• POST Form Example
• GET Example
• With Callback

• Slide
• Slide Up
• Dissolve
• Fade
• Flip
• Pop
• Swap
• Cube

• Page events
• Swipe me!
• Orientation: profile

• To-Do app
• Clock app

On October 1, 2008, Ask a Librarian migrated to InstantService (www.instantservice.com) to provide its new software platform. InstantService provides an integrated solution for email and chat services for each of our participating libraries and two collaborative desks. InstantService’s range and flexibility provides unlimited support for Ask a Librarian’s growing needs

• Geo Location
• Offline Utility
• Floaty Bar
• Auto Titles

Ask a Librarian provides Florida residents with live virtual reference services via local library customized web sites from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday (EST), and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday (EST).

Participating libraries may also utilize the software to provide local live virtual reference services to their patrons.

An e-mail form is available to patrons 24 hours per day, seven days per week. All e-mail is answered by the user's local library.

The service consists of two primary features:

1. Live chat service that provides reference statewide and to local patrons. The software features live chat and screen-sharing capabilities, which allow you to share a web window with your user or push web pages to your user's window
2. E-mail management system

• Extended hours of service. Live virtual reference services are provided to your users from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday (EST), and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday (EST)
• Shared staffing hours
• The software is web-based, so there's nothing to install
• There is no cost to participate. The software license is covered by an LSTA grant
• We provide a full day of training on the software at your location
• We provide free promotional materials such as posters, lanyards and bookmarks
• We provide a customized web page for each library that provides access to the live reference, e-mail reference, and other local resources
• A local copy of the software is available for you to use to serve your patrons whenever you wish. The local use includes a customizable embedded widget for your library's web page

• Provide employees to staff the statewide desk (number of hours will depend upon library's size)
• Submit a partnership agreement form
• Promote the service locally
• Provide a Site Coordinator

Ask a Librarian began as a partnership between the College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) and the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC). Ask a Librarian was funded initially in 2002-2003 with LSTA funds as a pilot project of the Florida Electronic Library.

The service was activated on July 28, 2003, with the initial 40 participating libraries beginning service one-by-one over the next four months. A formal announcement and unveiling of Ask a Librarian occurred on December 2, 2003, at the press conference to announce inception of the Florida Electronic Library.

Ask a Librarian has continued to grow to become a core service of many Florida libraries.

Currently, 103 libraries participate in Ask a Librarian.

As of November 2009, Ask a Librarian participants have logged over 173,000 live virtual reference sessions e-mail questions.

Ask a Librarian is an official service of the Florida Electronic Library.

Ask a Librarian has an Advisory Committee and a Quality Assurance Workgroup.

About Ask a Librarian

• The Ask a Librarian Project
• Project Status
• The Service
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Vendor Information
• Contact Us