David Lee King recently posted about a great IM idea. His library added a Meebo widget to the "unsuccessful keyword search results" page of their online catalog. That way, frustrated patrons can get immediate help to find what they are looking for. This is providing help at the "point of need". Of course, this only works during hours that the library is open! Also, it would be important for someone to be available at the desk to answer the IMs continuously. This is because people do not want to wait a long time for someone to answer their IM.
Another benefit of IM is that it is specific to that library, so patrons can ask questions about that library's programs and materials. "Ask a Librarian" services, on the other hand, are staffed by people throughout a state or region, and so they do not have such specific information about particular library systems.
January 5, 2008
Instant Messaging (IM) for Libraries
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2 comments:
Isabelle, this post is really helpful. I read today's post, then this post again & I really "got" it this time. Thanks. Jean
Thanks for commenting, Jean. I do not use IM much yet myself. Mostly I use email. My daughter uses IM a lot for chatting with friends (she is in college).
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