Ask?Away
Have a question? Need an answer?
Librarians
available whenever you need information
24/7/365!
Have you ever found yourself in need of quick information from the Internet but get lost among thousands of possibilities? The Internet can be difficult to navigate, and good information can be hard to find. Sometimes the information you need is only available in a library resource. But through Ask?Away, Illinois librarians are now online to help! They are also in partnership with librarians around the state and the world so that you can have your question answered online and in real-time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Ask?Away is a partnership among different types of librarians, including public, school, medical, and college and university. Information seekers need different kinds of information. Different types of libraries working together can offer the broadest possible Internet help service.
Ask?Away is a free service to Illinois residents. It is funded with federal Institute of Museum and Library Services monies and is a partnership grant between Illinois and Wisconsin. Ask?Away was designed by librarians from your local libraries, Illinois Library Systems, and the Illinois State Library working with Wisconsin librarians to deliver exceptional library services within each state. This is also the first multi-state cooperative virtual reference grant.
Ask?Away is part of the 24/7 Reference Consortium, a group of hundreds of librarians across the country and world who work together to provide this service. Local Illinois librarians contribute time to the consortium and local residents benefit from the expanded service.
Ask?Away uses QuestionPoint, which was developed by OCLC Online Computer Library Center, the Library of Congress and the 24/7 Reference Cooperative. This global network of librarians enables your questions to be referred to local and national, and international experts for further follow-up when appropriate. If you have an obscure question about New Zealand, you could actually get your answer from an expert in New Zealand.
Ask?Away is unique. It is "in person" and "online" combined. Where else can you have access to nearly anything on the Web or in print, as well as personal service and assistance in finding it? Libraries are implementing Internet help desks in response to users' growing use of online resources and internet access. Many librarians are providing help over the Internet in addition to the more traditional modes of phone, fax, or in-person requests for information. Ask?Away spans all hours of the day or night, whether or not the physical library is open. It means that libraries are never closed to people who need information - they just enter through a different door - an online one.
People are busy. In small communities with limited library hours, residents may be at work or caring for their families when their local library is open. Those who commute to other communities for work may seldom be in their hometown when the library is open. Ask?Away provides a new opportunity for these citizens to use the expertise and resources available at their library from their home or work computers.
Librarians are much more than just human search engines. Unlike a search engine, they use their extensive expertise and knowledge to point people in the right direction. There is no need to check out 20 different websites. Once a user reaches the Ask?Away website, he or she just types in a question and a librarian responds to the query. With Ask?Away Illinois, librarians meet you at your point of need - right here, right now - Online, anytime.