With Ask a Librarian, you are connected to a librarian who will answer your question right when you need assistance most. It’s easy to use, just go to www.askalibrarian.org and ask your question, a Florida librarian will assist you. Ask a Librarian is a collaborative program by libraries throughout Florida and will provide you with accurate answers utilizing your state and local resources.

“Ask a Librarian is a tremendous resource for students and anyone with a research need. It makes expert librarians available to any Florida resident. Ask a question and within minutes an actual person is helping you. It’s a great feeling to connect with a skilled supportive person and know you are not lost amid a million search results” according to Ask a Librarian Manager, Diana Silveira.

Librarians all over Florida will celebrate Ask a Librarian Day on Feb. 23 to bring awareness to the free online reference service that connects Floridians with librarians for help with homework or general questions.

Librarians at over 106 libraries around Florida will don “Askalibrarian.org” t-shirts and pins and will talk about the valuable service with library customers. They hope to inform people about Ask a Librarian’s benefits so that everyone can take full advantage of this user-friendly service.

Ask a Librarian is available live from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 24/7 for email assistance. Visit www.askalibrarian.org for more information or to ask a librarian a question.

Pictures from last year’s event and more information about the service are available at: https://info.askalibrarian.org/aal_day.asp

Ask a Librarian is managed by the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC), and is funded as part of the Florida Electronic Library (www.flelibrary.org) by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.

The xtranormal video our AaL intern Kira Smith made for Ask a Librarian Day 2011 would be perfect to show your users!  If your library maintains a blog or other social networking page for users, consider posting her 1-minute video that tells them what Ask a Librarian is and how it works.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11182535/

Thanks, Kira!

The THIRD ANNUAL ASK A LIBRARIAN DAY is Tuesday, February 22nd!!!!

Ask a Librarian Day is a day to focus on Ask a Librarian within your library.  Use this statewide event to promote the service to all of your library’s users and to other staff members who might not be aware of the great service.  You will be joined by other libraries across the state in a true reflection of Ask a Librarian’s foundation of collaboration and service to library users across Florida.

Many of you have been sitting with your AaL Ambassadors during your shift(s) so that those who don’t staff Ask a Librarian see for themselves the incredible service at their users’ fingertips.  Remember, each of you is encouraged to choose an Ask a Librarian Ambassador to promote Ask a Librarian in a big way.  If you haven’t registered yourself & your AaL Ambassador for the statewide challenge, be sure to register today!   In case you missed it, you can get details of the challenge and ideas for your own library in these earlier blog posts. All libraries should have received their Ask a Librarian stickers for staff to wear on Ask a Librarian Day, so get yours ready to wear on Tuesday, stack those bookmarks next to your check-out posts, and string up those lanyards and posters across your libraries.  (Who says lanyards are just for your neck?)  Decorate cookies or cupcakes.  Have all staff don red, white, or blue shirts.  If you’re available, hop on the Collaborative or Academic Desk on Tuesday unscheduled, and share your support for Ask a Librarian with your statewide peers.

And don’t be shy with your Ask a Librarian stash – remember that you can always order more stickers, bookmarks, lanyards, and posters for later by visiting https://info.askalibrarian.org/promotional.php.

Here are important talking points to share with every user and coworker you meet:

•         If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit http://www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).

•         Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.

•         Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.

•         You can use Ask a Librarian for free.

•         If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
Tuesday, February 22^nd – are you ready?

The purpose of Ask a Librarian Day is to raise awareness about the service within the library and to your users.  We have found that librarians and staff not actively involved with Ask a Librarian are not as familiar with the service, and that patron usage increases dramatically when personally recommended by library staff. Like last year, we have sent out Ask a Librarian stickers for every librarian who staffs Ask a Librarian at your library to wear.  And like last year, we’re encouraging all libraries statewide to promote Ask a Librarian to staff and users.

This year, we’d like to present you with a challenge.

The challenge is for each of you to find one staff member who works at your library who does not staff Ask a Librarian – it could be another librarian, or a member of your circulation or youth services staff, or even a page or library administrator.  That person will be your Ask a Librarian Ambassador.  In the weeks leading up to Ask a Librarian Day, have your AaL Ambassador sit with you as you work a shift on Ask a Librarian.  Explain the process of helping someone virtually; share with them the experiences you’ve had along the way.  Let them see you in action while helping the user.  And on February 22nd, Ask a Librarian staff statewide will pair up with their AaL Ambassadors to spread the word about Ask a Librarian.

Are you ready to accept this mission?  Click here to join this statewide challenge!!!

What does this mission entail?  Once your AaL Ambassador sees the incredible service Ask a Librarian provides for every Florida resident, you’ll team up to spread the word about Ask a Librarian on February 22nd.  Create a local event in your library to correspond with the statewide day.  Set up an informative (or wacky) display to grab the attention of everyone who visits your library.  Plan raffles and contests; hang Ask a Librarian posters in unusual places. Hand out lanyards to every student asking questions that day; place a bookmark inside every single book you check out.  Bake cookies, wear face paint – get creative!  If you still have your t-shirt from previous years, wear it to work that day, and talk about the service to everyone you meet: coworkers, library users, the guy who makes the coffee at the 7-Eleven.

Important talking points to share:
•         If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit http://www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
•         Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
•         Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
•         You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
•         If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.

Look out for the Ask a Librarian stickers we’ve sent you, and remember to wear them on Ask a Librarian Day.  Have a few extra?  Hand them out to your users.  Want a few extra?  Visit our marketing materials page and order additional stickers, bookmarks, lanyards, and other goodies to distribute here: https://info.askalibrarian.org/promotional.php.

Remember, Ask a Librarian Day is February 22nd… Join the challenge and mark those calendars today!

Traci

If you have not sent me your picture or event information, please send them to me as soon as possible.

*  Jacksonville Public Library made the newspaper –  (check out Advisory Committee Member & SMS Taskforce Member – Michael Shell)
* Sarasota County created posters – see the series by clicking on the poster.
* Palm Beach County School District wrote a blog entry
* The State Library of Florida has Ask a Librarian as their current status on Facebook
* Alachua County has Ask a Librarian as the main ad on their front page

Remember the goal is to spread the word about the service. There are 5 main points everyone should know:
• If you ever need 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.

Send us your pictures and stories!!