IMing and Libraries

ITI Bloggers March 17th, 2005

Good session this afternoon as "Movers & Shakers" Aaron Schmidt from Thomas Ford Memorial Library and Michael Stephens from St. Joseph County Public Library talked in very practical terms about Instant Messaging in public libraries and, by extension, other types of libraries. Take-aways: There may be interesting implications fro special needs patrols. Benefits to libraries include extending your presence, creating community, and collaborating with various constituencies such as teachers. There are privacy concerns. Who owns chat records? How much should you reveal about chat conversations? You can use IM within your library not just to communicate with patrons. Technology is a tool, it helps us do our jobs. We use IM because it’s a tool not just because it’s cool

Marydee Ojala
Editor, ONLINE: The Leading Magazine for Information Professionals