IM for the Library: How Instant Messaging Can Connect the Librarian with Kids and Teens Sarah Houghton Information and Web Services Manager, San Mateo County Library Librarian in Black:

What is social software? Social software enables people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate through computer-mediated communication and to form online communities. --from Wikipedia entry, revised

Examples of social software Instant messaging Internet forums Blogs / RSS / podcasting Wikis Social network services Social guides Social bookmarking Social citations Social libraries Virtual worlds and multiplayer online games

Why should libraries care about SS? There is a great potential for new and enhanced services There are free marketing opportunities just waiting for us Our patrons are there—where are we?

What is instant messaging? Instantaneous, simultaneous text chat Add-ons like video, audio, file sharing Type here Transcript

IM client software: the holy trinity AOL Yahoo! MSN They’re all free—to you and users Other Software ICQ IRC Jabber Google Talk MySpace

IM aggregator software Trillian: Gaim: Both let you monitor multiple IM accounts (AOL, MSN, Yahoo!) through one interface. Oh yeah…they’re both free!

Web-based IM with MeeboMeebo Completely web-based—no installations Sign in with multiple accounts at once Even if IM is blocked, this still works

Principles of Virtual Reference We want to serve all users equally: in-house and remote We want to attract and serve new users There is a user expectation of real-time online service from everyone, retail and community We want to be where our users are: online (in whatever form that may take)

Why use IM for reference? Traditional web-based chat has technical and service problems  Slowness  Stiff computer requirements, disconnects  User privacy issues  Non-local librarians  Cost For many users, not having IM is like not having a phone.

Your users are here already 75% of online teens IM* 42% of online adults IM* 50% of IMing teens (32% of all teens) IM every single day* Undergrad students, techies, kids and teens, stay-at-home parents, people using IM at work * Pew Internet and American Life Project. Teens and Technology. 07/27/2005.

IM Benefits Easy to use for both the librarian and the user You’re right there on the user’s buddy list Features  Document sharing  Sending URLs, images, voice (w/ add-ons like Skype) Speed…don’t get me started on the speed Less demands on patron & librarian computers Disconnects just don’t happen Did I mention that everything is free?

Concerns to address If user not already IMing, needs to download a small program Library needs to actively secure user information (not keeping transcripts, buddy lists) Commercial chat terms of service may include privacy concerns…warn users No co-browsing…yet No 24/7 availability…yet

Working with IT Staff Be enthusiastic Is IM banned or blocked?  Why? The boogeyman of network security? Or “it’s a time-waster”? and web browsing cause many more security problems than IM.

IM etiquette Be brief Use frequent shorter messages Capitalization and punctuation are optional Bad spelling happens Use smiley faces (emoticons) responsibly Don’t type in ALL CAPS PLEASE!!!!!!!

Abbreviations OMG, I was AFK and my SO gave me an EG! LOL! Oops, BRB! Oh my god, I was away from the keyboard and my significant other gave me an evil grin! Laugh out loud! Oops, be right back! Familiarize yourself with some basics:

Who’s using IM for reference? Library Success Wiki list: libraries—up from 43 only six months ago Public, academic, school, special Contact us—we’re happy to help!

Example of Library IM webpage

Other social software for libraries Internet forums Blogs / RSS / podcasting Wikis Social network services Social bookmarking Social libraries

Internet forums Website bulletin boards for discussion Feedback and recommendation engines Examples:  Google Groups:  Reviews and ratings on Amazon:  Gnooks.com:  Storycode:

Sample Internet Forum: Storycode

Blogs Websites frequently updated with new content Examples:  Lansing Library Teen News Blog:  St. Joseph County Public Library Game Blog:  Framingham Public Library Teen Blogomatic:  Marin County Free Library - What’s New:  Waterboro Public Library H20boro:

Sample blog: H20boro

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) RSS is more than just blogs  New books and other items  News at the library  New content in subscription databases Examples:  EBSCO feeds for new articles (favorite searches)  Hennepin County Library feeds for all types of things  Edmonton Public Library feed for new teen books  Seattle Public Library feeds for favorite authors and subjects  FirstGov feeds for government information

Sample RSS feeds: Hennepin CL

Podcasting & Vidcasting Creating audio and video content and pushing it to users through an RSS feed Has nothing to do with iPods Examples:  Thomas Ford Memorial Library audio teen book reviews:  Manchester Public Library video book reviews:  Cheshire Public Library - audio of local teen magazine:  University of Sheffield Library audio library tours:

Sample podcast: Thomas Ford ML

Wikis Collaborative resource creation Multiple authors, ongoing creation and revision Examples:  Wikipedia:  Wiktionary:  St.Joseph County Library’s Subject Guides: Page Page  University of Minnesota Libraries Staff Website:

Sample wiki: St.Joseph CL’s Subject Guides

Social network services Places to meet people and communicate Examples:  Friendster, Dogster, MySpace, Facebook Libraries with MySpace accounts  Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Teens)  Denver Public Library  Hennepin County Library  Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library  dozens of others

Library MySpace Page: Denver PL

Social bookmarking Putting your favorite websites in a web directory to share with others Examples:  del.icio.us:  furl:  La Grange Public Library’s del.icio.us ref links  Thomas Ford Memorial Library’s del.icio.us ref links  San Mateo City Library’s del.icio.us ref links

Library del.icio.us: La Grange Park

Social libraries Keep track of collections Often include recommendation engines Uses tagging, user-created metadata: Folksonomies Examples  Flickr.com for photographs  discogs.com for music  LibraryThing.com for books  Stuffopolis.com for everything else

Social library: Reading PL on Flickr

Again…why should we care? Get our knowledge, helpfulness, and information expertise out there where the users are Get people to think of us as the “go to” resource for their information needs Make us findable in an online environment

Questions? Contact Sarah any time IM: LibrarianInBlack (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN)