How can I use the eBooks Bot in Minerva Messenger?

2 weeks ago

Faryal

4 minutes

The eBooks Bot in Minerva Messenger is a helpful tool designed to support researchers, students, and staff in quickly discovering, accessing, and exploring eBooks available through MPG.eBooks, including titles from the EBX Selected Collections within the MPG infrastructure (currently 683,166 indexed eBooks). With this bot, you can request eBooks by topic, author, or subject and receive the most relevant results along with up to five related suggestions to support additional discovery and exploration. While the bot currently responds in English, users may submit queries in different languages.

How to interact with the eBooks Bot:

You can interact with the eBooks Bot in three different ways: by chatting with it directly via a one-on-one conversation, using it as part of a group conversation, or within a private channel.

1. Using the eBooks Bot in a Direct Message

Open a direct message conversation with @eBooks_Bot.

Type “@eBooks_Bot” to indicate whom you want to message, and then click the + sign next to the @eBooks_Bot that appears in the selection window.

Type your query, for example, searching for an eBook by topic, author, or subject.

The bot will generate a response in a new thread.
To continue the conversation and retain context, reply to the previous answer in the same thread.
To start a new search or topic, type a query in the main messaging window, which will create a new thread.

*HINT: Use the Collapsed Reply Threads feature in Settings → Display interface to manage multiple threads efficiently.

2.Using the eBooks Bot in a Group Conversation

Make sure the eBooks Bot is added as a member of the group.
Type @eBooks_Bot before your message so the bot recognizes the request.
Responses are generated in the same thread if the conversation is kept continuous.
This allows multiple users to interact with the bot while maintaining context.

3.Using the eBooks Bot in a Private Channel

Ensure the eBooks Bot is a member of the private channel. Only channel administrators or owners can add members.
Type @eBooks_Bot before your message to direct your query to the bot.
Responses appear in the same thread, retaining the context of the conversation.
Requests sent to the bot in a channel where it is not a member will be ignored.

Privacy and Monitoring Policy for the eBooks Bot

The Minerva Messenger eBooks Bot processes user requests entirely within the infrastructure operated by GWDG and MPDL. All queries are handled locally, and no data is transmitted to external commercial LLMs such as OpenAI. The eBooks Bot processes user requests solely to generate responses for the submitted queries and does not use the data for model training or any other external purpose.

Data Handling

Requests sent to the eBooks Bot are processed securely within the MPG infrastructure. Personal data from Minerva Messenger is never shared with external services, and queries are not stored outside the MPG infrastructure. All content entered is used exclusively to provide direct responses to user requests and is not utilized for model training or any other processing beyond generating the requested answers. Processing takes place exclusively on GWDG/MPDL-managed systems, and no external AI providers are involved at any stage.

Hosting and Security

The eBooks Bot currently uses Gemma, ensuring that all requests remain within the MPG-controlled environment. All data, queries, and AI-generated responses are securely stored in MPG infrastructure and adhere to the standard chat history retention policies of Minerva Messenger.

This setup ensures that users can search, retrieve, and receive suggestions for eBooks in a secure, private, and fully MPG-controlled environment, without exposing any data to external commercial providers.

Please Note:

Threaded Conversations: Using threads helps maintain the context of your interactions with the bot, ensuring coherent and relevant responses.
Bot Membership: The eBooks Bot must be a member of the group or channel to interact. Requests directed to @eBooks_Bot in groups or channels where the bot is not a member will be ignored.
User Permissions: Only channel administrators or owners can add the bot to private channels. If you lack the necessary permissions, please contact the relevant person to add the bot on your behalf.

For further assistance or inquiries, please get in touch with our support team at minervamessenger@mpdl.mpg.de.