Commercial chat service and IM
I asked the GDP of Bahrain question at each library to help compare the two different interactions.
I first used a commercial service through a public library website. I was unsure if this would work considering the software requirements. I use Linux at home, and on top of that, I use a browser called Epiphany instead of Firefox. I really did not expect it to work and planned on doing this part at work while using a Windows machine. But...it worked! Or, at least the chat part did. I signed on and asked my question at 7:30pm and was connected to a librarian by 7:32. The librarian introduced herself and mentioned what organization she was with and clarified that she was not affiliated with my local library. Before she began her search she asked if I needed to know anything else about Bahrain or just the GDP. I told her that was all I needed and she started her search. After a somewhat lengthy wait (several minutes) she responded with the cia.gov URL. The webpage-push function didn't work, but I was able to copy and past the URL and see the info. I thanked her and told her that was just what I was looking for, and she said that this source has a lot of good information. I thanked her again and logged out. Despite the slight technical limitations and the delay, I got the exact information I needed, and the librarian was polite and helpful.
I used an IM service through a university library and asked the same question. I received a response almost immediately after asking my question, with the librarian introducing herself. She then said she would "look around for a bit." After a very brief wait, she sent a URL pointing to State Department website that included the info. She also pointed out that the info was from 2006. I told her that this was what I needed, and she said to let her know if I had any other questions.
I was impressed with the ease and quality of both interactions. Both librarians were both polite and succinct and pointed me to good resources. I do prefer the simplicity of IMing to the more bulky commercial service. With the first service I was happy just to see it work at all, considering I had no part of the required software. But still, I was getting less than the intended experience. With IM, I was able to quickly get an answer and not feel like I was missing out on anything by using a less-popular operating system.
Transcript from IM session:
AskLibrary3: Hello, Matt. Can I help you with anything today?
Matt: I just need to know--What is the Gross Domestic Product per capita of Bahrain?
AskLibrary3: Hi Matt
AskLibrary3: This is ___ at College Library
AskLibrary3: Let me look around a bit
Matt: Thank you... I appreciate your help.
AskLibrary3: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26414.htm
AskLibrary3: look under the Economy heading
AskLibrary3: and it is the first figure listed
AskLibrary3: it is from 2006 though'
Matt: Thanks...I'm waiting for it to load...
Matt: That looks like just what I need. Thanks!
AskLibrary3: Sure, happy to help
AskLibrary3: Let me know if you have any other questions
Matt: That's all for now. Thanks again. Bye
And now a frustration with the commercial service: An hour later and I have not received an email containing a transcript of the session. I'll update this if it ever comes in, or if I can find it in my cache.
