Customizing Pidgin for Library Services Pam Sessoms Electronic Reference Services Librarian Aim: SessomsPam Google Talk:

Librarian Jargon Chat: Generic term for one-on-one synchronous online discussion. Usually refers to a web- based chat system that requires no account on the part of the patron. IM: One-on-one synchronous online discussion; generally requires that the patron use some kind of account to contact the librarian.

In the beginning… There was web-based chat  Commercial vendors LSSI, Docutek, 24/7.  Heavy-weight, co-browsing.  Provided one public interface to many librarians.  Cooperatives often supported by default.  E-commerce support software used too.

A Modest Collaboration…

Then smart librarians… Noticed that IM was very popular  Surpassed web-based chat traffic

Adding IM to an Existing Chat Service: What Happens?

How do we integrate various IM services?

Web-based Chat Still Needed Do all library users have an IM account? Will they create one just to chat with a librarian? MeeboMe Widgets are popular  Plugoo, Chatango

Pidgin4lib plugin “basic” Stable. In use by many libraries. Loops “new IM” sound alert until librarian responds. Auto-approves jabber and other requests.  MeeboMe widgets, MSN buddy adds. Source available on UNC Library website.

The Problem with IM

DISPATCH (AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, MeeboMe Widget) AIM Patron MSN Patron Yahoo! Patron Operator Widget Patron Single Institution Model AIM Patron

Two Roles (Groups in Buddy List) Dispatch  Public identity  Davisrefdesk AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Google Talk, etc.  Must have an acct on each supported protocol.  Distributes IMs to all Operator(s). Operator  “Non-public” identities.  Librarians can use multiple Operator accounts simultaneously.  Flood Control: each Operator account allows for one IM.  Can chat with patrons on any protocol supported by Dispatch.

Patrons: Appear to be chatting with public identity of Dispatcher. Will get queued if:  Operator accounts are maxxed out.  More than XX seconds (configurable) go by with no librarian reply. Move ahead in line when Operator closes IM window on previous chat.

How it looks An incoming patron chat will appear on the Dispatch and ALL Operator computers. The first librarian operator to send text to the patron “wins” the chat. The windows on the other computers automatically close. Logging is done centrally from the Dispatch computer. Can transfer patrons to other Operators or Dispatchers.  Davis Reference and Davis Circulation transfer chats and IMs now.

The Problem with IM

Night Owl Duke Dispatch AIM Patron MSN Patron Yahoo! Patron Operator Widget Patron NCSU Dispatch UNC Dispatch Routing info (who patron wanted to IM) displays in IM title bar.

Night Owl Staffing Model: Start of Day Each institution fires up their Dispatch computer (minimally). They may also use various Operators throughout the day.  Eases shift change procedure; no need to worry about interrupting IMs in progress.

Night Owl Staffing Model: 9pm Night Owl operator accounts sign in  Night Owl operators list their Dispatchers.  All Dispatchers know about Night Owl operators. Dispatcher accounts should NOT be logged out when day staff leave.

Night Owl Collaboration Staffing Model: Midnight Night Owl operator wraps up existing IMs. If a library’s public service is over, Night Owl operator sends “sign off” commands to Dispatch account.

“Challenges” Collaborations: Initial Setup and Configuration is Confusing. XMPP errors on Dispatch occur when patron has closed MeeboMe widget and librarian continues to send messages. Harmless but annoying. File transfer currently broken. Closing windows without sending any text to patron.  When is an IM over? If dispatch machine is physically inaccessible to operator and it crashes, hard to fix.  Phone call to staff present near dispatch machine.

The Next Phase… Web back end takes the place of Dispatch.  Libpurple (from the Pidgin folks). Operators continue to use customized Pidgin client OR operators may be able to use any Jabber client (goal!). In coding/alpha stages currently.