According to Library Journal, On Monday, September 10, librarians are asked to “Slam the Boards!” by visiting online “answer sites” such as Yahoo! Answers, Ask MetaFilter, Wikipedia Reference Desk, or Amazon’s Askville, fielding as many questions as possible, and making it clear that the service was provided by a librarian. What began as a word-of-mouth idea has grown into an international effort, as librarians from the U.K., New Zealand, and beyond have joined the grass-roots effort in the U.S. to raise the profile of librarians and libraries that offer virtual reference services by doing what libraries do best–providing answers from authoritative resources.
See you in cyberspace on the 10th.
Yeah, I’ve been doing this for years
I looked at Yahoo Answers when it first opened and started answering questions under the name matt the librarian. I don’t spend a lot of time doing it anymore, but I do enjoy when I am able to answer a question.
Look at these library related questions for examples of my answers.
Of course this will not raise the public’s perception of the value of our profession. If they valued us they would come to the library or use our ask-a-librarian sites with regularity. They don’t. They go to Yahoo answers. This country has long settled for good enough and that is exactly what you get from Yahoo answers. (Unfortunately it is also what you get from many librarians since we have turned into a nation of half-wits.)