It's been a while since I've given any real updates on our Instant Messaging reference service, but I'm finally getting around to it. I am sure you all can sympathize, as LTB (life trumps blogging), or in my case, BSRQTB (Business Student Reference Questions Trump Blogging). This post will be a walk-through of how we... Continue Reading →
What’s In Your Wallet?
Steven Cohen wonders how many librarians have their IM handles on their buisiness card. He asks, "What's in Your Wallet?" Here's what's in mine: What's encouraging is that a few of my colleagues have also added their IM handles to their own business cards. And the person who replenishes the supply of cards is starting... Continue Reading →
Worth Reading
Two articles in the November/December issue of Educause Review: There’s Something in the Air: Podcasting in Education "Podcasting is taking its place among the dizzying variety of grassroots media now available to everyone. Those in higher education need to understand the potential uses and value of rich media authoring, bringing podcasting into courses so that... Continue Reading →
Ten Points About IM in Libraries
Aaron lists Ten Points About IM in Libraries. Aaron's points are in bold, and my comments follow. 1. Instant Messaging is free (minus staff time) IM is easy to set up, and is fairly easy to staff. At our library, when we're not at the reference desk, we're usuallly at our own desks doing work.... Continue Reading →
Microsoft and Yahoo Dealing Over IM
According to an Associated Press News Story: Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have agreed to make their two instant-messaging programs work together, a partnership that could threaten market leader America Online, people familiar with the situation said. A Yahoo-Microsoft partnership, allowing users of the competing services to exchange messages seamlessly, would give the two companies... Continue Reading →
How We Handle Shift Changes
Our IM reference service is in full swing, and I've gotten several questions about how we staff the service. Here, I'd like to show how we handle shift changes. Generally, each reference librarian has a one-hour shift on IM during the daytime hours. Night and weekend shifts can be a little longer. When the next... Continue Reading →
Are You on IM?
Scott Pfitzinger at Biblotechweb has a good write-up of using instant messaging in reference. He writes: Instant Messaging is an incredibly easy and ubiquitous form of communication. There is definitely a place for it in practically every library. Whether it’s to provide patrons with an alternative method of communication or to facilitate internal communication, IM... Continue Reading →
IM Questions this Hour
At our library, our staff take turns manning the IM service every hour. This past hour I had four IM's. As you can see below, we're receiving a variety of questions over IM. Student received an email that a book she requested through OhioLINK was in. She was needing to know where to go pick... Continue Reading →
IM, Email, and “Who am I talkin’ to?”
The 'brary Web Diva wants to know "should staff who share a "departmental" IM screen name identify themselves when responding to an IM?" Stop by her blog and leave a comment. It's an interesting question, and her post prompted me to think about the issue a little more. We've been using Trillian with our IM... Continue Reading →