Sometimes users need to be asked if they need help. This is difficult with online users, because in-person cues cannot be used to engage when the users need assistance. Proactive chat widgets help to solve this problem as the chat box slides out onto the screen and prompts the user for help. The need for the proactive chat widget was also seen as…

Resolving user access issues is inherent in managing electronic resources in libraries. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Library, situated within a predominantly distance learning-centered institution, has developed a series of web-based technical help pages to facilitate resolution of typical issues reported by its…

Central to the ongoing success of the liaison model is the need for liaison librarians to stay informed and up-to-date about recent developments in the subject areas of their assigned academic departments and programs. This article describes an exploratory study conducted to determine whether information obtained from the social media accounts of…

Academic distance learning programs have gained popularity and added to the demand for online library services. Librarians are now conducting instruction for distance learning students beyond their traditional work. Technology advancements have enhanced the delivery mode in distance learning across academic disciplines. Online conference tools…

Web 2.0 tools offer academic libraries new avenues for delivering services and resources to students. In this research we report on a content analysis of 100 US community college libraries' Websites for the availability of Web 2.0 applications. We found Web 2.0 tools utilized by 97% of our sample population and many of these sites contained more…

Microblogging is a relatively new phenomenon in online social networking that has become increasingly prevalent in the last few years. This study explores the use of Twitter in public and academic libraries to understand microblogging patterns. Analysis of the tweets was conducted in two phases: (1) statistical descriptive analysis and (2) content…

Eighteen scholarly papers and fifteen abstracts comprise the content of the seventeenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Conference, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship.…

Gathering qualitative information about usage behavior of library Web sites is a time-consuming process requiring the active participation of patron communities. Libraries that collect virtual reference transcripts, however, hold valuable data regarding how the library Web site is used that could benefit Web designers. An analysis of virtual…

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…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory survey as part of a presentation for the Bridging Worlds 2008 conference. It seeks to understand how library institutions in the South East Asia (SEA) region have implemented Web 2.0 technologies--blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, or the use of services like Flickr, YouTube, de.lici.ous.…

In this article, the author talks about Twitter, a micro-blogging Web site, and how librarians can use Twitter to interact with students and to monitor actual usage of library services. He shares what he has learned from twittering with library users. He learned that Twitter expands the reach of research assistance. With students using the social…

This paper describes chat widgets, chunks of code that can be embedded on a web site to appear as an instant messaging system, and how they can be used on a science library web site to better serve library users. Interviews were conducted concerning experiences at science and humanities libraries and more similarities than differences were…

Twenty-three scholarly papers and twelve abstracts comprise the content of the eleventh annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The peer-reviewed proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of…

The use of virtual or Web-based tours is on the rise in academic libraries, but with the loss of face-to-face contact and direct experience with the library's physical spaces, questions abound about this format's efficacy. Do online tour experiences measure up to those of a guided, face-to-face tour? Do online tours help mold students' perceptions…

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…