ATLANTA — Agnes Scott College’s library is one of the first libraries in Georgia to communicate with patrons via text message.
McCain Library began accepting texted questions on Dec. 8 as students prepared for final exams. Extended service hours for texted answers will be offered when spring semester starts on Jan. 12.
The texted questions and requests are sent via the Web to a computer at the library’s reference desk and are answered by library staff during library hours. Texts sent during closed hours will be answered when the library reopens.
The library does not charge a fee to answer, but students are cautioned that their cell phone texting rates may apply if they do not have an unlimited plan.
“Cell phones are so ubiquitous that it made sense to offer this convenience to students, faculty and staff,” said Elizabeth Bagley, director of library services at Agnes Scott. “We’re expecting it to be popular around campus and potentially with our students abroad.”
With support from the Sally and Mary Minter Foundation, the library will be using a product specifically designed to allow libraries to efficiently and securely communicate with their users via texting. Agnes Scott’s library is the first in Georgia to use the Text a Librarian service, according to Mosio, the company that designed and maintains the service.
No complex hardware was required, and staff can answer using software already used at the college to manage patrons’ instant messages. Beyond answering short questions, the library foresees future uses for texting such as being able to alert students or faculty when an interlibrary loan book has arrived for their research, Bagley said.
McCain Library surveyed the campus community and found that a significant percentage was interested in communicating with the library via text, in addition to existing methods of getting research help or information.
“The library will continue to offer its instant message (IM) service, which doubled in usage over the past year, but we’re just as glad to answer questions in person!” Bagley said.
Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Students are drawn to Agnes Scott by its excellent academic reputation, exceptional faculty, and metropolitan Atlanta location – offering myriad cultural and experiential learning opportunities. A diverse and growing residential community of scholars, this highly selective liberal arts and sciences college is known for its dynamic and challenging intellectual community. Encouraging students to engage the wider world through study abroad and presenting its curriculum with international context, Agnes Scott College delivers on its promise: The World for Women.