The highlight of the Anne Lipow seminar was a CUSeeMe demonstration. There were problems with it. This of course was an issue for both the library and the client. Chat services operate in real time and are interactive, up to a point. The client asks a question and the librarian answers it.
Users click on a button and are then able to converse with a person via a computer keyboard.
When the operator has responded, you ask a question and await the response. You can view the history of the conversation. Humanclick is a free download, so it doesn t represent a major financial hurdle for a library that wishes to start a chat reference service. It is certainly interactive, and it does take place in real time, but it s more or less one dimensional. It is also used on many commercial sites.