These are the remaining items I have left in the Playground to look at. You'd think I'd be able to get through them before March 31st, wouldn't you? Well, stay tuned to see if I do it!
Askaway (#20): I've always been curious about this and would love to receive the training. The whole virtual, live chat, whatever you want to call it, reference model has (of course) good points and bad. From the asker's point of view, the "live but anonymous" aspect of it has the potential be great - but from talking to librarians who have worked on Askaway, it seems a good percentage of the questions are trivial and/or silly. There's a session at the upcoming BC Library Ass'n Conference:
"Seeking Synchronicity – Viewpoints of VRS Users, Librarians, and Non-Users on Live Chat Reference
Sustainability is a critical issue for BC's virtual reference service in this time of extremely tight budgets, rapidly changing technology, and continually evolving service models. "Seeking Synchronicity," is an international study that aims to innovatively address current issues concerning the evaluation, sustainability, and ultimately, relevance of chat reference for libraries."
So, maybe Askaway will be no more? Who can say?!
By the way, I now have a paid account on Flickr. There is a limited amount of storage a free account will provide and I found Flickr such a useful and fun way of storing, sharing and manipulating photos I decided to subscribe. I think Flickr is by far and away the best thing I have learned from the Playground. The photo at the top is from my Flickr "photostream." It's "Ka Lae" ("the point" in Hawaiian), also known as "South Point" and is the southernmost point on the Island of Hawaii and therefore the southernmost point in the United States.
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