ABSTRACT ‘Humanoid robots’ or ‘social robots’ are an emerging generation of robots that have abilities to perceive their environment, recognise faces, read emotions and communicate with people. They have been introduced into Australian public libraries over the past few years but their impact on library practice has remained unknown. This research therefore aims to fill this gap. It explores the influence of these robots on Australian public libraries through the view of librarians and the experience of library clients. Ten in-depth individual interviews with librarians in Australian public libraries, who are directly involved in designing and running humanoid robot programmes, were carried out. Observations of interaction between library patrons and humanoid robots at five events in five public libraries were also conducted. Interview transcripts and field notes were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The analysis revealed four themes describing the way humanoid robots impact Australian public libraries. Humanoid robots are considered as a community builder, a teacher, an aide, and a challenger. This research provides an evidence-based understanding that supports the research, planning and implementation of humanoid robot initiatives in Australian public libraries in order to enhance the experience of library user communities.

中文翻译：

---

人形机器人对澳大利亚公共图书馆的影响

摘要“类人机器人”或“社交机器人”是新一代的机器人，具有感知环境，识别面孔，读取情感并与人交流的能力。在过去的几年中，已将它们引入澳大利亚公共图书馆，但是它们对图书馆实践的影响仍然未知。因此，本研究旨在填补这一空白。通过图书馆员的观点和图书馆客户的经验，探讨了这些机器人对澳大利亚公共图书馆的影响。与澳大利亚公共图书馆的馆员进行了十次深入的个人访谈，他们直接参与了人形机器人程序的设计和运行。还对五个公共图书馆中五次活动中图书馆顾客与人形机器人之间的互动进行了观察。访谈笔录和现场笔记使用主题分析方法进行了分析。分析揭示了四个主题，描述了类人机器人对澳大利亚公共图书馆的影响。类人机器人被认为是社区建设者，教师，助手和挑战者。这项研究提供了基于证据的理解，支持在澳大利亚公共图书馆中研究，规划和实施类人机器人计划，以增强图书馆用户社区的体验。