Tomorrow afternoon I'm pitching (*cough* mandating *cough*) the idea of IM (instant messaging) reference service to the law library reference staff. Late last night, just as I was about to break down and start prepping my presentation, a huge time-saver appeared in my Bloglines subscriptions in the form of a PowerPoint presentation on that exact topic, courtesy of Sarah Houghton at LibrarianInBlack:

Anyone is welcome to take the presentation, modify it to your heart's content, and use it to explain and promote the use of social software in your own library. Talk to your administrators; rev up the people looking longingly at retirement. We're all in this together, and this might be one way to get everyone on the same page (or at least in the same chapter).

Granted, a law library's patron base doesn't consist of too many kids and teens (which are the focus of much of Sarah's presentation), but the data she provides is, for the most part, easily translatable to the twentysomethings that make up the bulk of the law school student body. All in all, a great introduction for anyone contemplating IM reference service.

[LibrarianInBlack]IM and Other Social Software for Libraries