Virtual Reference--Wondir Wondir Nears Alpha Stage
We�ve learned from Wondir Foundation co-founder�s Matt Koll and Laura Horn that the Wondir database and question answering service is within a week or two of an Alpha release. What�s Wondir all about? From the site, �The Wondir information service will help people find practical, focused answers to questions, with an emphasis on connecting people who have questions with other people who can provide needed help. These experts, tutors, mentors, enthusiasts, and peers could be volunteering on their own or as part of an organized online help program, such as an AskA service, government or social service, corporation, civic group, professional association, university, school or library. In addition to live resources, Wondir will make extensive use of FAQs, stored Q&As and other searchable web resources. Relevant human resources will be integrated into the results and featured in a targeted way.� Wondir is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. From day one, the Wondir Foundation has been soliciting the opinions and advice from throughout the information professional community. In fact, librarian, digital reference guru and AskERIC director David Lankes (Syracuse University), info retrieval expert Bruce Croft (University of Massachusetts), and a guy named Gary Price (:, are part of Wondir�s advisory board. Matt and Laura welcome your opinions and comments. They are also continuing to actively recruit volunteers (individuals and organizations) to assist in answering questions and guiding users. Review the web site, learn more about the project, and consider getting involved. More about Wondir as it happens. See Also: If Your're Interested in Doing Some Volunteer Work for Wondir,
please contact friends_of_wondir@wondir.org See Also: Learn More About Wondir via this SearchDay Article
and since we're on the subject of Virtual Reference...
The FreePint Family is a family of resources to help information workers be more effective, raise the value of information in their organisations and contribute to success.
'FreePint... provides most of my professional development because it won't come through work and [other resources] just don't cut it.'
FUMSI Forum: Do you have a research question? Post it to the FUMSI Forum, where professionals share Q&A and useful tips on how to Find, Use, Manage and Share Information. It's free.
FreePint Shop:
VIP LiveWire:
