Ask A Librarian

So you’ve just finished watching your favorite TV or news program, or listening to your favorite radio show. For the last hour, they touted the brilliance of someone’s latest novel or nonfiction read. The damage is done – your interest is piqued. All you’re thinking now is, "I’ve got to read this book."

You… and maybe just a few other people. (Anyone remember Tickle-Me Elmo?) Well, the first step is to head straight to your library’s catalog – either in-person or online – and see if you’ve beaten the rest of those viewers or listeners to the punch. Your library may have anticipated the wave of heightened interest and ordered extra copies, so you may be able to stake your claim then and there. But if not – if your library’s copies are already checked out – make sure you place a hold on that title. Your library will put you on a waiting list just for that title. As the items are returned, they are set aside for those next on the waiting list. Your library will notify you as soon as your book is ready. And if for some reason your library doesn’t own a copy of the book, don’t despair - your library’s Interlibrary Loan service may be able to borrow the book from another library system.

Your library’s catalog lets you place holds – and sometimes even Interlibrary Loan requests – online from the convenience of your computer. If you need help finding a book, placing a hold, or just getting more information on how to place an Interlibrary Loan request through your library, visit Ask a Librarian today and get live help from a real Florida librarian. No matter what you’re looking for, we’ll help you find it.

What can we help you with today?

Ask a Librarian

Everyone’s headed back to school – from first-time kindergartners to non-traditional college students, teachers and faculty, parents, and even your library’s friendly staff, no one is immune to the Back to School bug. And every fall, when classes roll in, Ask a Librarian – Florida’s statewide virtual reference service - helps countless users find what they need to make a strong start. Not sure what you need? No problem! We can help you find books on certain topics, books for specific ages, grades, or reading levels, books in different languages, print size, and other formats, and much more. You tell us where you are or where you want to be, and we’ll help you locate the resources to get you on your way. Librarians across Florida are standing by and ready to help you through live chat. What are people asking?

My 3rd grade daughter has to do a book report. Can you recommend any books for her?
Need help finding a book for my history class! It needs to be about colonialism.
I am a teacher looking for books appropriate for 5th graders (not too easy; not too hard).
As an education major, how can I find age-specific books for children? Are there any resources to get me started?

Your library has tons of resources available, in print and online, to help everyone move to the head of the class. No matter what you’re looking for, we’ll help you find it!

What can we help you with today?

Ask a Librarian on You Tube

YouTube has a new channel called "Search Stories." Susan Smith from Hodges University created a very dramatic video about Ask a Librarian.
It's great!

Check it out at:
http://askalibrarian.org/blog/?p=981

Ask a Librarian March Madness Month

Ask a Librarian is celebrating March Madness Month. Each day with Ask a Librarian brings a surprising fact, a fun activity, or an Ask a Librarian award ... and a chance to brag about our incredible services! The best way to do that is through physical marketing or Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) so - Spread the Word!

Inform your users with these talking points:
* For live help when you're not in our library, visit askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library's website).
* You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
* Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
* Ask a Librarian is open until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
* If Ask a Librarian isn't open for chat, you can always email your question to us, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.

Ask A Librarian Goes Mobile!

You don't just need a librarian when they're sitting in front of your computer. You need us when you're driving across the state, or ordering dinner in a restaurant, or playing Trivial Pursuit with friends.

We proudly introduce Ask a Librarian Mobile, which allows you to access Ask a Librarian from your cell phone, PDA or any other Web-enabled handheld device.

We’ve been working hard to take our service to the next level, and we're excited to offer just one more way for you to take advantage of our valuable service right when you need us. Currently, only our email service is available through Ask A Librarian Mobile.

The URL for the mobile interface is http://www.askalibrarian.org/mobile/ or http://www.askalibrarian.org/m.

Our next step is to implement the live chat service. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Here's some Ask A Librarian Mobile FAQs.