Competition in the virtual reference market got really hot this past summer. Recent developments in virtual reference offerings suggest the market is much more dynamic than most people would have imagined a short time ago. With Google's acquisition of Meebo and its subsequent decision to shut down the chat widget service, many libraries scrambled…

Podcasting is a term derived by combining iPod with broadcasting. During 2006, when the idea of podcasting was still in its infancy, this author [an information systems librarian at the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in New Zealand] began to consider how this new technology could be used by librarians to provide instructional sessions. She…

Facebook is a social network that connects people with other people. Librarians have created Facebook Groups to share ideas and to debate how to use this resource as a potential marketing and/or reference tool. Based on conversations among these librarians, it appears that student response to library outreach on this medium is lackluster at best,…

Knowing that some students appreciate their library's value and want to contribute to its new developments, the author sought to generate discussion about her library to know how her library patrons use the internet. At first, she created a blog, but after that attracted few responses, she built a wiki instead, to invite more student interaction.…

Over the last decade, many of Kelvin Smith Library's (KSL) content delivery services have gone digital, and some, such as enhanced course reserves products, are new to the market. The best digital library services have given KSL options and integrated solutions that allow it to do more than it thought possible just a few years ago. As with many…

Smart librarians have always valued their relationships with users and other librarians. The creative force of those relationships is empowered via Web-based social networking, collaboration, and sharing. At Stony Brook University Health Sciences Library in New York, students, faculty, clinicians, and residents expect the latest refinements in…

In this article, the author, a Web development librarian at North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries, recounts how she initiated the implementation of a series of open source communication and collaboration applications for the Libraries' Web site and intranet, and how she gathered a number of tried and tested C&C tools that can…

This article describes the conception, implementation, and current status of Rakim open source software at Midlands Technical college in Columbia, SC. Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a 2-year school in Columbia, S.C. It has two large campuses and three smaller campuses. Although the library functions as a single unit, there are separate…