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Invitation to Negotiate Update

Ask a Librarian signs contract for new software platform

Ask a Librarian plans for future growth with InstantService

Ask a Librarian officials announced today that they signed a contract with InstantService to provide Ask a Librarian's new software platform. Ask a Librarian is a free online service that allows Floridians to chat live with a librarian for immediate assistance.

The statewide service has increased in usage by almost 200 percent and in participating libraries by more than 150 percent since its 2003 inception, with strong continued growth expected. InstantService's range and flexibility will provide unlimited support for Ask a Librarian's growing needs.

"InstantService will allow us to greatly expand Ask a Librarian, creating an even better forum for our customers to get information," said Diana Sachs-Silveira, Virtual Reference Manager for Ask a Librarian. "We're excited about what this positive change means for our users and our participating libraries."

Visit www.askalibrarian.org for more information about the Ask a Librarian service. Visit www.instantservice.com for more information about InstantService.

Ask a Librarian is a joint service of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium and the College Center for Library Automation and is funded as part of the Florida Electronic Library (www.flelibrary.org) by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.

The Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Inc. (TBLC) is a nonprofit multi-type library cooperative that assists and empowers libraries. Since 1979, TBLC has worked with member libraries to provide better, faster service and resource sharing to the residents of Florida. For more information, call (813) 622-8252 or visit www.tblc.org.

The College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) operates the statewide Library Information Network for Community Colleges (LINCC) and associated Web-based information portal, LINCCWeb, from its headquarters in Tallahassee, Fla. As an administered program of the Florida Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges, CCLA serves 79 community college libraries in 65 cities throughout Florida. For more information, visit www.cclaflorida.org.