TXT'ing the Library...a new way of reference

An interesting article came across my email from a colleague of mine in literacy. It is about libraries starting to take advantage of students' interest in text messaging by providing a library reference service through text messaging. This is currently being done in Australia, and the nice feature is that the librarians use email to communicate with the text messages since they are more comfortable with email and it is often easier to type quickly. But students can text from anywhere when they need a reference or have a question. I was thinking this is a fantastic feature for students who do not have computers at home but have their own cell phones. It may help lessen the digital divide. In addition, students on field trips could also use this feature as they are uncovering and discovering new pieces of knowledge (e.g. a field trip to a museum where they want to research about an artist). Also, since the text is stored in their phone, they can retrieve the information at anytime.