When I think about the library, I think of putting my drink in my bag so I can get by security to sip it inside. I think of students pacing throughout the main floor, to and fro; some printing, some borrowing (books, laptops, etc.), and some just in a rush to meet friends. I think of the study areas upstairs, rows and rows of students trying to get ready for some sort of class, test, or presentation. I think of the presentation rooms, and how many times I’ve practiced in them for speeches at the end of semesters. I think about borrowing a clicker. And last but not least, I think of the students sprawled across multiple chairs, couches, and even tables, in positions that may make a contortionist jealous, as a result of their tireless efforts and sleepless nights to achieve knowledge in an area that they hope to excel in.
ahahh this is great i do this all the time.
You captured a lot of the services and resources we offer in the library. I was wondering if you’ve ever had a question you needed to ask one of the librarians? We staff a reference desk right in the middle of the main floor and answer questions sent to us via text messages, chat messages, email, and over the phone. We often debate what to make of shifting patterns of usage of these help services. Are these services you’ve ever used before?
Check out the range of options on this Help page of the library website.
@Jonathan lol which part? I tried to capture the whole feel of how the place is, including the ‘taboo’ things like smuggling in soda haha
@Stephen Francoeur Ummm yes, over time I’ve been to help desk several times. The only specific time I remember what the question was about though was in the fall of 2011, my 1st semester, when I needed help with my log-in information. After that it was just minor things, like adjusting printer settings and what not. In terms of the different avenues of offering help service, no, I’ve never used any of those methods, but if I theoretically had to, I would say that texting would definitely be the one of choice for its immediacy. Next would be the phone. I would personally say, though, if I worked at the help center, I would just go along with implementing whatever strategy is getting the most feedback from students out of them all. And maybe consider a Twitter account to broadcast pertinent information/announcements?…
Doug, that’s interesting! As it turns out, most questions we get asked are asked at the reference desk itself. The next most popular service is probably the chat service (it’s available around the clock every day of the year). After that is probably the phone, then email, then texting. I’m not quite sure why texting isn’t more popular (I’d love to hear any thoughts you might have about that).
As for Twitter, we do actually have two Twitter accounts. One, @ciobaruch, is done by Arthur Downing, who is not only the Chief Librarian but also the CIO for the college. His tweets tend to be newsy kinds of announcements about new services. The other account, @baruchlibrary, is one that my supervisor and I wrote for. Our tweets are usually about new resources in the library or reminders about services that we think students might be unaware of. If you look at the library home page, on the lower left corner is a box labeled “BREAKING NEWS VIA TWITTER” that republishes the tweets from the two accounts (the box only shows the last 4 tweets). Since it sounds like you might be a Twitter user, what suggestions might you have about how the library is using Twitter so far?
@ Stephen Francoeur Hmmmmm… I’d look at 1 – marketing for it and 2 – its efficiency and availability. How much exposure is there for students to know that they can text the Help Desk? Is there a lot? Enough? More than, or the same advertising of that service as the others? And next I’d look into how long it takes for the Help Desk to respond to texts; if it’s more than, say, 5-10 minutes, I can’t imagine students in this day and age having the patience for that. Also, if it’s only available for a set amount of hours at a time, limiting its potential for access, then I’d think that that would be another issue as to why it’s not being utilized as much. And wow lol, yeah that’s cool that there ARE 2 Twitter accounts. I actually don’t use Twitter a lot at all; I’m an Instagram guy with a little Facebook sprinkled in haha… But I’d say that that’s definitely the ideal way that Twitter might be utilized optimally by a library in any education institution. The question then becomes, in my opinion, how much compensation is being awarded for your efforts, i.e. is the time being put into maintaining these accounts less of an opportunity cost than the benefits garnered from students following the accounts… With that I’d look at the number of followers and the amount of interaction (retweets etc.) transpiring on a regular basis. But it would be cool to have a more precise way to determine how many students view and use those Twitter accounts to their advantage…..