What is ask librarian service

Ask a Librarian is the joint digital reference service of Finnish libraries. It’s situated in the site Libraries.fi, which is the national library portal for all Finnish libraries (public, special, university libraries). Libraries.fi is produced by the Central Library for Public Libraries in Finland, which is Helsinki City Library and it’s financed by the Ministry of Education. The Ask a Librarian started in the year 1999. Answers are given in three languages: Finnish, Swedish and English. Ask a Librarian has a public archive, where answers are stored and can be used by other information seekers. The archive also exists in three languages, http://www.libraries.fi/ask_librarian/archive.aspx .

The question is sent in via a web form, the answer is delivered to the email-address given by the customer. The answer is given within three working days (Saturday and Sunday excluded). At present, there are 66 libraries answering in the service: 48 public libraries, 18 university or special libraries and reference service groups.

You can find more information about our service in our archive by making a search with the name Ask a Librarian, http://www.libraries.fi/en-GB/ask_librarian/keywordquestions.aspx?WordI… .