Thing 11: Instant Messaging

I signed up for IM and tried to send messages, but no one was online. I decided email was best. I'm sure there is a use for IM in the Library, but it isn't obvious to me. It seems we are either on the desk, be it Circ or Ref, and we wouldn't be available to immediately respond to a message or we are off the desk and working on other duties and/or projects and wouldn't necessarily be online. If a patron needed immediate information about their account/where an item is located/an address or telephone number/whatever, then maybe IM is the way to go. But staff would have to be designated to work IM for this to work. I do not know if we would have enough questions from the public to justify taking someone away from regular duty. Since location doesn't matter with IM, we could rotate doing duty among the libraries that have enough staff to spare one staffer for a few hours. Then, if the public started using it frequently, maybe we could set up an IM team. Honestly, it might be easier for people to IM than call on the telephone, especially if they usually call the libraries with the automated telephone menus.