At the future of libraries 6.0 conference, Sarah Houghton-Jan discussed Tech support tools — one of them was Meebo. Meebo is a state of the art all in one Instant Messaging Program.
I worked with a Library software company and one of the most useful tools shared amongst the staff is using Instant message to chat with other staff.
You don’t need to call or write an email but just type in for example “S.O.S.” when you need help.
I believe we should at least consider this for a trial amongst a few people to start.
Instant messaging can be a life saving when time is of the essence and/or a problem requires immediate attention.
As an example, we can use IM in two different ways: Internal for staff and External for patrons.
The clients below provide IM services:
- Meebo
- Trillian
- Pidgin
- Miranda
- LibraryH31p
- Google talk
- Yahoo messenger
- AOL instant messenger
- Windows Live messenger
There are many other IM clients available but these are starters for consideration.
Lets think, consider and experiment!
Shiok
BPL Think Tank 
I have also had good experiences using IM (specifically Trillian, but others I’m sure are great also) in other workplaces.
I think it could be really useful at BPL, in particular as a safety tool shared among all public desks and security. I can imagine IMing to security in a particularly heated situation instead of having to call and have the patron hear our “report.” It could also be an effective way for all the branches to get information about challenging patrons in a timely manner.
Andrea