After five years of progressive and reliable virtual reference service, Ask a Librarian migrated on Oct. 1 to a software platform provided by InstantService. Ask a Librarian is a free online service that allows Floridians to chat live with a librarian for immediate assistance.

The statewide service has increased in usage by almost 200 percent and in participating libraries by more than 150 percent since its 2003 inception, with strong continued growth expected. InstantService’s range and flexibility provides unlimited support for Ask a Librarian’s growing needs.

“With the level of growth our service has experienced, we are excited to introduce this fantastic – and quite necessary – new software platform,” said Diana Sachs-Silveira, virtual reference manager for Ask a Librarian. “This is a positive change that allows us to provide even better, faster service to our users.”

Visit www.askalibrarian.org for more information about the Ask a Librarian service.