IM a Librarian at Davis Library

March 20th, 2005

Not only a great service, but an informative FAQ about the IM a Librarian services at Davis Library. I was excited to read this:

“Can I text a librarian from my phone?
Sure! You must have an AOL screen name, a mobile phone that supports text messaging, and a wireless service provider that supports AOL’s two-way Mobile AIM service (Verizon, AT&T, Cingular, Sprint, SunCom, Alltel). Just text the short code for AIM SignOn. If davisrefdesk is not in your buddy list under your Mobile Device group, add it using the AIM Add code, or type your message using this format: ScreenName(colon)(space)message and send using the AIM SendTo code. If you want, we can respond to your question over e-mail. Just let us know! (Note: This service is still a pilot project.) “

They also have some information about privacy:

“What about privacy?
The library will save the transcript of your chat session. We are occasionally contacted by researchers interested in reading our chat interactions. We consider these requests on a case-by-case basis, but in all cases, any identifying patron information is stripped away before the data is provided to the researcher. We will make every effort to protect your privacy. Any information you provide will remain confidential and only library staff will have access to your transcript.”

I’m no expert on IM in libraries (talk to these guys about it), but I think that there should be more guidelines written around these new services. These guidelines and policies should also be available to the public.

An aside: Have you seen the feeds available at the UNC Chapel Hill libraries? They’ve been around for a long time.

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