We've just started testing LibraryH3lp at the U of Calgary as a probable replacement for Meebo in offering IM / Chat reference service. I switched from Digsby to Pidgin in order to be able to monitor queues from a desktop client instead of having to log in to the LibraryH3lp website, but yesterday the LibraryH3lp blog reported that Pidgin 2.6.x no longer will work for monitoring chat queues, but that Digsby now does. They do offer a download link to Pidgin 2.5.9, but I think I'll be going back to Digsby when I get done with my desk shift here... BTW, you know you can get LibraryH3lp system updates via Twitter, right?
I will be repeating a study I did last year. The aim of the study is to learn about and compare usage of IM widgets on online subject/research guides from different North American academic libraries. I would like to see the types of users that use IM widgets on a librarians subject guide and the type of questions that are asked. The survey is short (it should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete).
Wow, it's been almost two years since I was excited about Trillian's IM/social network-concatenator, Astra. While I've been registered for their beta since July 2007, it wasn't until yesterday, when Lifehacker pointed out that beta applications were being filled quickly that I gave them my address again, and got myself a copy of the client for Windows, which is the only version available right now. This isn't a review. I used it all day today, and while I found the interface foreign, I could probaly get used to it. It worked and didn't crash. I did see some interesting features along the lines of statistics and histories of chat sessions (on which days did I chat with X; that sort of thing). I don't have time to really delve in to the product, and will be going back to Digsby as my Windows desktop client tomorrow. I do, however, have five invites to the beta product if you want to try it yourself.
Well I guess I can't actually recommend them since I haven't read them yet, but the latest issue of portal: Libraries and the Academy just came out and here are the articles I plan to read (almost the whole issue!):
Google Scholar Search Performance: Comparative Recall and Precision
William H. Walters
pp. 5-24
This paper
presents a comparative evaluation of Google Scholar and 11 other
bibliographic databases (Academic Search Elite, AgeLine, ArticleFirst,
EconLit, GEOBASE, MEDLINE, PAIS International, POPLINE, Social Sciences
Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and SocINDEX), focusing on
search performance within the multidisciplinary field of later-life
migration. The results of simple keyword searches are evaluated with
reference to a set of 155 relevant articles identified in advance. In
terms of both recall and precision, Google Scholar performs better than
most of the subscription databases. This finding, based on a rigorous
evaluation procedure, is contrary to the impressions of many early
reviewers. The paper concludes with a discussion of a new approach to
document relevance in educational settings—an approach that accounts
for the instructors' goals as well as the students' assessments of
relevance.
Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion
Ruth Sara Connell
pp. 25-36
This study
surveyed 366 Valparaiso University freshmen to discover their feelings
about librarians using Facebook and MySpace as outreach tools. The vast
majority of respondents had online social network profiles. Most
indicated that they would be accepting of library contact through those
Web sites, but a sizable minority reacted negatively to the concept.
Because of the potential to infringe on students' sense of personal
privacy, it is recommended that librarians proceed with caution when
implementing online social network profiles.
The Future of Information Literacy in Academic Libraries: A Delphi Study
Laura Saunders
pp. 99-114
Information
literacy is a central tenet of academic librarianship. However,
technological advancements coupled with drastic changes in users'
information needs and expectations are having a great impact on this
service, leading practitioners to wonder how programs may evolve. Based
on a Delphi study, this article surveyed 13 information literacy
experts about proposed futures that explore the possible evolution of
information literacy over the next decade. Although generally
optimistic in their assessment of the continued importance of
information literacy and the role librarians will play in its future,
these experts acknowledged a number of obstacles academic librarians
will face in fully realizing these possibilities.
How Do You Know That?: An Investigation of Student Research Practices in the Digital Age
Randall McClure Kellian Clink
pp. 115-132
This study
investigates the types of sources that English composition students use
in their research essays. Unlike previous studies, this project pairs
an examination of source citations with deeper analysis of source use,
and both are discussed in relation to responses gathered in focus
groups with participating students and teachers. The researchers
examine how students negotiate locating and using source material,
particularly online sources, in terms of timeliness, authority, and
bias. The researchers report on how teachers struggle to introduce
these concepts and how students fail to perceive authority and bias in
their sources.
Virtual Reference, Real Money: Modeling Costs in Virtual Reference Services
Lori Eakin Jeffrey Pomerantz
pp. 133-164
Libraries
nationwide are in yet another phase of belt tightening. Without an
understanding of the economic factors that influence library
operations, however, controlling costs and performing cost-benefit
analyses on services is difficult. This paper describes a project to
develop a cost model for collaborative virtual reference services. This
cost model is a systematic description of all expenses incurred by a
library in providing virtual reference service as part of a
collaborative.
Rumors of the “death of reference” have been greatly exaggerated! Reference service now encompasses not just traditional forms such as telephone, email, and in-person point-of-service, but also Instant Messaging, Text Messaging (SMS), blogs, wikis, library pages on MySpace and Facebook, and virtual reference desks in Second Life.
A Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends conference will explore all aspects of reference service in a broad range of contexts, including libraries and information centers, in academic, public, school, corporate, and other special library environments. This two-day conference will incorporate the multitude of established, emerging, and merging types of reference service including both traditional and virtual reference. It presents an opportunity for all reference practitioners and scholars to explore the rapid growth and changing nature of reference, as an escalating array of information technologies blend with traditional reference service to create vibrant hybrids.
There were a LOT of sessions, so do take a look - probably something of interest in here for you.
There's a freely-available article in the most recent issue of the Charleston Advisor that describes what it's like to put together a small virtual library to support distance students: Real Life in the Virtual Library, The Charleston Advisor, Volume 10, Number 1, July 2008 , pp. 47-48(2). As you can see, it's only a couple pages, but if you're curious about this kind of setup, it's a good read.
Haven't had a chance to try this, but TeamViewer, free for non-commercial use, offers desktop sharing for both Windows and Mac. They claim 10 million users - wonder if they were known as something else before?
Dan Sich at the University of Western Ontario posts an update that shows how Hab.la is responding to user suggestions and now has a solution for the previously-reported cap of 5 simultaneous users. They've even got a page on Hab.la for Libraries! If you haven't yet implemented chat widgets on your site, this is definitely one to consider. I haven't played yet, but it may even be worth switching to from MeeboMe. Anyone else considering that?
Danielle Dennie at Concordia University asks for your assistance in a survey she's running on your use of Instant Messaging Widgets:
Dear all,
I will be conducting a study to learn about and compare usage of IM widgets on online subject/research guides from different North American academic libraries. I would like to see the types of users that use IM widgets on a librarians subject guide and the type of questions that are asked. The survey is short (it should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete). Here is the link to the survey:
Danielle Dennie Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry and Physics Librarian Concordia University Vanier Library Building 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. Montréal (QC) H4B 1R6 Office: VL-127-3 Tel: 514.848.2424 ext. 5237 Email: danielle.dennie at concordia.ca
A few weeks ago I started using Digsby on my work machine to tie in all my IM, email accounts and Twitter. It seems quite stable, and I think it's a keeper. Major bonus that I haven't even explored yet is that just like Meebo, it offers a flash-based embeddable chat widget that then connects to the desktop application. I'm not sure how it shows up at my end, or if it has any limitations, so let's see, shall we? Feel free to pop in for a quick chat if I'm online...
Windows only for now, but they say they're working on a Mac and Linux version as well.
I couldn't resist the headline when I saw that as part of the layoffs they were going to refocus on "providing answers to its core audience of women searching on... reference topics". ;-)
OK gang, the biggest strength of Meebo, that it's web-based, has also been the biggest strike against it. For those of us who are using it as a service, it's a bit of a pain to remember to fire it up, and to have the web browser open. Accidentally shut down the page or have a browser crash and you lose the service.
Worry no more, here's how you can run Meebo completely independent of your web browser, as a desktop application!
You need to download a small application from Mozilla called Prism. Did I mention it's available for Windows, Mac AND Linux? :-) Prism allows a web service (any website) to run in its own window, available with a desktop or startup menu shortcut. Because it's in a separate window, you don't even have to have a web browser open to access Meebo, and because it can launch as an application, you can add it to your startup routine so it starts with your OS, just like Trillian or Pidgin can.
It's incredibly easy to install and run; I'll be using it heavily starting tomorrow at the office. Here it is in action (email and RSS subscribers will have to click through to view):
While this should run on Leopard, there's another application specifically built for the newest OS called Fluid. Someone try it out and let me know how it works, kay?
Yesterday I posted a screencast about how to embed a MeeboMe widget right on the desktop using ActiveDesktop. While surfing around to see who else had made use of this, I found a link to a Flickr page from late 2005 where someone was using ActiveDesktop to show their Meebo account, and in the comments was a suggestion for a Mac application called WebDesktop that does more or less the same thing on OS X. It's not quite as good, IMHO, in that upon minimizing your active windows you have to click one more time to make the webdesktop become operational, but still, you don't have to have your browser running, and this could easily be made to run upon startup (though of course the Mac won't be starting up nearly as often ;-). Just something else to experiment with.
Here's your screencast (aggregators and mail subscribers will have to click through to view):
Hey, I'm excited about this one! At a meeting yesterday we were considering additional places we could stick our MeeboMe widget (you may recall we've had it embedded in our catalogue since the beginning of October, 2007). Someone wondered if we could embed it on the desktop, and I recalled that Microsoft has something called Active Desktop that allows websites to be displayed on the desktop. So this morning I did some quick checking and it works!
So first you'll need to create a MeeboMe widget, and then you'll need to create a basic html file on your hard drive, OR you can point to a live website. Just remember that folks will still want to use their desktop icons, so if you do use a live webpage, make sure it's not too cluttered.
Information on how to turn on Active Desktop is here.
And, um, that's it!
Here it is in action:
I don't know if there might be any security or other implications for this - haven't yet checked on that...
Update: My colleague David pointed out that we have over 200 machines in our InfoCommons, and wonders what having them always connected to our Meebo account might mean. Good question - does anyone have any idea if there's a limit to the number of folks who can be simultaneously connected to a Meebo account? I'm going to check their FAQ's and maybe send them an email. Still, the above should work well for a small library...
Update #2: The Meebo Wiki says 100 people can be simultaneously connected via widgets: "How many people can talk to me at any given time? Is there a limit? Right now we have set the limit to 100 people who can see you online through your widget. In the future, we may make it a preference to help you do some crowd control. If you’ve got 100 peeps IMing you at any given time, you’re pretty popular and might wanna hit that Invisible mode! You can also disable a widget in the meebo pref pane."
Primary Research Group (http://www.primaryreserch.com/) is planning to publish a survey of college libraries that provide library services to distance learning students. This survey is open to accredited colleges from all countries. Participants receive a free PDF copy of the estimated 100-page report. Data is broken out by type and size of institution for easier benchmarking. Participants are listed but responses are confidential. To take the 40-question survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yX6WslbR6pWYfSaTsDC0Qg_3d_3d
James Moses, Research Analyst Primary Research Group Inc.
Dan Sich at the University of Western Ontario 
A few weeks ago I started using 
