Dear libraries of Washington State,
Are your users on the internet? I’m willing to bet that a lot of them are.
Do they use chat software to communicate? IM tools like ICQ and AIM have been around since 1996/1997 (respectively), and companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! all provide IM services. Chat and IM aren’t new, and lots of people use them to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues.
Chat and email are probably the two most-used methods for online communication.
So, can your users employ these methods to contact your library? To ask you questions? To tap into your expertise?