Library Journal has an article about using IM in libraries for both VR and for communication amongst staff. A member of our IT Department pointed the article out to the Librarians at large for discussion on our listserv here at work. I already wrote a reply stating my strong support of it. In the LIS Blogsphere, this has been discussed quite a bit, but I feel like there is a lot of resistance to using IM. The main argument against it is often that it can be used to goof off on company time, but what form of communication does not create this inherent problem? IM is a free service that we, as librarians and libraries, could use to reach patrons, especially students who use this form of communication as much as their cell phones.
–Jane, my two cents are never worth much