At the Skokie Public Library Twitter has become a nimble, extremely quick, and easy to use internal communication device. A small group of Skokie employees use Twitter to bounce ideas off one another, solve simple issues such as “how do I check something out to missing,” and even answer reference questions.
What makes me excited about this use of Twitter? First it came about totally on its own, nobody planned to use Twitter as a means of communicating. Second is the mass effect of Twitter. I can send a question to many and not have to worry about one particular person being away from their phone/email. The third is the chance of transparency (this is Tame the Web after all). Anybody who wishes can follow and contribute (like you if you want, and why wouldn’t you, lots of cool ideas are being discussed) to what is going on at the SPL.
I find it hard to believe that the SPL is the only library that has started using Twitter for internal communication. I would be interested in hearing what others are discussing and how it came about. I have also recently read about a few companies that are selling internal style Twitter clones and I am curious whether anybody is considering using something of that nature.
Read this awesome story as an example of how Twitter is being used in the private sector http://www.nowpublic.com/world/jetblue-twitterer-gets-customer-wheelchair.
Oddly enough, as I write this, one of Michael’s LIS768 group just finished presenting about Twitter.
Feel free follow some of the Twittering Skokie librarians:
http://twitter.com/theanalogdivide
http://twitter.com/kongtemplation
http://twitter.com/mickjacobsen (this is me)
Mick Jacobsen is Adult Services Librarian at the Skokie Public Library.