If you pay a visit to the library website in coming weeks, you're going to notice one major change. Our friendly little Meebo chat box is gone. As a library, we really like being able to offer a chat feature to our users, so why would we get rid of such a useful tool? Short answer: because we had to .
At the beginning of June, word hit the web that Google was buying Meebo. Here's an article on the purchase if you're interested. Google more likely than not purchased Meebo to use a chat feature within their social network, Google Plus. This means that they decided to shut down Meebo as a free web application that could be embedded in a variety of websites. So, over the last month and a half, the library staff has been evaluating a variety of replacement options. There are quite a few things to consider, including the ability to remain anonymous while asking a question, so don't be surprised if you see us try out one or two different chat features as we figure out what works best for the patrons here at Stewart Memorial Library. If you run into any problems using web chat, please let us know, and please also feel free to email myself, or other members of the library staff if you have a question that needs addressing. Or, you can always drop by the reference department to get your questions answered in person as well. Thanks for your patience as we make this transition, and I hope that you are having a great summer!
-Katelyn, Head of Reference
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