I think the last idea with a doorbell is on the right track. Forget tiny
notifications on individuals' computers and instead put up a screen in a
central spot which you can use as an informal notice board and buzzer,
connected perhaps to a webcam or security image so people can see the
traffic and know if help is still needed before the alert times out. Just
my two cents... It could show tweets or news when not in use/alert mode. I
was working on similar software powered by wordpress in 2011, using a full
screen web browser on a TV. Heck, thinking about it further, some kind of
private twitter might work (e.g. p2 theme of wordpress) so that those
responding could let people know... And it might have interesting social
purposes too.

Just my 2¢,
Louis.
On Feb 21, 2013 11:01 PM, "Andreas Orphanides" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> It strikes me from a couple of people's comments -- and from some of my own
> experiences -- that there's more going on here than just implementation.
> The right implementation is important for adoption, of course, but for a
> backup system to be helpful it needs to encourage compliance -- including
> things like having the backup folks available for monitoring, remembering
> to sign in / turn on walkie talkie / charge batteries, etc. This is
> definitely the place where we struggle. We have BOTH an IM-based
> beckon-help system AND walkie talkies for intra- and inter-departmental
> help requests. But it's very easy to not log into pidgin, to forget that
> there's a chat widget on the staff dashboard where you can page help, to
> not pick up the radio at the beginning of a shift. Does anyone have any
> ideas about how to make this stuff more natural and automatic? Are there
> lessons we can learn from the retail world that will help us monitor
> service points better?
>
> Also, on some level, the most low-tech solutions can be effective. Right
> now the paging system that's had the best track records is this: one of
> those hardware store doorbells with a battery-operated button that signals
> a remote chime. The button sits on the reference desk and we mash it if the
> line starts growing. People in the reference office hear it and come out to
> help. The biggest technological hurdle for this system is that the button
> is at the very edge of its transmission range, so sometimes mashing on the
> button doesn't actually signal the chime.
>
> This solution doesn't meet your dedicated staff subset requirement, but I
> wonder if there's something that simple that would work.
>
> Anyway, right now I'm just letting my thoughts spin wildly. But this is an
> interesting and practical problem that I'd love to hear more solutions to!
>
> Andreas Orphanides
> NCSU Libraries
>
> On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 10:33 PM, Shirley Lincicum <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > I wrote a little app in PHP to address this exact problem. I wrote it to
> > work the the LibraryH3lp webchat service, but the code could probably be
> > adapted to another context. You can download the source code and
> > instructions here: http://shirley.alptown.com/SOS_Button.zip
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Shirley Lincicum
> >
> > On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 7:57 AM, Greenspun, Cindy
> > <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> >
> > > Hello -
> > >
> > > I'm a newbie to this listserv.  I'm not a librarian, nor am I a coder.
> > I
> > > primarily do systems related work with our library management system,
> run
> > > SQL reports as needed and project management.  I also work for Access
> > > Services and even though I'm considered IT, I'm not in the library IT
> > > department.  This is a new position in my department and we're still
> > > figuring things out as we go along.
> > >
> > > I work in one of the many libraries at Yale University.  In the
> > department
> > > I work in, we have three busy service points - two circulation desks
> and
> > a
> > > privileges/registration office.  There are about 50/60 staff members
> and
> > > roughly 50+ student employees who rotate at these service points.
>  There
> > > are times when there are students who are late reporting to a service
> > > point, no-shows, or suddenly there's a long line and only one person
> at a
> > > staffed service desk.  At a meeting recently, I was listening to a work
> > > leader lament how, if she is the only person there, she is just too
> busy
> > to
> > > make a phone call or send an email asking for help - a common
> occurrence.
> > >  After I heard her, I wondered how possible it would be to create some
> > sort
> > > of desktop 'app'.  One that requires only one click and is smart enough
> > to
> > > know its service desk location and is sent to the right folks who could
> > > come assist right away, upon demand.  These would be on Windows
> > > workstations.
> > >
> > > Recently, I've seen many encouraging responses to the latest 'getting
> > > started...' emails and feel motivated to write to this listserv as I'm
> > > eager to learn and to try to do this myself.  I hope that this will be
> a
> > > simple enough project for me but I'm just not sure where to start or
> > what I
> > > should be looking at.  So, here I am, not a librarian, nor a coder.  I
> > > write to this listserv seeking suggestions, ideas and encouragement.
>  :)
> > >
> > > Thank you -
> > > Cindy
> > >
> >
>