Virtual Reference: Maryland's AskUsNow Celebrates 300,000 Questions and Coverage in Baltimore Sun
Here's something you don't see everyday (however it would be great to see on a regular basis). A really great article about a virtual reference service.
In this case, an article in the Baltimore Sun is about AskUsNow, a virtual reference service in Maryland. On Friday, Mr. Edward Landa of Silver Spring, MD (hey, that's where Gary lives, just outside the DC border) asked question 300K.
In all, 275 librarians — 22 in Baltimore County — participate in the program that started as a partnership between Harford and Baltimore counties and went statewide five years ago. It now includes 39 Maryland public and private library systems, the Maryland Law Library and several academic libraries at area colleges and high schools.
People with questions can log into AskUsNow! from anywhere via e-mail. A librarian at one of the participating libraries typically acknowledges a message quickly. If necessary, librarians chat with the questioners to reach a better understanding of what they are asking. In most cases, the answer arrives within a few minutes.
The 300,000 Question
Edward Landa, the designated 300,000th questioner, came to Dundalk from Silver Spring with a copy of the e-mailed answer he recently received. A geologist with the federal government, Landa was working on a research paper when he came across a Depression-era acronym that he could not decipher. A Google search gave him far too many possibilities, but AskUsNow! located the definition and provided him sources on the time frame.
[Snip]
It's All About the Question
"Questions don't have business hours," said Julie Strange, statewide coordinator. "We are here for homework and for those who don't have regular access to the library."
With any luck and at any hour, a librarian can evaluate sources and sites and give a prompt, reliable answer, [Jim] DeArmey [Baltimore County Library's information services coordinator] said.
"We are humans answering other humans' questions," he said. "We use Google and a whole lot more. A real live person will give you an answer and the resources we used. We can even send the exact pages we used to the customer."
1) Congrats to my friends and neighbors on this milestone.
2) More congrats and kudos for getting the Baltimore Sun to send a reporter and photographer and get this article into the paper. We would love if AskNow shared the story behind the story, so everyone might be able to benefit from it.
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