Search Results for: instant messaging

LITA Guide Available: Implementing virtual reference services

| mprentice

Social Web technologies present an often confusing array of options for answering library users’ reference questions. In “Implementing Virtual Reference Services: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, editor Beth C. Thomsett-Scott applies 20 years’ experience as a reference librarian to sort through the clutter of tools and technologies in the industry. Contributors from across the field lay out how libraries are using vendor services such as LibraryH3lp, LibAnswers and Text a Librarian, as well as free tools like Twitter and Google Voice, for their reference needs. Practitioners offer details on virtual reference services such as Twitter Search, instant messaging (IM) services such as Google Voice and Chat and collaborative services such as My Info Quest. Thomsett-Scott is currently the engineering librarian at the University of North Texas Libraries. In her previous role as reference unit manager, she assisted with establishing the libraries’ Meebo service, as well as their chat…

September ITAL available

| mprentice|2 Comments

I’m pleased to announce the publication of the September issue of Information Technology and Libraries. Issue contents are listed below. To receive automatic notifications of future issues, please subscribe to ITAL. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome, please send to: Bob Gerrity ITAL Editor gerrityr (at) gmail.com Information Technology and Libraries Volume 31, Number 3 (September 2012) CONTENTS Editorials Bob Gerrity Editor’s Comments Cynthia Porter Editorial Board Thoughts: Appreciation for History Articles Ian Chan, Pearl Ly, Yvonne Meulemans Extending IM beyond the Reference Desk: A Case Study on the Integration of Chat Reference and Library-Wide Instant Messaging Network Openfire is an open source IM network and a single unified application that meets the needs of chat reference and internal communications. In Fall 2009, the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Library began use of Openfire and other Jive software instant messaging technologies, to simultaneously improve our existing IM-integrated chat reference…

The Open Library: Realizing the Promise and Mitigating the Peril

| JGrallo

Cindy Gibbon, Access Services Coordinator of Multnomah County Library (MCL), Oregon, opened the discussion about privacy and intellectual freedom in a web 2.0 world by sharing the results of a study of MCL’s users. Some things MCL users said they want: Notification when requested items are added to the catalog Public comments and recommendations of books read Blogs, podcasts, reference via instant messaging Text message alerts Saved lists of titles checked out or of interest RSS feeds Ability to communicate online with other library patrons She then shared some compelling data from the December 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey about the ubiquity of mobile communications technologies. The bottom line: MCL patrons want a 2.0 library experience. Some library patrons indicated that it is important to them that their library records remain private, and some did not. Cindy pointed out that it is librarians’ responsibility to protect patrons’…

Meredith Farkas' Top Technology Trends

| mfarkas|3 Comments

Hi folks! I’m one of the Top Technology Trends newbies. I am the Distance Learning Librarian at Norwich University in Vermont and I usually blog at Information Wants to be Free. Unfortunately, I’m set to speak at another session that is at the exact same time as the Technology Trends panel, but I thought I’d contribute my trends virtually. I thought I’d try something a little different for disseminating my trends. I know that I like examples and I’m a very visual learner. So, in addition to the text version of my trends (which contain links to examples), I created a Flash movie (screencast) of my trends with narration. I figured it would be the closest thing to actually being there and you can actually see the applications I’m talking about. You can watch the embedded video just below this text, or you can click on this link (recommended) to…

Sarah Houghton’s Top Technology Trends

| Sarah Houghton

I am unable to attend ALA Midwinter again this year, but here are my top technology trends. Someone can read them in a big booming voice so it will sound impressive 😉 IM reference goes mainstream After reading the existing studies showing that co-browsing is of limited value in many chat reference situations and thinking about how much money they’re spending on their web-based chat products, libraries will begin to re-think how they offer live online reference to their users. More and more libraries (as has been the trend for the last year) will adopt instant messaging for online reference, either in addition to or as a replacement for their existing expensive and bloated web-based chat products. A year ago I and a few others were called shortsighted and sometimes even “stupid” for pointing out the negatives of web-based chat. We were also called “extremist” and “too youth-oriented” for promoting…

2008 LITA Forum: Library 2.0 PDQ

| jshedd|1 Comment

“Library 2.0 PDQ: Meeting the Challenges of the Rapid Growth of Distance Learning and Off-site Courses at a University Regional Campus” was presented by John J. Burke and Beth E. Tumbleson from Miami University Middletown in Miami, OH. Miami U’s regional campuses are at the forefront of its distance learning push. During 2007 and 2008, the state of Ohio and the Miami U main campus issued new challenges for its regional campuses for delivering education. As a result, the Middletown library has faced many changes. Middletown is a commuter campus which has been offering courses for 40 years. They offer courses primarily to nontraditional students; the average age of students is 24, and most of them work at least part time. In 2007, Ohio announced a New University System which aimed to increase the number of degrees among Ohioans, and to expand the role of regional campuses to help meet…

Some Thumbs Up

| Elizabeth McKenty

ALA RUSA MARS–Hot Topics Libraries2Go: Library Services for Handhelds Sat., 6/23 10:30 am-12:00 pm J W Marriott Salon IV Moderator, Mark Dehmlow of Notre Dame University joined via Skype. Home (Indiana?) awaiting birth of child. GRE word for the day is ubiquity. 95% of students have cell phones. Libraries need to portal their services to where the users are (except when driving :D). Services for handhelds are user-centered. First panelist, Bradley Faust from Ball State University. http://www.bsu.edu/libraries/lits/mobileproject/project_summary.html The Mobile Computing Project at Ball State began in 2004 with LSTA/IMLS grant. Better, faster higher capacity networks & handheld devices, now integrating with course management systems. Users want: Audio, ebooks, podcasts Mobile search Quick facts Directional tours of facilities, services Video tutorials, instructional videos Texting Regular web sites are unfriendly to small screens. Need short pages, easy to navigate, minimal images, anywhere access. BSU developed a new gateway to their catalog using…

Lots of ideas at the LITA Emerging Technologies IG

| Steve McCann|2 Comments

When: Monday Jan. 22, 2007 The scene: Around 60-70 people attended this IG on the final day of the ’07 Midwinter conference. It was standing room only, which of course meant that several sat on the floor. The discussion was wide-ranging, with Joe Ford, of Joseph Ford & Associates, presiding as incoming chair. The primary role of the Emerging Technologies IG at Midwinter is to program the summer session as close to the bleeding edge as possible, and to that end, nearly everyone attending had suggestions on what they would like to see this coming June in Washington D.C. With very little coaxing, the group took off on a free-wheeling discussion, talking about what emerging technologies most interest or concern them. Several themes quickly emerged: the implications of widely available broadband, large amounts of personal storage capacity, the effects of widely social information consumption, as well as the legal and…