Computers in Libraries 2005 Day 2 (Afternoon sessions)
Posted on March 18, 2005
Filed Under Computers in Libraries |
1:45pm – Collaboration & IM: Breaking Down Boundaries (Michael Stephens and Aaron Schmidt)
Aaron:
- 7 billion IM messages sent each day!
- 60% of big businesses will be IMing by the end of this year… wow.
- Conversation instead of sending letters
- Interesting comment – a patron who he met through IM seemed one way online (vivacious) but in reality was timid.
- Duke’s reference department is doing IM
- Cool – reference librarian on a buddy list – you’re already in their sphere of influence
- Trillian – stores chat transactions by default. Privacy concerns abound.
Michael:
- Internal IM
- IM is replacing VR at his library
- If you do log chats, let customers know you’re doing that
- Utilize the nuances of IM.
- Use the tool – create useful away messages
Michael’s Best Practices for IM (I didn’t catch all of them…)
- make IM part of your technology plan
- promote it! Put IM name on a card
- Administration should be IMing
- Train and encourage staff to do this
- Add your IM name to your business cards
Aaron’s Best Practices:
- Use multi-protocol IM software
- Use away messages
- speed over perfection in typing – communication is key, not the spell checker
- use abbrev.
- use online sources only if the best answer can be given from them
- don’t panic
I also learned more about converging mobile handheld devices, how they’re changing, and how librarians can use them to their advantage, and I learned about LISNews (very cool setup).
For Friday’s sessions, I probably won’t post as much - my laptop’s heavy, and my shoulder’s getting sore (because I’m carrying it all day). That’s one bad thing about not being at the conference hotel - you have to lug around everything you want to keep with you (ie., laptop) ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT (if you plan on eating dinner around the Hilton, anyway).
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