Instant answer?

I am surprised how often my conversations turn to something library related as soon as I mention to someone that I plan to be a librarian. For example, someone asked the other if librarians were hesitant to do IM reference with slow or one-key-at-a-time typists. I remember in my reference class practicing IM reference on the chat fuction of D2L--the online course facilitator my university uses. The person playing the patron would ask a question and the "librarian" would usually ask another to start the reference interview process. The idea of IM is instant answers, and what I remember is being afraid of keeping the patron waiting too long. I would try to type something like "I am searching for an answer...be back in a minute." The other issue as with any IM conversation was keeping track of what was happening if we each sent more than one response.

I suppose, on the other end, it would be a little frustrating to deal with those who hen-peck in a virtual setting. I have found that people who have a difficult time typing usually try to avoid it. I wonder if they would use IM at all. I am not the fastest typist in the world, so I would probably be fairly patient if someone seemed to struggle. I would want to provide the best service possible even if it meant waiting. Although IM reference was not as fun for me as face-to-face transations, I see its value. I think it will be become more prevelent because the adults of tomorrow are so used to being online. Slow typing may become a non-issue. On the other hand, reference transactions will probably need to take place in several formats because we do not want to contribute to the information divide.