7 Things On A Stick

I read a couple articles recently that mentioned briefly anectdotal evidence that suggests email is to a certain extent dying off as a viable means of communication. The backlash against spam, combined with the reality of emailing someone in the cube next to you is kinda silly, has resulted in the general public by and large giving up on e-mail. I still check my G-Mail account religiously because it conveniently feeds me all my other email accounts (school, etc.) into one handy dandy package. The trade off as everyone knows is ad saturation and invasion of privacy. That said, demand for seniors wanting to learn how to use email is very popular here at our library. (I prefer G-Mail for aesthetic considerations, personally.)

Email is also used to great effect at our library: patrons can email a reference question after hours, let them know an item is overdue or available for pickup, etc. So perhaps the sky isn't falling after all.

The main drawback with anything computer wise is the time drain factor. It maddens me the time I've lost deleting spam that I will never be compensated for. The 43 Folders tip sheet was good, check out LifeHacker for even more ingenious ways to not let email ruin your life.

The IM we do here at the library is invaluable. I would not have gotten through college if it had not been for the library IM program with the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis! Google Talk is superior in that it doesn't require a bundled download. IM looked like the future in the mid 90's but of course there was too many for people to choose from: Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, etc. You ended up keeping 4 running simaltaneously and then not being able to keep up as 5 people were trying to chat with you simaltaneously. Then you settled with one but then missed out on conversations with friends who refused to adapt to your preferences. Plus it's a bandwidth drain and a security risk and productivity killer so many companies don't allow Skype at work anymore. IMing is available here at the library for staff but I rarely use it, preferring old-fashioned face to face interaction.

I text message constantly. It's easy for me to communicate without being obtrusive to others. The challenge for librarians is a generational one, I feel. I'm 28 which makes me younger than a lot of the staff but even I don't recognize all the abbreviations these young whipper snappers like my little sister are using nowadays. :) Our library does not offer text message communication at this time, to the best of my knowledge. Since librarians aren't issued cell phones, perhaps it could go the way of LiveJournal where a blogger can text a cell phone from their computer if they are granted permission. How to respond back is of course another matter entirely. Texting is also an added charge on cell phones, another hurdle that needs to be addressed as well.

Web Conferencing is also clunky because it's even more of a bandwidth hog than IM. Our network has trouble downloading a YouTube video, so one must become pragmatic about this sort of thing. OPAL is an awesome idea, because they host it. I'm completely behind this one 110%! We would need money for things like webcams, VOIP, mics, etc. We have some of that already, granted, so it would be a matter of who would get to use it, when and for how long. Sadly, I could not attend an OPAL event because none are going on right now and I have to get off the clock. The one on Mary Todd Lincoln's mental illness looked fascinating.

On a final note, the library success wiki is wicked, but I will have to explore that when I have a whole day to click on all those great links. Per usual, InfoToday is oblivious that most libraries have limited IT resources. In review, Email has increased productivity here at work, but with inherent limitations. Case closed, Encylopedia Brown!