[Web4lib] IM reference time and trouble?

[Karen Harker]

I'm a bit baffled that libraries which have implemented chat or IM reference do not consider this on par with phone reference service.  Many schedule the service to limited hours and "man" the chat/IM service like a separate reference desk.  I see no significant difference between such service and phone reference. We do not limit the hours that we answer the phones; why do so for chat?
 
 
 
Karen R. Harker, MLS, MPH
UT Southwestern Medical Library
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX  75390-9049
214-648-8946
Yahoo IM: karenharker 

>>> On 12/20/07 at 3:19 AM, in message <481884074.20071220021947 at riverofdata.com>, Dan Lester <dan at riverofdata.com> wrote:
I guess I'm thinking of time and trouble to users, too.

You have to schedule someone to be monitoring it.  It is only
available certain hours (as opposed to the international 24/7
systems). There is a limit to what can be conveyed via chat.

Users don't know when it will be available, even if you try to cover
certain times by schedule.

Of course I'm not totally sold on the "fancy systems" either.  No, I
don't have a better alternative at the moment, but do hope we don't
get locked into doing some of these things "because we've always done
them" like we have with innumerable things over the decades.

I'll not start a litany of those.....

dan

Wednesday, December 19, 2007, 8:16:15 AM, you wrote:

> What kind of "time and trouble" do you believe IM reference adopters
> have to deal with?



-- 
The road goes on forever and the party never ends. REK, Jr. 
Dan Lester, Boise, ID  


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