Ask a Librarian: Florida’s Virtual Reference Service News and Information
About Ask a Librarian
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. We now have 121 active libraries participating in Ask a Librarian.
Become a Member of Ask a Librarian
As a partner library in this project, the undersigned agrees to work with Ask a Librarian staff and other participating libraries to provide service in the statewide collaborative ‘Ask a Librarian’ service. The responsibilities of the partner library include participating in such activities as:
- Sending staff to training for Ask a Librarian
- Contributing librarians’ time to staff the collaborative service
- Promoting use of Ask a Librarian to library users, including providing a link to the service from the library’s website
Ask a Librarian’s responsibilities include
- Maintaining the collaborative live reference software
- Providing access to the software for local use
- Providing training and ongoing support for library staff
- Developing resources for staff providing the service
Please complete this agreement with an original signature and fax or mail to
Fax: 813-628-4425
Tampa Bay Library Consortium
Attention: Jessica Riggins
1202 Tech Blvd Suite 202
Tampa, Florida 33619
Please feel free to contact Jessica Riggins, Member Services Coordinator with any questions.
Annual Report
Ask a Librarian 2010-2011 Annual Report
Ask a Librarian is funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services. Ask a Librarian is a service of the Florida Electronic Library.