Since early 2008, my library has been providing reference help though instant messaging. We set up IM accounts with a number of services, and connect to them all through the IM client, Pidgin. We also installed a MeeboMe widget on our ask a librarian page, so people can ask us a question without having an IM account. This is actually where the majority of our IM questions are coming from.

Recently though, because of some network connectivity issues, the Meebo widget has been displaying our status as being offline, even though the librarians were logged into IM. Not good.

To remedy the situation, I installed an AIM WIMZI widget on our site instead. The library already had an account through AIM, so this was an easy fix. The AIM widget also comes with a number of additional benefits.

In order to use MeeboMe with Pidgin, a plug-in is required, which automatically authorizes patrons to chat with you (more info available from the Library Voice blog). As I found out when troubleshooting our problem, this plug-in is no longer being updated. With the AIM widget however, no plug-in is needed. As long as you’re logged into AIM via Pidgin, any patrons using the widget do not need to be authorized.

Another problem with MeeboMe: if you are offline (i.e. when the library is closed) people are still able to send a message through the widget. We did see those messages the next time we logged in, but patrons would never leave a way for us to contact them. IM Fail.

But, if they try to send a message with the AIM widget when we’re offline, they’ll get a response that tells them we currently can’t receive messages. You can also set a custom message to be displayed when you’re offline, which is nice.

Our students definitely like this service. Since we began offering reference through IM, its usage has been steadily increasing. Last month, we had a record number of instant message questions.

I should also give a hat tip to Andy, a former colleague of mine, who first brought up the idea of providing IM reference. Good work Andy! We’re still going strong with it.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

That was 19 days I went without having internet access at home. I don’t think I’ve gone more than a week without some kind of online access since my days of connecting to computer bulletin board systems on my Atari 800XL computer. And talk about broadband, that was with a state-of-the-art, 300 baud modem. Yes, I am old.

Being without home internet access for so long made me realize how much it’s a part of my everyday activities: reading the online news in the morning with a cup of coffee, using it to find phone numbers, getting a quick map, listening to new music streams, and just keeping up with friends and family. I almost felt like I had lost one of my senses.

Why use emerging tech?

• It’s not enough to shove your bad services (such as our crappy OPACs) into new things.
• Don’t do it because everyone else is.
• For outreach.
• We don’t need things designed FOR the user, we need things designed BY the user.

Planning – it takes too long. Too man hoops to jump through, eventually good ideas can just fade away.

The committee approach – can take any good idea and destroy it. Exploits the negative aspects. To many times people ask “what if…” Cliff then showed us a funny YouTube video, Association Professionals Through the Ages, that illustrates how good ideas can be destroyed in such a manner.

The Evolving Library – this is where we’re headed. Rather than go through a million steps only to see it fail at the end, try assess reflect, try assess reflect, repeat.

• Try – Yoda was wrong when he said there is no try.
• Be fast – You can do a pilot project within three months, then you’ll have enough data to assess.
• Be human, be real, be patient. You aren’t going to get it right the first time.
• Don’t over plan. Librarians love to plan, don’t we?
• Assess – you can’t measure progress without actually measuring. Write assessment into your plans.
• Get user feedback (and use it).
• Reflect.
• Be willing to fail. If you’re going to fail, fail spectacularly. Not every idea will succeed.

Think back to your most amazing user experience. What made it special? Your users will usually remember their worst experience and their best. Use that information.

Gathering the Tools to Assess

• Surveys – Many cheap online options available.
• Focus goups – You only need a few people and a few questions. Get someone else to moderate.
• User observations – can be enlightening and disheartening, but well worth it. Again get someone else to moderate. Screen capture software (like Camtasia) can be great.
• Heat maps.
• Conversation. While data can be important, conversations with your users will be the most valuable.

Drawing Users In

• Have something to offer.
• Get OUT of the library. You want to reach users that don’t necessarily come to the library.
• Remember everyone loves to give their opinion.
• Swag-tastic! Is it shiny, Is it branded? Give them to your volunteers.

Implementation

• Something will go wrong.
• Get the boss’ buy-in. Data and stories are the most useful for this.
• Even if it’s a tiny pilot project, you will get valuable information for future projects.

Cliff recommended the book, “The Practice of Social Research” by Earl Babbie. He said it’s an excellent source for information on reliability, validity, methodology, etc.

Go ahead and do it half-assed. Don’t wait. You need the data. You can always refine and redo. Every time you do it, it’ll be a little bit better.

Final Thoughts

• Be user-centric.
• Be willing to do the work (don’t just come up with the idea).
• Evolution will take care of the bad ideas. Failure will usually not be a giant explosion. Most of the time ideas that don’t work will just fade out.
• Create a culture of innovation. Don’t be a naysayer, and don’t let others be naysayers.

As an aside, I thought this was an excellent, inspirational session. It was the best one I attended throughout the whole conference.

Web 2.0 Tools for Online CM Workflow and Intranets
presented by Patrick Griffis and Michael Yunkin (UNLV)

This presentation focused on democratizing a staff intranet by turning it into a wiki, and standardizing the format of the information.

The library staff at UNLV relied on a shared network drive for sharing documents which had grown unwieldy. College intranet was difficult – only one user at a time, limited editing, and no information architecture.

Staff decided to look at their needs, and examined various of content management systems. This was in 2004 (when wikis were still a bit unknown) and they decided to use a static web site. The big problem was only the web developers could update the site. During 2005-2006 they converted the site to a wiki format. Staff wanted a balance between democratizing the information, but keep it within a standardized format (naming conventions, categorizing entries, etc.).

Training

A training wiki was set up as a sandbox for experimentation. A training manual was created and placed on the staff wiki to serve as a learning aid. Training workshops were provided, which included hands-on editing exercises.

They found after the training sessions, there was a big jump in staff contributions to the intranet. Follow up training was done for advanced functions and new employees. For training, a wiki policy and FAQ pages were created.

No real problems after that, and the wiki is still functioning (two years later).

What They Did Right

• Started with come content – a blank slate is too intimidating.
• Got the key content in place before anyone sees it, so it’s useful from the start.
• Use a real world, practical training exercise, rather than just “Here’s how to make a bullet point…”

Lessons Learned

• Don’t be afraid of other people’s fear of technology.
• Allow the web developers to give up control.
• Don’t overwhelm the new editors with training.
• Provide enough basic training to install confidence in new editors so they can start editing.
• Specific training need can be identified by monitoring the wiki.

What’s Hot with RSS
presented by Steven Cohen

Steven LOVES RSS, has a fun presentation style, and he showed us a lot of great tools. They’re all posted on his What’s Hot with RSS presentation page. Here are a few I thought were interesting. While you don’t necessarily have to use the RSS features on these sites, they all include RSS.

• LibWorm – Library focused search engine. Searches library blogs, websites and other sites in the library profession. You can set up RSS feeds to be alerted to search terms.
• TwitterSearch – Search engine for Twitter. Find out who is posting tweets about your library or ?
• OpenCongress – Can see what representatives are up to, latest votes, any other updates. You can also search specific issues.
• Page2RSS – If the website you like doesn’t have an RSS feed, with this free service you can set up a feed to alert you the website has been updated.
• Invisible-Auctions.com – Get misspellings of eBay items. Enter a search term, and it will find all the items on eBay with that item misspelled. Then you can get it cheap because no one else knows about it.

One of the big things Steven uses RSS feeds for is to keep his clients/patrons up-to-date. He said you should know who your FOL (Friends of the Library) are. Set up feeds for yourself in their interested areas, and email them when you see an article they might be interested in. Who’s the hero? You are. The Librarian. The patron will also know you’re there to help with other things if needed, and they’ll be more likely to give you good support at budget time, etc.

Technical / Tangible / Social
presented by Elizabeth Lawley (Rochester Institute of Technology)

“Liz” started talking about social proprioception – the perception of one’s place and/or orientation in the social world. Many of the social networking websites (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) give us this sense of social proprioception.

With mobile devices getting smarter (like the iPhone, with geo-location, etc.) this kind of thing will become more and more important. While the technical is important, we shouldn’t forget the tangible. People want things they can touch, things that can connect the technical and social spheres.

Other gadgets are going to keep coming out (and we’ll probably have some serious technolust for them).

Chumby – “an interactive media player that streams your favorite parts of the internet in an always on, always fresh state.” (I’ve heard about these before, and I seriously want one.)

Mir:ror – an RFID tag reader with USB port, where you can tell it do things based on what the object sees. Company will sell this reader for cheap, and then sell the RFID tags,

Botanicals – sensors you plug into the soil of a plant. When it gets low it can call your phone, or post to Twitter “water me!”

Arduino – a USB circuit board that is open source, totally programmable, and a has big user forum.

The below two magazines are the Popular Mechanics of this century. Should be required for ANY library (public or academic).

• Make – technology stuff, links, etc.
• Craft – craft things but in a modern and cool way. Knitting can be a connection to a tangible thing, while still being engaged in other things. Not always true with technology.

Etsy – website that sells beautiful, handcrafted items, directly from the person who made it.

Moo.com – Customized cards you can create. Again – tangible stuff, connecting the technical and social worlds.

Lulu – Publish your own books.

These sites all allow you to make things, have a sense of ownership, customize gifts, etc.

Social Hardware – A small power strip that Karen Schneider wrote about. (I actually bought one of these when I read Karen’s post a few months ago, it’s small and compact, and oh so useful.)

People talk about online networking – libraries should also focus on public networking. At Liz’s library they removed a lot of the computer labs there, and set up space with power strips and WiFi (because students use laptops a lot more). The result was, many more students are using the library than when the huge banks of desktop workstations were there. Other libraries are setting up cafes inside the library, which makes the library the most popular place to meet. Liz then talked about the cafe, Java Wally’s which is inside the RIT library. That it’s “the place to be.” Faculty are scheduling office hours there, and as students are already in the library (are are very comfortable being there), they’re much more receptive to getting help from a librarian.

In order for libraries to succeed they need the technology, the tangible, and the social.

Liz set up links to everything in her talk on delicious.com.

The speakers began this session by talking about myths of the millenial generation.

• They are skilled online searchers
• Are at ease with new gadgets
• Are always connected
• Are effective multitaskers

But as recent news reports and studies have shown, these are not true. Millennials do use the technology, but in a simplified way. In general they are unaware of how powerful the tools they are using can be.

The digital divide has not gone away either. Even though 99% of schools have computers, the education students get on the computers varies widely depending on the school, as well as quality of their internet access. Students coming to college from areas with limited computer training and access can be intimidated by all the online coursework and research they are required to do.

Challenges
Faculty’s general attitude toward students are they’ll either do it, or fail. With technology they assume students will figure it out. This is not true, students need training and guidance. We need to get faculty to think about technology as educational tools and train them to use the tech in terms of their teaching.

Points for Getting Faculty on Board

• Owning our own expertise (librarians traditionally have been shy about this)
• Offer workshop/seminar on how faculty can revamp their courses to include information literacy components
• Get out there, make connections with faculty
• Require that faculty attend class instructions (it shouldn’t be their hour off)
• Leverage the accreditation processes – get them to think about the library as part of the curriculum, instead of a just a side component

As opposed to working with faculty, the library is a “safe learning space” for students. At the library they have the opportunity to fail (not true in the classroom), and that’s a great way for them to learn. Strategies to engage students and faculty include workshops, making equipment available, encourage faculty to develop actionable assignments, and creating partnerships on campus (don’t forget partnership outside of faculty, like learning support services staff, information technology, etc.).

Moving Forward – Building the Bridge

• Techology is fun, libraries are for learning and free from disciplinary structure.
• The technology shouldn’t be emphasized, it’s should be about the learning.
• Create services to build skills.
• Remember that gadgets support learning.
• Provide space and structure for play (which leads to learning).
• Be skeptical of generalizations about Millenials.

During the question period, someone in the audience asked if the presenters advocated freshmen orientation. One of the speakers mentioned that many colleges focus on freshmen orientation, but said they’ve often wondered if we can get further by focusing on juniors, who’s research needs are much different (they’re doing more heavy duty research). Freshman don’t need to do as much scholarly research as the upperclassmen do. If we teach them advanced techniques as freshmen, and they don’t use those techniques for a few years, they’ll forget it by the time they actually need those skills. I thought that was an interesting point, although I would advocate that both groups would benefit from such instruction.

Video Tutorials: Designing, Creating, and Making Them Work
presented by Emily Alford and Heidi Schroeder (Michigan State University)

This session focused on creating videos using screen capture software.

Why Videos as opposed to web page tutorials or printouts? People generally remember more of what they read and see as opposed to just what they read.

Tips for Video Instruction

• Break things up into sections/modules
• Keep it short
• Use icons, colors, arrows, different fonts and sizes
• Interaction is key, active learning

Promote the videos on the library website, research guide pages and other points of need. Don’t forget other places you know your patrons will be (YouTube, Facebook, course management software, etc.)

Software Options

There are many free and for-cost options, with a wide range of features, usability and costs. Try different options to see what works for you (there are often free trials available of the for-cost software).

The presenters have a nice chart of screen recording software options (PDF), which includes appropriate links the software.

Of the free options, one of the speakers thinks Jing is the easiest to use. Other options include Wink and CamStudio.

Of the for-cost software, the presenters are most familiar with Camtasia (it’s what they use). Other options include Captivate and BB FlashBack.

One of the presenters then ran a demo of Camtasia and created a short screencast on the spot. During the demo they mentioned that not all microphones give the same quality of audio. Testing microphones before buying can be very beneficial.

Streaming Media & Re-Tooling Library Services for Online Learners
presented by Barbara Stillwell and Robin Lockerby (National University)

National University now has 60% of their student body online. As that figure has increased, they’ve retooled the library, centralized services, and created a multi-media department. As far as reference services go library staff does mostly email reference with their online students, and some VOIP consultations.

For library instruction they do in-class sessions (which are recorded), VOIP sessions, and general tutorials. They do archive all of their older sessions, and make them available online.

Strengths of their approach: wide reach, sessions are easily recorded, great for outreach.
Weaknesses: quality isn’t always the best, some of their tutorials can be long (studies show shorter is better).

Even with a dedicated multimedia department, goals and objectives, and written style guides, it can take time to get this type of program going. Many of their tutorials tend to be works-in-progress, and are constantly evolving. Starting a program like this can definitely be a learning process, sometimes many revisions were needed after they discovered shortcomings, better ways to produce the tutorials, etc.

It’s important to remember, not everything needs to be a screencast. Sometimes a print pieces are better. Think about what things should be in multiple formats.

They’ve just recently began new series of tutorials called “Short Cuts” which are two minutes or less.

When creating videos or screencasts, they found modularizing things work well. Once you have modules done, you can insert them into other tutorials.

Even though they found the process was trying and difficult at times, the presenters said the rewards were well worth it.

Blending Technologies for Library Promotion and Instruction
presented by May Chang (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

This was a project that was implemented by students. The idea came at a staff picnic. The proposal was to create a video clip about the library. Students wanted to have a story based video and not boring, talking heads. They wanted to show students and users, not bookshelves. The students brainstormed a script and storyboard, and the librarian organized the equipment and scheduling.

Problems came up the first time they tried it. They ended up with a student “diva” who wanted to be a star. They also had difficulties with the student who said they knew photography but really didn’t. The second attempt at the project was sweet, and everything fell into place. The project did take much more time than they originally thought however.

Outakes and Lessons

Choose a camera that is easy to use (they had one which can take both stills and video).
Software used: Vegas Movie Studio, Camtasia Studio and Snagit.
Have a checklist:

• Talent release form
• Location planning
• Camera friendly clothing
• Interview questions
• Shooting schedule
• Script

The Storyline was a day in the life of the library. Students visit and study, meet librarians and student assistants.

The UMBC Library Orientation video is available on YouTube. It’s also posted on the library website. I thought they did a great job.

Additional Benefits

Because of this project, there are now high-end multimedia work stations at the library for students and staff to use.

There have also been new video and multimedia projects started because of this project’s success.

• Adjusting a television’s vertical and horizontal holds
• Adjusting the levels for recording to audio tape
• Balancing the tone-arm on a turntable
• Changing the C120 film cartridge in an Instamatic camera (yes, I had one)
• Editing audio tape with a razor blade and splicing block (video tape too!)
• Entering “freeware” programs from a magazine
• Gopher (in the early days of the internet)
• Loading data from a cassette tape (my first computer, an Atari 800 had a tape drive)
• Punching a hole in the shell of a single-sided 5.25″ floppy disc to make it double-sided (I even owned a special hole-punch for this)
• Rewinding an audio cassette using a Bic pen
• Ripping the little holes off the sides of the computer paper
• Setting a baud rate, parity and stop-bits
• Setting up a modem using AT commands
• Switching to high beams by stomping a button on the floor
• Using a flash cube (on my Instamatic camera, of course)

All now useless bits of information, just taking up brain cells…

A Barracuda Networks study, based on an analysis of more than 1 billion daily e-mail messages sent to its more than 50,000 customers worldwide, found that 90-95 percent of all e-mail sent in 2007 was spam.

Wow. I knew it was bad, but not THAT bad.

And in case anyone doesn’t know how email spam got its name…

Monty Python: Spam sketch

The D40 is lightweight, yet feels very sturdy. It has a good grip and is very comfortable in your hands. The controls are easy to reach and manipulate. It’s got a large (2.5 inch) LCD monitor which is easy to see, even in bright light. The control menus displayed on the screen are also easy to use and understand.

The kit I bought came with two zoom lenses, one 18-55mm, and the other 55-200mm. Most of the reviews I’ve read have praised the high quality lenses that come with the Nikon D40.

Another positive I’ve read about is the long life of the camera’s lithium-ion battery. My experience is similar. I’ve taken about 325 pictures so far, and I’m still on my battery’s original charge.

The D40 is a 6.1 megapixel camera. I considered the D40X (which has a 10 MP sensor), but unless you’re planning on blowing up your images to poster size, that higher resolution isn’t necessary. And as photography experts have said, higher megapixels don’t necessarily mean better pictures. Also, the money I saved choosing the D40 allowed me to get the kit with the additional telephoto lens.

I’m having a lot of fun playing around with my Nikon D40. It’s easy to use, and (as I hope these photos show) takes great pictures. Highly recommended.

I spend a great deal of my normal day (both working and off days) using a computer. Going without access while seeing others online almost made me feel like a junkie in need of a fix. Waiting in line to use one of the conference’s eight email stations for ten minutes did not cut it. I wanted to check out the cool things the librarians were talking about in their presentations. I wanted to be able to take notes more efficiently. And, I wanted to do some of the normal, daily things I do on the web.

I seriously need a notebook computer.

Part of me was reluctant to go with an Apple iPod. My old player was from Sansa, and concerns about Apple’s proprietary software bothered me a bit. After reading some online reviews, I decided to try one of the new Sansa models. I was not impressed. The controls seemed clumsy and hard to get used to. I experimented with loading music from my computer onto the player, and that was a clumsy experience as well. So, I returned the Sansa player, and picked up a 4 GB Apple iPod Nano. Wow! What a nice device. Yes that’s right, I am now one of the Pod People.

Apple gets a lot of things right with the iPod. The user interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The actual construction seems solid, and that brushed aluminum exterior is very cool. There is a reason the iPods are the top selling portable music players on the market. Even though I was reluctant to install iTunes (the software you need to transfer music to an iPod), my fears were alleviated when I started using it. Importing music from my CD collection is a painless process. Adding other audio sources, such as MP3s I already had or podcasts, is very easy as well.

I’ve had it for a few weeks now and I still get a kick out of the size. Here is this tiny device (3.5 inches tall, 1.6 inches wide, and .26 inches deep) that can hold about 70 CDs worth of music. Amazing.

When I bought the iPod, I also picked up an Altec Lansing travel speaker system. I’m impressed with that as well. I bought it so I can have some portable sound sans headphones. For the speaker system’s small size it delivers pretty high quality sound. I’m looking forward to bringing that along the next time I go camping and leaving my big folder of CDs and boombox at home.

It’s been an interesting experience providing online reference help. When I first started, it was a little unnerving and overwhelming (much like the first few times I was working at the reference desk in the real world). But just like that other reference situation, those feelings fade with experience.

What can be a little frustrating is the comparatively lengthy amount of time it takes to answer an online chat question. If someone stops by the reference desk for help on a search strategy, it’s a pretty straight-forward process to show them how they can proceed. It can be much more complicated via online chat. While the QuestionPoint software does allow co-browsing (where both the librarian and the patron can see what each other is doing in their browsing window), it only is available when both the librarian and patron are using Internet Explorer. And even then it can be problematic. Yes, that means I have to use Internet Explorer when I’m providing virtual reference (boo! hiss!).

Truth be told, the co-browsing feature of the chat software could still use some work. To be fair, the folks at QuestionPoint do continue to improve the software (they are even promising it will soon work with any modern browser).

But since I tend to avoid using co-browse when I’m being a virtual librarian, I invariably end up typing instructions to the patron, instead of just showing them what to do. For example:

From this page: www.example.com
Click “Articles” at the top
Do you see the link for the database?
Click that
In the search box enter the search terms
Check the box that says scholarly sources
Etc.

It can be a drawn out process compared to answering the same question in-person, or even over the telephone. But there have been studies in the library world that have found some students studying in libraries would not be caught dead asking for help at the nearby reference desk, but they will happily seek help online. In addition, allowing library patrons 24/7 access to help from a real librarian, makes the decision to provide the service an easy one.

One unique aspect about providing virtual reference is you can see the question before you decide to answer it — a luxury you do not have at the real world reference desk. During the times I have been online, there are usually 25-30 librarians throughout the country serving the same question queues I am. So if a question comes up I don’t feel real comfortable answering (such as the one I saw the other day about euclidean geometry), I can let a more knowledgeable librarian answer it. That also can be a bad thing however — you can get a little gun shy and just pass on every question.

Whenever I connect with a patron, the first thing I invariably do is open up their home library’s website. It gives me a good idea of what the student has access to, and if I can point them to a resource through their home library, so much the better.

I must say that finding information on some of those library websites has been a… challenging experience. Sometimes I find myself hunting around and clicking layers deep into the site for basic things. Things I think should be immediately visible to anyone visiting the site for the first time. But as the saying goes, “If you can’t say anything nice…”