressive eyes, making it look less intimidating than a traditional librarian!<\/p>\n

(I’m having trouble embedding a YouTube video of Pepper, so here it is: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xs0JSI3wsck&t=109s<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Developed by SoftBank in Japan, Pepper has already been used in several Japanese libraries. Pepper came to public libraries in the U.S. a few years ago: Virginia\u2019s Roanoke County Public Library introduced Pepper in 2018 as an interactive greeter and for STEAM programs, Virginia\u2019s Central Rappahannock Regional Library uses Pepper in their makerspace to help members explore new technology, and Hawaii\u2019s \u02bb\u0100ina Haina Public Library added Pepper in 2025 to greet visitors, answer questions, and gives users an opportunity to interact with a robot.<\/p>\n

Pepper can communicate in nine spoken languages, greet members, answer library questions, and even offer book recommendations. It has also been used to promote library programs and storytelling, making the library experience more fun and engaging for all age groups. Robots like Pepper, with their multilingual abilities, help break down language barriers and allow English learners to obtain information without intimidation and judgment. By making information and assistance more accessible, these new technologies can help libraries become truly inclusive and safe spaces for our community members.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asch, S. (1998). Urban libraries confront linguistic minorities: Programs that work. In R. Constantino (Ed.), Literacy, Access, and Libraries Among the Language Minority Population (pp. 69\u201387). Scarecrow Press.<\/p>\n

Central Rappahannock Regional Library. (n.d.) Idea Space.<\/em> https:\/\/www.librarypoint.org\/ideaspace\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hawaii News Now. (December 10, 2025). Pepper the robot makes Hawaii Library debut<\/em>. https:\/\/www.hawaiinewsnow.com\/2025\/12\/11\/pepper-robot-makes-hawaii-library-debut\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Jones, I. (2018, August 30). Pepper the humanoid robot comes to Roanoke County Public Library.<\/em> WSLS 10. https:\/\/www.wsls.com\/news\/2018\/08\/30\/pepper-the-humanoid-robot-comes-to-roanoke-county-public-library\/<\/a><\/p>\n

RobotLab. (n.d.) Pepper Robot for Libraries. <\/em>https:\/\/www.robotlab.com\/store\/pepper-robot-for-libraries\/?srsltid=AfmBOoo84zfLohLlniNQR59a7jNxncp6314qwXU4nhxa4CR98NbqopDo<\/a><\/p>\n

San Jose State University. (n.d.). Pepper.<\/em> https:\/\/ischool.sjsu.edu\/pepper<\/a><\/p>\n

SF Gate. (2016, November 22). Robots greet Westfield mall shoppers in San Francisco, San Jose. https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/business\/article\/Robots-greet-Westfield-mall-shoppers-in-San-10631291.php<\/a><\/p>\n

Shuva, N. Z. (2024). More than a place for social capital creation: Public library as a place for immigrants\u2019 social integration. CUNY Academic Works<\/em>. https:\/\/academicworks.cuny.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1701&context=qc_pubs<\/a><\/p>\n

Tech Crunch. (2017, January 25). Pepper the robot gets a gig at the Oakland airport. <\/em>https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/01\/25\/pepper-robot\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many immigrants visit the library for their informational, technological, educational, reading, and entertainment needs (Shuva, 2024). However, limited English skills can create a barrier to accessing library services, especially since more than 64% of our city’s population speak a language … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":853,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/853"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bravenewhyperlinkedworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}