IM Reference

I think that IM reference is really neat. It’s great for people who may already be online who have reference questions. I think that IM and reference is a good mix because the Internet is a place where you have access to information, and a reference librarian provides information. So it’s only right to combine the two and have the library provide IM reference.

This is good for someone who may be looking for something and may not be able to find any information, or for someone who is not sure if the information they have is accurate. With just one IM, a reference librarian can help customers find information, and even give them additional resources that they otherwise would not have found.

IM and LIbraries

Instant Messaging (IM) is a way to communicate online in real-time. IM is different than e-mail because you are conversing by sending messages back and forth to each other instantly. It’s also a great way to communicate with people who may be long distances away. I used AIM a lot when I was away at school to keep in touch with friends and family. The discovery resources say that about 53 million American adults use IM programs. So clearly, this is not just something for teens.

I think that libraries should consider using IM because it is an additional way to help customers with reference questions. I am glad that VBPL now provides IM services. I don’t know how many of our customers have email addresses on their accounts, but at least that many are potential IM customers. So having IM capabilities is good because we are opening up a new way for our customers to communicate with us and get the information that they need, and it may also attract new customers.

Exploring newsfeed search tools

I browsed the search tools Technorati, Topix.net, and Syndic8.com.

I liked Technorati. I think that the website is designed nicely. It is easy to read and understand, and it was easy for me to search and find different blogs. It gave me a lot of information on whatever I searched for. This is a nice search tool.

I also liked Topix.net. I think that this site is also displayed nicely. I like how you can put in your city, and then it displays the current news right in the center. I also like how the different topics are laid out. It looks like a good one-stop for all the current news.

I did not like Syndic8.com. I felt confused as soon as I opened it up. I just don’t like the way the site is set up. With all of the information that is up there, I think they could have it organized a little better. I had a hard time searching for feeds, I guess it’s because I didn’t follow the site too well.

RSS feeds the news

Before now, I didn’t know what RSS was. So basically I've gathered that RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format that delivers updated news information to a newsreader website that you set up.

There are a few websites that I like to go to for news updates, and I like the concept of RSS because instead of me going to the news; the news is coming to me. This is neat because you don't have to waste time checking different websites. However, if you set up a newsreader site and don't check it much, then it kind of defeats the purpose.

I haven’t set up any RSS feeds yet, but I might in the future. I think it would be good for people who travel a lot. It would also be good for people at work who want to stay updated with the news without wasting work time.