Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Blog Post #3 (finally)
Okay! Thanks to Dan and Jody, I now have a trading card on my blog. It's great to have friends who know what they're doing.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Frustration
I am so frustrated with this stuff! Ok, I worked all day in a busy library and I'm tired. Well, anyway I really have tried to make a trading card and post it to this page. It looked so easy when Dan B. did it after class last week. I did make a card and it's on his Flickr account which I for some reason can't access. Maybe I'm spelling your name wrong, Dan?
Here's what has worked so far:
Here's what has worked so far:
- I opened a Flickr account
- I uploaded a picture of myself to Flickr
- I posted the picture to my blog
- I read a lot of stuff about Flickr - how to use it, what can be done, etc.
- I don't understand much of it. I think my mind has shut down, so I guess my official blog #3 will have to wait until tomorrow.
Has anybody else had a bad technology day?
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Blog #2 IM me
Why use IM for library reference?
What is the difference between IM and Virtual Reference/Chat?
How do you get staff comfortable with using it?
How do you implement the service?
How often should it be available and what times of the day?
Is there a downside?
What libraries are using it?
These questions are answered in the article by Aaron Schmidt and Michael Stephens entitled “IM Me”. (Library Journal, April 1, 2005)
A library reference chat can be done with a librarian/service anywhere in the world. An IM session is done with your local library. If needed, you could physically visit the library and pick up the materials you need to use. Everything doesn’t have to be on the Internet and emailed or faxed to you. If you are a regular library user, you would be dealing with people you already know.
Schmidt and Stephen’s suggestion to have the library staff IM each other (especially between buildings) seems like a good idea to me. Everyone could get familiar with using it, so when the library implemented it’s use with patrons, it would not be a scary, new thing. And it’s faster than email and less expensive than using the phone. My own library has two buildings that are in different area codes.
I think a lot of the resistance to implementing new technology is the fear that it will be hard to learn and that it will take a lot of staff time away from the desk (i.e., patrons that are physically present). Does it mean adding staff? The bottom line is always, “how does it fit in the budget?”
Have any of you (classmates) used IMing for library reference? What library did you use? What do you think of it?
What is the difference between IM and Virtual Reference/Chat?
How do you get staff comfortable with using it?
How do you implement the service?
How often should it be available and what times of the day?
Is there a downside?
What libraries are using it?
These questions are answered in the article by Aaron Schmidt and Michael Stephens entitled “IM Me”. (Library Journal, April 1, 2005)
A library reference chat can be done with a librarian/service anywhere in the world. An IM session is done with your local library. If needed, you could physically visit the library and pick up the materials you need to use. Everything doesn’t have to be on the Internet and emailed or faxed to you. If you are a regular library user, you would be dealing with people you already know.
Schmidt and Stephen’s suggestion to have the library staff IM each other (especially between buildings) seems like a good idea to me. Everyone could get familiar with using it, so when the library implemented it’s use with patrons, it would not be a scary, new thing. And it’s faster than email and less expensive than using the phone. My own library has two buildings that are in different area codes.
I think a lot of the resistance to implementing new technology is the fear that it will be hard to learn and that it will take a lot of staff time away from the desk (i.e., patrons that are physically present). Does it mean adding staff? The bottom line is always, “how does it fit in the budget?”
Have any of you (classmates) used IMing for library reference? What library did you use? What do you think of it?
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