Report from ALA: The Buzz on VR
Virtual Reference is a hot topic at ALA this week–maybe because I keep going to meetings about VR, lol… And the big news (which I have been spreading!) is about libraryh3lp–an open source meebo being developed by North Carolina librarians. It’s in beta right now, but UNC Chapel Hill and Baylor (among others) are using it. I met Ellen Hampton, the E-Learning Librarian at Baylor and got a look at the back-end. It’s Java-based and allows queuing sessions, multiple accounts (so you could transfer IM sessions to Circ or ILL if they wanted to have IM) and it’s an aggregator (like Meebo) for all your Instant Messengers. And, like Meebo, it’s got a widget you can put anywhere. Unlike Meebo, it’s ADA Compliant (!) and it has the ability to pop out of the browser so patrons can CHAT while searching without losing the session. You can also send files and patrons can have the transcript emailed to them. They are currently working for a way to integrate it into Facebook, too.
It looks really exciting, but still in early stages. Ellen has requested that they have a way to download IM sessions in batches (currently they are stored online individually), and they are also working on statistics. It’s being developed by Pam Sessoms, a librarian at Chapel Hill, and her husband, who is a programmer. You can host it for free on their servers, too…or download the code.
Again, it’s still in Beta, but it’s worth taking a look at. They’ve got a wiki and a blog that I’ve been following…
The consensus seems to be this is one to watch. They are still in development, but there hasn’t been an IM solution designed for libraries–and we need one.
What do you think? Is anyone beta-testing it? Pros/Cons??
Originally posted June 30, 2008.
Tags: ALA 2008, Baylor, Ellen Hampton, IM, Instant Messaging, LibraryH3lp, Pam Sessoms, UNC
