THING 7. INSTANT MESSAGING AND EMAIL

The blog is back. After a two month break because of a backlog in our department, I am blogging again. I would have started up again sooner, but I couldn't remember my logins.

I have used email since the library has had it. It is very useful for contacting a few or many people with the same message. They don't all have to be in the same building. The downside is all the spam we get now. Our email used to be spam-free.

I have been using Instant Messaging for about a year. I use it most often to phone another branch to pull a book. We don't have IM reference for patrons (yet).

I have watched/heard many Minitex webinars. On the plus side, it is convenient to have at my work site. You don't have to travel anywhere. The effectiveness depends on the relevance of the material to my needs, how cold the training room is ( sometimes a problem), and how easily the speaker can be heard (often a problem). I miss the face-to-face interaction with a presenter and other participants in the same room.