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p.13 24/7 SMS service consortium (2009): Alliance Library System, SJSU, TAP Information Services, Bradley University, South Central Regional Library Council & Altarama Information Systems. Article includes statistics on cell phone usage & texting from 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project survey ("58 percent of Americans surveyed have sent or received text messages") and 2008 Student Monitor survey ("nearly nine in ten students own a cellular telephone"; "students spend 37.8 percent of their cellphone usage time texting")

-utilization of SMS reference services can establish a connection with patrons, and establish the library is receptive to new ideas -limitations to SMS services can be overcome -length: use URL shorteners or multiple texts, or use one text to invite the patron to call for a longer answer -SMS shorthand can be learned/acquired -SMS staffing can be an issue, but can be handled at multiple access points *people's changing perceptions of access and networking make SMS reference more feasible. *users want short pieces of info more frequently, perfect for the SMS format *with the rise of smartphones, URL shortened links can be sent and accessed immediately

p.252 No clear distinction between questions that may challenge librarians' comfort levels and those that cannot be answered for truly technical reasons; typically answered in 2-4 hours p256 "reference" questions take longer; p.258 where a "thank you" was received, on average, was three times faster than the response time for no "thank you"; 8% were from users in the library.

*SMS reference services perhaps another way to reinforce social media weak links? -SMS services not as quick and pointed as previously expected, but instead could take as much time as any other transaction *But, are they more convenient?? Texting allows response in user's time! -" What all of these differences indicate is that users and librarians both treat SMS as a reference conversation in which both parties are willing to invest texts and time."

p.403 SMS reference early adopters: Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia & Southeastern Louisiana University, USA. p.404 unless you are quite concise, librarians may need to learn some texting abbreviations. It is possible to send the response in multiple messages (known as spanning); however, our librarians try very hard to fit a reply into one.It is made very clear that SMS reference should be used for short simple factual questions.

-text messaging popular among younger users, perhaps a way to keep users involved with the library? -text message reference can relieve some of the barriers to reference (embarrassment, language, location) *social media reference can do the same!

SMS text messaging services in libraries

Google Voice by far the most popular option for libraries. Its features allow email, text and phone reference all frmo one account, at multiple access points. However: http://www.textalibrarian.com/mobileref/why-we-dont-use-the-google-voice-as-an-sms-gateway-its-illegal/ (violates Google Terms of Service, technically) but: http://www.slideshare.net/chadmairn/using-text-messaging-to-enhance-library-services

From slides: Teen online activities: 94% do research for school, 81% research entertainment (movies, sports stars, TV shows, music), 57% watched videos, 55% research universities and schools, 48% bought something. Mentioned activities: fan fiction, teen remixed videos, rate the teacher, ebooks / texting, photo-taking and sharing, homework help. Typical number of texts per day: mean 112. median 50 (teen texters). 8% of teens 12-17 on Twitter.

-reading as a "social contact sport" *how to make the library meme-worthy for teens -94% of students do research for assignments online (steer them to the library how? Create events around exam time? Market the library's databases and librarians ready to assist, etc. Invest in YA eBooks that can be downloaded to devices -teens share, remix and blog more than then average population -avg teen sends 112 text/day *library SMS services can target teens -teens owning smartphones: 35% *mobile apps, games, video, SMS... all ways to target YA audience for libraries *teens are more likely to cross disciplines in research and writing... nothing is merely itself anymore, everything can be, and is connected to more

Women text more than men; Black and Hispanic people text more than whites; lower income households text the most; those with less than high school education text more

-73% of adults text at least at some time. Young adults text the most. Black and Hispanic persons text and call more often than whites. *texting is a simple form of communication, embraced more readily by people of lower socio-economic status/minority status... *but why? The prevalence of pay-as-you-go plans which include all forms of communication with purchase? Younger people/lower-income w/ bad credit/minorities are more likely to use these *using SMS to conduct reference/chat/info seeking habits of YAs

May 2011: From slides: among those living below the poverty line who use library Internet connections: 61% of 14-24 year olds used it for school; 54% of poor seniors used it for health/wellness. 85% of adults are cell phone owners; in May 2010 76% used cell phones to take a picture, 72% to send or receive text messages; 54% send photo or video via cell phone; in 2010, 24% of cell phone users use apps. 69% of Internet users watch videos online

-rise of 'networked individualism' where groups decline as social media rises *SNS allow like-minded individuals to find each other and form support groups, even over long distances -"5th Estate of content contributors" -broadband access allows more people to create and remix content, and share it too -consequences for info ecosystem: volume, vibrance, velocity, (rele)valance *more content can be created, consumed and shared faster... SNSs just heighten that effect -know what users need from the library, and offer it via multiple access points online -cell phones are smartphones are social tools *your network in your pocket

-libraries now need to seek out people, rather than being the place where people came for information *librarians can still guide patrons to good info, and help imprint good online practices -libraries can be "nodes" or weak links in social networks *the network in the pocket, and the resource a patron uses when info is needed... weak links accessed only for info purposes are fine -patrons are not literate in the online world, despite what they think! *there's where librarians can take charge

Sept 2011: 78% have Internet at home, 61% have broadband at home; 83% of all adults have mobile devices and 73% of adult cell owners use text messaging at least occasionally; 35% own smartphones; 64% of cell phone users send photos or videos and 55% access social networking sites; 60% of cell phone users who are on Twitter use the cell phone to access Twitter. "New media are the new neighborhood." 48% of those active in groups say group has a social networking page on site such as Facebook; 42% say group uses text messaging; 30% say group has own blog; 16% say group uses Twitter.

*the new neighborhood is online. How to maintain relationships there? What is the library's role? "Sentry? Evaluator?" *each social network has its own etiquette, thus its own way of bridging and maintaining "social capital" *with the explosion of "creators and niches", how to remain relevant and visible? *if in the "information ecosystem" we are all alone together, then how do libraries fit? Lurking in the background, or always a friendly presence just around the corner? *technology allows the time to better-connected with groups... less effort to maintain social capital

as advances in technology increase, so does the importance of social networks in everyday lives. "Together we are more alone than ever" means that as we can carry our networks with us, and latent or weak connections become more important.

-"An interdisciplinary approach that brings together views and expertise from sociology, urban studies, interaction design, and related disciplines will assist with efforts to facilitate urban neighborhood community building, social inclusion, public consultation and debate, fair access to local information and services, urban sustainability, and healthier local economies." (66) *this interdisciplinary approach can work for libraries too! -""portfolio of sociability"" (67) *collection of virtual tools that help to establish and maintain connections (both close, weak and latent) -"The Internet has not substituted but supplemented off-line interaction with online interaction...the Internet as well as mobile communication devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and personal digital assistants (PDA) allow people to maintain social ties in different ways by taking advantage of new features." (67) *people use these devices to strengthen already existing ties, not create new ones, mostly -"Wellman argues that, while people become more accustomed with the features these tools offer, the nature of the social ties that people establish and maintain changes from "door-to-door" and "place-to-place" relationships to "person-to-person" and "role-to-role" relationships. He creates a holistic theoretical framework that builds on the dual nature in the interplay between community and the individual. He describes the emerging qualities of this behavior as networked individualism." (67) *as location becomes less important, networks become more important. People are less attracted to that which is in their geographical area, and more inclined to seek out like-minded people in similar areas of interest

-"The act of reappropriation (e.g., from the professional use of a pager to the social use of SMS) implies that there are opportunities to design and develop purpose-built systems from the ground up, which, instead of merely trying to make ends meet, take the unique requirements into account of the social- and place-based context in which they are used. (67) *tech can be re-purposed to market and develop community ties *people used to have to deal with geographical restrictions, and created social networks from geography, not interest or desire. This led, for some people, to an atrophying of interests, due to lack of community. SNSs allow people to find other people with shared interests, and develop them. Libraries can assist in shared communities over SNSs by providing links and resources to a variety of information. -"Place and proximity continue to matter in every socioeconomic context, because there are no Internet applications that can completely substitute real-time, co-located, face-to-face interaction" (68) *engage them online, bring them into the library proper *neighborhood ties still matter, but now they are place-independent. While proximity matters for some interactions, the majority of social ties can be maintained independently of physical location

-In the absence of a common enemy, a shared purpose or a pre-existing village-like atmosphere, are there other reasons and motivations for social encounters to occur and for the formation of residential networks in urban neighborhoods? (72) *the idea of urban tribes, still loosely held together by geography but now also united by common interest (people can find each other in large cities) -"The findings of these sociological studies provide essential insights for a new design methodology that can guide the successful development of interactive systems and devices that can stimulate local interaction and animate urban neighborhoods." (73) *bring people to libraries! (even if they just visit online at an eBranch) *in order to be effective, people must participate in the design and implementation of the project. They have to have a voice. *no more one-way channels of broadcasting, there has to be communication and an exchange of ideas between institution and people in order to foster that sense of community *where the author talks about the size, growth and critical mass of the perceived system, he is talking about FB (refers to it as an "urban tribe incubator")