Instant Messaging Reference: A Practical Guide

Citation

Palmer, R. (2010), "Instant Messaging Reference: A Practical Guide", Library Review, Vol. 59 No. 5, pp. 378-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531011047118

It is not unreasonable to assume that most, if not all, information professionals are aware that the physical library, although in many cases still an important source of information, is seeing its pre‐eminence in decline with the rise of the web and the availability of heavily discounted fiction online and in supermarkets. Offering virtual reference services, whether by telephone or email, has come to be accepted as a way to ensure that the library continues to have relevance in a world which expects easy access to information.

Rachel Bridgewater and Meryl B. Cole's Instant Messaging Reference: A Practical Guide aims to introduce librarians, who may be unfamiliar with computer‐ and web‐based instant messaging (IM) services, and to how IM can be used to expand their virtual reference services. The focus of the book is primarily the practicalities of implementing an IM‐based reference service, but, where appropriate, evidence is provided for the desirability of expanding a service to utilise IM. The authors are based in the USA, so the statistical evidence they use to do so is predictably skewed towards American studies. However, the trends relating to web use and how this relates to information services are not unlike those found in studies conducted in the UK.

Although I don't believe that the book is primarily intended for advocacy – most of it is devoted to the application of IM and the implications of that – it does enough to place IM in the wider context of a library service. Indeed, the authors are at pains to point out that in reference services it is not an either/or approach; use of IM is in addition to any other communication channels that you may use. Like many popular web‐based technologies there are a variety of freely available tools available for library services to use. This low cost of entry means that, as the authors suggest, the question isn't “why should I use instant messaging?” but “why not?”

The strength of the book lies in its accessibility and comprehensive nature. It makes no assumptions about knowledge or experience of IM services in the reader. However, it is reassuring in tone, rather than patronising, and goes so far as to detail how different IM clients work. Bridgewater and Cole explain in detail the different clients available and how to address the concerns that librarians may have regarding security and potential misuse of the service.

Unlike other, more familiar, forms of communication, such as the telephone and even email, IM does have a language and customs of its own which can be intimidating to those that are unfamiliar with it. A glossary of commonly used IM abbreviations is provided to help overcome any fears that staff may have that they are unable to understand their patrons queries.

The final chapter is concerned with the promotion of any such new services to users. The perception of the authors is that generally speaking, and for a variety of reasons, library services are not good at marketing themselves. Unfair or not, the point that a new service will not be successful if nobody is aware of it is well taken and some helpful suggestions are provided.

Given that the book isn't a discussion of the pros and cons of using IM – as “a practical guide” the assumption is that the reader is at least aware of the potential for an IM‐based service – its success or failure must be judged on how well the material presented describes how you can successfully improve your service by adding IM to it. In this regard it does well, screenshots of sign up pages and examples of conversations with patrons show that there is nothing intimidating in expanding your reference services to include something unfamiliar. The addition of a conversation with a librarian who has already started using the service helps to demonstrate that IM need not be a drain on resources.

For those already familiar with the concept of IM, much of the content may seem obvious, but even for them there is enough practical advice on how to use it in a library setting to expand the value of the book beyond those for whom IM is unfamiliar.

Although not a particularly cheap addition to a library, if you are considering expanding your service to include an IM‐based reference service, it is a simple and concise guide which considers all aspects of the process, from the reasons for using it, to the technical and practical aspects of implementation to the promotion of the service to users. As you probably have all of the resources required to start using IM in your service already, this book may well be the only spend you are required to make and in that context is good value. For its primary audience, the book is a good primer on the subject.