Librarians and Instant Messaging

[Jeff]

Imagine the following scenario. You are working from home on your term paper due Friday morning. It is Thursday night at 8 PM. You are working on your bibliography and only have part of a citation for a magazine article. You panic. What do you do now? You go to the library website but in your panic you forget how to use the databases. You need help and click on "Talk to a Librarian LIVE" and up pops AOL Instant Messenger. Now here is something you know how to use. You type in your message asking for help and the librarian on duty makes some suggestions. You find what you need and finish the paper in time to get some sleep. This is how many students get help from home or their dorm room at SUNY Morrisville College.

Sound interesting? Read the entire case study by Wilfred Drew, Associate Librarian, Systems and Reference, SUNY Morrisville College Library and see how librarians are using instant messaging to enhance the resources they provide.

[Oreo]

Wow....talk about dedication! Librarians are awesome. People REALLy need to talk to their local/school librarian...they know how to do ALL sorts of cool things! (And no, I'm not planning on becoming one! They are just awesome people and resources...utilize them!)

[walkingpaper]

There are a number of libraries employing IM to communicate with their users. St. Joseph County PL, Marin County PL, and the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, to name a few.

Aaron Schmidt
www.walkingpaper.org
TFML