So it seems that IM has recently become the hot topic. I can’t wait until three years from now when librarians ‘discover’ ipods and start talking about new ways to reach students through mobile devices.
Anyway, on the topic of IM, I want to build an AIM Bot. Tag this as a pipedream, but I had a good talk with Ross a few weeks ago and there is faint possibility that we might work on this over the summer.
Now granted, bots are not new. I’ve seen a presentation on this at CIL (not AIM though) several years ago--- however after a little searching I could not easily find an AIM BOT for libraries. If you know of any, post the screen-name, please!
This is the main menu from the ShoppingBuddy bot:
I’d like to customize it to fit our needs with options like:
- Find Books
- Find Articles
- Explore a Topic
- Get Help (IM us!)
- Library Hours
- Library Classes & Workshops
- Check Your Account
- Renew Your Books
- Reserve the Rehearsal Studio
It could really supplement to our website. I think if marketed correctly it could be kind of cool. Go strong with it during the freshmen orientation. Plaster the screen-name (illegally) all over the dorms and campus. Print napkins for the café with the name on it. Buy a full page add in the student paper with the entire page blank except in the middle: GTLibraryBot, buddy list us! Create a since of mystery/intrigue. Let people find it. Make them want to b-list you to see what the hype is all about. Word of mouth with take over after that.