Plinkit: Not just for the smallest libraries
Plinkit is based on Plone, an open source content management system -- and that means there are all sorts of way to extend the functionality of a Plinkit site. By Darci Hanning (Oregon)
Snippet from Tillamook's Plinkit site, highlighting their IM reference service.
The Tillamook County Library is probably one of the larger libraries in Oregon using Plinkit. As their staff and expertise expands, so do the services they can offer their patrons through their Plinkit website.
When Luke Kralik joined the Tillamook County Library last March as a Reference Librarian, he took one look at the library's Plinkit site and started coming up with new ideas. One such idea was to begin providing IM reference services right from the home page. In conjunction with Darci Hanning (Oregon's Plinkit Administrator and Library Technology Consultant from the Oregon State Library), Luke first used Meebo to generate the necessary javascript code to be included on their home page. About a month later the decision was made to switch from Meebo to the open source tool, libraryh3lp.
Since providing IM reference service, Luke has noted that they get several reference questions a day and in addition to helping patrons with reference questions, the IM widget is also used for communication among staff from branches around the county -- way to go, Tillamook!
