i need help now! instant messaging reference service @ mcneese
DESCRIPTION
IM in the Library: Using Trillian and Meebo to serve patrons instantly. Presented by Rebecca Blakeley (aka Rebecca Troy-Horton was my maiden name) and Jessica Hutchings at the 2007 LOUIS Users Conference.TRANSCRIPT
- 1. I Need Help NOW! Instant Messaging Reference Service @ McNeese Rebecca Troy-Horton Jessica Hutchings McNeese State University
- 2. Before we begin
- How many have used/use IM?
- How many have used/use IM for inter-departmental or staff communication?
- For reference services?
- 3. Huh? Whats IM?
- Instant Messaging
- i.e. Instant, simultaneous text chat
- Add-ons like video, audio, file sharing
- Similar to texting on your cell phone but the program is on your computer.
- 4. Why should libraries IM?
- Virtual Reference can be costly and cumbersome (imho, lol).
- Concerns with QuestionPoint
- IM is faster and simpler for users.
- FREE!
- 5. Why IM?
- IM-ing is a common form of communication for todays college students: Pew Study
- To serve all users: in-house & remote
- To attract and serve new users
- We want to be where our users are: online!
- 6. Why IM?
- Because everyone and your Grandma uses it.
- Source: Pew Study
- All kinds of libraries are implementing IM Reference services:
- Library Success Wiki list
- 7. How do I get started?
- Choose an IM Client (i.e. AIM, Yahoo, etc.)
- Be aware that users on different services cannot communicate with each other!
- Some libraries only use AIM but most provide service to AIM, Yahoo, and MSN users all at once (the Big Three).
-
- How do they do that?!?!
- 8. How do I get started (cont.)
- With Multi-protocol clients, its easy to provide service to these big three and others! (i.e. Trillian or Pidgin )
- Create a library screen name:
- 9. What is Trillian?
- Trillian is a FREE program that connects to multiple IM clients (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ) through one interface.
- For a fee, (Trillian Pro) you can also have more IM clients included:
- Jabber, MySpace, Google Talk, etc.
- 10. How does it work?
- User Opens their regular IM client.
- Visits our home page to retrieve our screen name: McNeeseLibrarian
- Adds our IM screen name to their buddy list
- They send us an
- IM and we chat!
- 11. Coming SoonTrillian Astra!
- Upcoming Web 2.0-friendly version:
- Trillian Astra
- 12. Staff Training
- Install Trillian on every staff computer
-
- Create your own screen names
-
- Communicate b/w staff members
-
- Become familiar with interface
-
- Advertise your own IM screen name (ex. 1 & 2 )
- Install Trillian on Ref. Desk computer but dont launch the service yet!!!
- 13. Things to address before the launch:
- Read RUSAs Virtual Reference Guidelines .
- Demonstrate IM to all staff and explain why youre doing this.
- Provide training materials.
- Have staff practice with each other.
- Canned scripts for common questions?
- Demonstrate how to block abusive users.
- Create a standard away message.
- Pick a user icon (logo?)
- Do you want to keep stats?
- Keep transcripts for review?
- 14. Marketing/Publicizing
- Flyers, bookmarks, table tents, outreach events, etc.
- Web presence
- Campus email announcement
- Mention in instruction sessions
- 15. Concerns
- Viruses? (E-mail and web browsing cause more security problems than IM!)
- Obnoxious users?
- Library needs to actively secure user information (delete screen names in transcripts, delete buddy lists)
- Privacy concernsissue a disclaimer?
- 16. Staffing
- McNeese IM is staffed all the hours that the Library is open.
- Most hours staffed by 6 Reference staff members, including one paraprofessional.
- 17. How much will it be used?
- Consider your library users and non-users, your community, etc.
- Consider student demographics commuter/distance ed. vs. on campus
- Market, market, market!
- 18. Do McNeese Patrons Use It?
- 66 IM transactions from its launch in February through the end of June
- More highly used early in the term
- It is not used so frequently that it interferes with live reference services
- 19. What do they want?
- User ID and PIN numbers
- Hours of operation
- All kinds of things!
- Lets see some examples of archived transcripts
- 20. Patron 1
- [17:34] Patron1: How Do I get to JSTOR?
- [17:39] McNeeseLibrarian: one moment please.
- [17:41] McNeeseLibrarian: ok, are you still there?
- [17:41] *** You have been successfully added to Patron1s contact list.
- [17:41] Patron1: yeah
- [17:41] McNeeseLibrarian:
- http://library.mcneese.edu/)http://library.mcneese.edu/
- [17:41] McNeeseLibrarian: Click here to get to our library website.
- [17:42] McNeeseLibrarian: Then underneath "research tools" you'll need to
- click on "find journal articles and use electronic databases"
- [17:42] McNeeseLibrarian: then click on "list"
- [17:42] McNeeseLibrarian: then scroll down to JSTOR.
- [17:42] McNeeseLibrarian: then you'd use your user ID and PIN to login.
- [17:43] Patron1: okay
- [17:43] McNeeseLibrarian: is that working?
- [17:43] Patron1: yeah i found it thank you
- [17:43] McNeeseLibrarian: great!
- [17:43] McNeeseLibrarian: I'm going to take a dinner break, and I'll be back
- from 7 to about 930 if you need more help!
- [17:44] Patron1: okay thanks
- Session Close (Patron1): Sun Jun 17 17:44:22 2007
- 21. Patron 2
- [17:00] Patron2: are there tape players in the library? like there would be in a
- language lab?
- [17:03] McNeeseLibrarian: We have VCR players and a DVD but I'll call up to
- find out if they have tape players.
- [17:04] Patron2: thanks... like a cassette player
- [17:04] McNeeseLibrarian: They have at least one and are checking to see if
- they have more.
- [17:05] Patron2: Ok, so there are some at least... do you know if there are
- headphone adapters on it?
- [17:06] McNeeseLibrarian: I'll ask.
- [17:07] McNeeseLibrarian: They have only one cassette player and it does
- have headphones/adapters.;-)
- [17:07] Patron2: oh good! thank you!
- [17:07] McNeeseLibrarian: You're welcome. Just go to the second floor
- Serials Department and ask at the big 'U' shaped desk.
- [17:08] Patron2: ok, thanks again
- [17:08] McNeeseLibrarian: OK...
- Session Close (Patron2): Thu Mar 08 17:08:28 2007
- 22. Patron 3
- [14:36] Patron3: hi
- [14:36] McNeeseLibrarian: hi
- [14:37] Patron3: i am ***, a new international student from *** studying for my MBA.
- [14:38] McNeeseLibrarian: ok, how can I help you?
- [14:38] Patron3: in one of my courses, i am supposed to submit a research topic that i'll use
- regression analysis to carry out the data analysis
- [14:39] McNeeseLibrarian: ok, what class is this for?
- [14:39] Patron3: foundation of economic analysis
- [14:40] McNeeseLibrarian: so what kind of information do you need?
- [14:42] Patron3: i am wondering if you can help me in getting some suggested topics that are
- actually 'researchable"
- [14:42] Patron3: and can be analysed using regression analysis
- [14:42] McNeeseLibrarian: ok, let me think about this...
- [14:42] Patron3: ok
- [14:44] McNeeseLibrarian: because I'm not very familiar with this topic, I think you should look in
- the database "Business Source Complete" and search for "Regression analysis" AND
- economics
- [14:45] McNeeseLibrarian: this will give you a list of articles that people have written using
- regression analysis.
- [14:45] Patron3: ok
- [14:45] McNeeseLibrarian: http://library.mcneese.edu/electron/databases.htm#B)http://library.mcneese.edu/electron/tabas s.htm#B
- [14:45] McNeeseLibrarian: you can find the link to business source complete at that link
- [14:45] McNeeseLibrarian: if it asks you for a user id and PIN, let me know.
- [14:45] McNeeseLibrarian: unless you already know your logon information
- [14:46] Patron3: i have the info already
- [14:46] Patron3: thanks
- [14:46] McNeeseLibrarian: great, please let me know if this doesn't work for you.
- [14:46] Patron3: ok
- 23. Patron 4
- [09:36] Patron4: There use to be a report where
- you could review the mcneese employees
- classification and pay. Is that still available
- at the library?
- [09:37] McNeeseLibrarian: Yes. Ask for the current
- McNeese budget at the library's Circulation
- desk.
- [09:38] Patron4: Thank you. I will come over at
- 1pm to review. Thank you
- [09:38] McNeeseLibrarian: You're welcome!
- Session Close (Patron4): Thu Mar 08 09:38:43 2007
- 24. Future of IM Reference at McNeese
- Meebo !!!
- 25. i.e., Florida State University Library
- 26. Advantages of Meebo
- Anyone on the website can use it
- Web-based = no installations
- Users do not need a separate IM account
- More anonymous
- More visible
- 27. Conclusions
- IM Reference will not take over your department
- It is an additional way that we can make ourselves available to those who need us
- 28. Questions?
- Contact us anytime!
- E-mail: [email protected]
-
- [email_address]
- IM: MSUBecca
-
- MSULibraryJess
- (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN)