Thing 7: Web 2.0 Communication Tools

1. Current Email
Like many people of my generation, I have multiple email accounts - gmail (personal), hotmail (old contacts, only checked every couple of weeks), and groupwise. Since groupwise is my primary work email account, I'll review the productivity aspects of this program.

[First, a quick comment on the email productivity article. I would love love love to turn of the auto-check function on my email, but after guiltily considering it, I've decided to leave it on. I know that it would most certainly decrease the opportunities to be distracted by my email, but I generally like to respond to my colleagues & to patrons asap, and I don't want to delay unnecessarily. But maybe I'll turn off the flags...]

I have been quite satisfied with Groupwise, primarily because there are computer techs at my library that can help me resolve any problems/questions I might have. There are options to sort emails into folders, the program automatically archives sent items for several months (I can't tell you how many times I've taken advantage of that feature), I can manage assigned tasks and appointments, and it generally is the place I go to for information on everyone in my (work) world. The spam filter is at times over-zealous and at times far too lax, but that is something I've encountered with all of the email services.

As for IM, the Reference Department at my library (where I used to work part time, and still occasionally sub) does do IM reference. We don't get a whole lot of business via IM, but our users do seem pleased to be offered an alternate method of communication with library staff.

2a. Moderately confused by IM jargon, but I pretended it was an analogy question on the GRE and tried to extrapolate meaning although I had no idea what the acronyms meant.

Apparently old people (like me) use email, and all the young 'uns gravitate toward IM. Faster, better, whatever. The only problem I have with IM is that immediate responses are expected because hey, they KNOW you are still online, and you are forced to sit and wait while the other person responds. In contrast, while you should respond to email promptly, it isn't rude to finish other tasks before responding to an email. And I can do other things while waiting for a response. If I need an answer right now, I still gravitate to that almost-obsolete communication tool, the telephone.

2b. The Library Journal article refers to IMing as "a sped-up email transaction," which seems pretty accurate to me. Some of the chief benefits of IM (emailing articles, instant patron feedback) seem to be a combination of the best of both email reference and phone reference. I am curious about the fact that staff feel that they can speak more freely since there is no "everlasting email trail." This makes me wonder, 1) How can you reference past IM conversations if there is no record, and conversely, 2) As I understand it, every online communication has a trail, and librarians had better not assume that just because something was written via im, if can't come back later to haunt them. And the common usage of YMMV...crazy.

2c. I've set up an account on Google Talk. We'll see how it goes.
Breaking news: it went well. But I think it is a bit of a paradox that we were just instructed to turn off the automatic notify on our email so as to reduce distractions but effectively delaying response, while looking to IM because it is faster and consequently far more distracting.

3a. I wish they'd shown the from the librarian POV - I'm assuming that reference librarians don't have to TM with a phone, but hey, who knows?

3b. I think this would be awesome. We have a real problem sending email notices to patrons; our emails are often filtered by spam blockers and sent to their junk folders. (And they come in a week later and wonder why they were never notified.) Sending text message reminders would help eliminate that problem. Unfortunately, I get charged for every text message I send or receive, but as long as patrons had the ability to choose from several notification methods - text message, email, phone, & snail mail - that wouldn't be a problem.

3c. Text message successfully sent. Nothing new, no problems. I would like to try it from a computer-based system.

4. I've taken webinars in the past, and I have found the the effectiveness varies, as does the level of frustration.

4a. One of the reference librarians did a brief presentation of WebJunction opportunities at a recent staff meeting, and every single person in the room saw something on the class listing that they would find helpful. The only problem is (and I'm starting to sound like a broken record -- sorry) finding the time to fit it into the day.

4b. There aren't any OPAL sessions listed for the next few days (at least, not while I will have computer access), but I'm going to check out the "Meet Me In St. Louis" on Sunday.