Instant Messaging....11

Considering this piece of software technology has been out for a while now it is hard to get rid of some preconceived notions namely that predators and other undesirables use it to prey on the unsuspecting, but as with any tool its not how its being used but who is using it that means anything, for instance setting up a public research library with a web portal that allowed IM services could potentially provide a full access reference service for professionals worldwide something people from Charlotte to Tokyo could use for free. The only problem to my knowledge would be availability. What would someone in a vastly different timezone do with a service that's closed when he needs it...but then again that's not for me to figure out now is it?