Thing 12 - VBPL and IM

I have watched a fellow employee work the IM time slot on several occasions. Even though our program is still in infancy I have my doubts. There is going to have to be a major shift in patron access of the library website in order for this to work. I don't believe our patrons are quite to the point where they go to us first for needed information. We remain a big card catalog. That is not to say things won't change - but it will take time and lots of it.

Teens and IMs

Teens and Instant Messaging now go hand in hand. My thirteen year old spends at least an hour IMing her friends after school. There is always more to talk about and at least she's not on the phone! It is completely natural for her to do research, type a paper, do math homework and carry on an IM - all at the same time. Can a library fit into this equation? I really don't know. With so many information sources on the Web and even the libraries own online sources I don't imagine she or her friends asking questions of a librarian. They would rather go straight to the source themselves.