As I started my review of instant messaging in public libraries at the Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, Michigan, and then was unsuccessful at finding IM at the Ann Arbor District Library, I thought I would jump over the border to the Windsor Public Library in Ontario, Canada.
On the Windsor Public Library homepage, the instant messaging is clearly visible by the “Let’s Chat!” button in the top heading for the library’s homepage, as seen above. There is also an “Ask a Librarian” link further down the page and in the links under the “Services” button, but both of these links lead you to an email web form, and a fee-for-service option. In a quick search of the library website, I don’t see any other web 2.0 tools.
The “Let’s Chat” button leads to a Chat with a Librarian page as seen below.
The Chat with a Librarian page includes “Chat with a librarian: FAQ’s”, which include the questions: What is it?, How does it work?, What are the Technical Requirements?, as well as Important Privacy Information. These are very simple and short answers, but they give the user important information including a description of the service, how it works, and that you don’t have to download any software to use the service. I think this page answer the basic questions that a user would need answered to try this service. When I click the: “Questions? Click here for Live Help” button, I am taken to a live session, and the librarian comes on immediately, and asks me two questions. As I had the librarian there asking if I had any questions, I decided to ask some questions for this assignment, which you can see in the chat transcript below.
At all of the six libraries that I have reviewed so far, when I tried the service, a live librarian did not come online. At most of the libraries, it was because there wasn’t a librarian online when I checked (repeatedly), but it also would have been necessary for me to enter a question and then hit enter (in a Meebo form) to activate the librarian’s response. This “instant message” response must be in part due to the Windsor Public Library’s use of LIVEperson software. This option is a good one because of the instant activation, and also because the chat screen opens up on the entire page. I think that having the librarian come on instantly makes the user more likely to use the service. I was just checking the service, and when I saw that there was a live person asking me two questions, I felt like I had to respond. So, I would definitely be a user of this service, and I think a user visiting the site for the first time would find it simple to use as well.
The recommendations I have for Windsor Public Library to improve this service are to put the daily hours (see chat transcript above) that the service is available on the Chat with a Librarian page, and to include a mention of the IM service on the “Ask a Librarian” page. Even though the Let’s Chat button is very prominent on the homepage, it would fit in better with the other library services if it was included as part of the Ask a Librarian page. The library might also want to look at my last blog post about UNC University Libraries to expand their frequently asked questions.
The librarian that I was chatting with might want to look at the Walking Paper blog about the benefits of IM, to make a case for keeping IM, even if they join the another virtual reference service, as she/he mentioned in our chat session above.The librarian may also want to look at the The Strange Librarian blog IM verus Chat: What’s Better for Customer Service. She contrasts the collaborative virtual reference networks with the local library expertise of IM reference. She found that the use of both tools ultimately provides the best range of service, the collaboration of virtual reference provides a wider range of hours (24 hours of the day, 7 days per week), but also offers specific help during the library’s open hours.
Thank you so much to the librarian from the Windsor Public Library central branch for chatting with me, and giving me permission to use our chat transcript in my blog. Please make a comment if you read this and have any information to add about your IM service.
