Text Messaging

From IPL Wiki

by Amy Boxer

Contents 1 What is it? 2 Who does it? 3 How are libraries involved? 4 Who are the service providers and what is the cost? 5 Conclusion 6 References

What is it?

Text messaging, also called SMS (short message service) is a way of sending short text messages to and from cell phones. Phone users usually need to pay a monthly fee to a service provider or a small fee for every text message, but some companies offer SMS for free. It is also possible to send text messages from certain Web sites. SMS messages are usually limited to 150-160 characters (Bernatchez, 2007).

Who does it?

In 2006, Virgin Mobile estimated that 700 million text messages were sent each year in the United States – and text messaging is actually even more popular in most other countries (Potter, 2006). While text messaging was used initially as a means of communication, primarily by teenagers, it has expanded into a wide variety of categories, including business and travel. The most interesting of these include athlete recruitment (Goldman, 2007), Islamic divorce (BBC News, 2003), and firing people (Textually.org, 2005). More library-related uses include classic works of literature being condensed into text messages (Wainwright, 2005), and of course, reference services.

One pioneer in text messaging and reference services was Google SMS. Within the United States, you can text a short information query to 46645 (GOOGL) and receive a free answer within minutes (of course, you do have to pay a cell phone carrier to send and receive texts). There is also a service called AskMeNow, which will answer questions sent by text message, as long as the answer is available on the Internet (Hines, 2005). AskMeNow currently charges .25USD per question to US users (it’s free for Canadian users). Their Web site says you can use them anywhere in the world, but you need to have your cell phone set up through a North American carrier (AskMeNow, n.d.).

How are libraries involved?

Several libraries worldwide have begun addressing information needs through text messaging technology. Text messaging reference services have been instituted in libraries in Australia, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom (Hill, Hill, & Sherman, 2007).

Southeastern Lousiana University received a grant in 2005 to implement short messaging service for reference (Stephens, 2007). They became the first library in the United States (and possibly the world) to develop a text messaging reference service (Hill, Hill, & Sherman, 2007). They receive “short answer reference questions, non-serious questions, library questions, and sometimes more complex questions.” Many of the librarians at SELU learned to use text messaging after Hurricane Katrina, when for many people it was the only communication option (Stephens, 2007).

Drawbacks of using SMS for reference include the fact that it is considered a “less serious” form of communication. The fact that messages are limited to 160 characters can make it less convenient. The library is currently using Australian firm Altarama, which uses an Australian phone number that doesn’t work with all student’s phones. One librarian at SELU already has ideas for other uses of SMS, including “library outreach, instruction/learning, ILL alerts, overdue material alerts, and the SMS broadcast of messages promoting special library events and tours” (Stephens, 2007).

The Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia and the Southbank Institute of Technology in Brisbane, Australia have also implemented SMS reference. Orange County Library of Florida provides an SMS reference service as well. More information about them is provided below.

Who are the service providers and what is the cost?

SELU uses Altarama Information Systems as their service provider. According to the Altarama Web site at http://www.altarama.com.au/, Altarama “develops, supplies, and supports software and services that improve information management in libraries, with a special focus on the needs of reference librarians.” They have a service called “Reference by SMS” which provides the library with a unique cell phone number, which can then be advertised as the number for SMSing the library. SMS’s received by that number are delivered to a library email address. A librarian monitors the email and provides responses via email, which are then automatically delivered to the client’s cell phone by SMS (Altarama Information Systems, 2006). SELU stated that the service is “virtually very inexpensive,” at about $1100 to start up, with 1000 messages a year (Stephens, 2007).

Like SELU, Curtin uses Altarama as their technology provider, but Southbank Institute uses MessageNet, another Australian company. MessageNet’s technology isn’t specifically designed for academic libraries, but was found to be cheaper, enabling the library to stay within their budget but still implement SMS technology (Herman, 2007).

Orange County Libraries don’t use Altarama. Their Web site indicates that you don’t need to call an Australian phone number to access their SMS reference system. Instead you can use a short code to SMS them a reference question (a short code is a special telephone number used to send SMS messages which is shorter than a normal telephone number) rather than needing to call an Australian phone number. Service providers Verizon, Sprint, AT&T/Cingular, Nextel, Boost, Alltel and Dobson (Cellular One) support their service (Texting @ OCLS, n.d.).

Conclusion

SMS/text messaging is an interesting new technology, especially for Information Studies. With so many people using text messaging around the world, it’s an ideal tool for libraries to pick up and implement – and they can also find exciting new uses for it.

References

Altarama Information Systems (2006). Reference by SMS. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.altarama.com.au/

AskMeNow (n.d.). FAQ’s. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.askmenow.com/Faq.aspx

BBC News (2003). Malaysia permits text message divorce. BBC News. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http:// news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3100143.stm

Bernatchez, E. (2007). What does SMS text messages mean? About.com. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http:// cellphones.about.com/od/cell_phone_glossary/g/sms.htm

Goldman, T. (2007). NCAA eyes ban on ‘texting’ sports recruits. NPR. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9843316

Herman, S. (2007). SMS reference: keeping up with your clients. Electronic version. The Electronic Library. V25 (4) 401-408.

Hill, J.B., Hill, C.M., & Sherman, D. (2007). Text messaging in an academic library: integrating SMS into digital reference. Electronic version. The Reference Librarian V47 (1)

Hines, S. (2005). Text messaging/SMS reference services. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.lib.umt.edu/services/infoissues/archive/nov2005.htm

Potter, N. (2006). Digital age hazard: Sore thumbs. ABC News. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1646688&page=1

Stephens, M. (2007). Can u txt the lbry? Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2007/06/can-u-txt-the-lbry.html

Texting @ OCLS (n.d.). Text message OCLS for answers! Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.ocls.info/xplor/default.asp?bhcp=1

Textually.org (2005). 23 sport newspaper staffers fired by SMS. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/06/008736.htm

Wainwright, M. (2005). If you don’t want to know how bleak house ends, look away now. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1644241,00.html

Text Messaging by Amy Bokser, Internet Public Library Learning Community site

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