Thing6: Chat

I use chat on occasion to communicate w/ friends, typically via gchat but I've also used chat in Facebook. In library school we had an assignment that involved working a chat shift for an undergraduate class that was required to use a chat service (Meebo) for their assignment. My first shift was about a week before the assignment was due and I got no chatter. I volunteered for a slot at the tail end (right before the assignment was due) and got bombarded w/ chat requests and unfortunately had no back-up.

I currently work an hour shift a week for LRC Live and look forward to gaining more experience in this area. I do think chat can be very effective and convenient for certain types of questions - and a little more complicated in cases when the library user has little knowledge about how to use library resources and a not-so-clear idea on what they are researching. That said, I think sharpening my skills in reference and in the use of Questionpoint, will lead to better competency and better experience for both me and the LRC Live patrons.

I like that chat offers another avenue for library users to seek out help.

Thing 5: Wikis

I like the idea of wikis and find that they can be really useful- on the occasion that you can get folks to use and grow the wiki. I've personally used wikis for library school projects, where assignments are often collaborative. My largest concern about wikis is the problem of authority if the information is not kept current.