I just finished meeting with the reference staff concerning IM reference, and I'm happy to say that we're set to begin offering our reference services via instant messaging to our students, faculty, and staff over the next few weeks (first as a summer-long pilot project -- then as a permanent service). We just need to obtain a catchy screen name, get Trillian installed on everyone's machine's, and schedule "desk" coverage for the summer. In addition, we'll also begin offering reference service via email, a service that's long, long overdue for us.

One of the major advantages we have in implementing a virtual reference plan is affiliation with an institution already experienced in providing IM reference service: UNLV's Lied Library (the university's main campus library). The librarians at Lied have been providing chat reference in one form or another for quite some time, including service via the major IM providers (AIM, MSN, and Yahoo!) for the last year. Hopefully, we can work with Lied on some mutually useful collaborations once we're up to speed with our own service. (For more on Lied's IM service, read Sherri Vokey's post on the topic from last year over at schwagbag.)

Fortunately, this looks to be just the first major development for us in a summer filled with technology projects. More to come soon.