About Biblioteksvar
Biblioteksvar (Ask the Library) is a project with currently over 55 libraries and over 200 librarians from all of Norway who answer questions that arrive by email, SMS, and internet chat.
Biblioteksvar is an voluntary cooperative effort that spans both specialized and public libraries.
Biblioteksvar is supported by grants from the The Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (ABM Utvikling) and it is a part of ABM utvikling’s Norwegian Digital Library.
What is Biblioteksvar?
Biblioteksvar is a virtual reference service. It provides a way to have a dialog with a librarian through internet chat, SMS, or an email form on our home page. With Biblioteksvar, you can choose how you want to submit your question based on how you want your answer, and how fast you need it. Regardless of which medium you use to submit a question, you will have an answer within the next working day.
Three ways to get answers:
Chat with Biblioteksvar
Chat with the library! We answer questions and help with factual information, link tips or information about where the answer to a question can be found. Internet Chat is a natural choice when you need the answer fast. Usually the answer is in the form of a link on the internet.
Ask Biblioteksvar by email
If you have a deeper question that requires more work, and an extensive search of sources by the librarian, use our form on our website. Your answer will come in the course of the next working day by email.
On our website, you can also search in our database of questions and answers.
Ask Biblioteksvar with SMS
SMS is best suited to questions that can be answered concisely. How does one use SMS to query Biblioteksvar? Send “svar” and your question to 1980. It costs only the price of the SMS. The answer you receive from the library is free.
About the answers
Questions are answered with factual information, link tips or referrals to other institutions and experts who are better equipped to help. Patrons can expect help to find relevant literature and information according to their needs, as well as help to self-help in regard to Internet navigation. We don´t give medical diagnoses or answer legal questions.
More complicated questions demand time-consuming reference work, usually involving several sources. In these cases, the patron will be advised to make use of the service’s web form, which can be found by clicking on the “E-mail” link. Here, the answer will be provided during the course of the next business day.
Questions requiring only short, factual answers—including questions about the library—can easily be answered by SMS. It’s important to keep in mind that the person answering is limited to 160 characters in his/her answer. Patrons who need more information than can easily fit into an SMS, are encouraged to use Biblioteksvar’s web form, or to contact their local library.
The SMS service cannot be used to reserve or renew material.
Goals
Our goal is to build and run a national digital reference service. The project is the first of its kind in Norway, both in regard to the combined technologies in a single interface, and the fact that so many institutions cooperate to provide a single digital service.
By participating in the project, each individual library or institution pledges their work time without economic compensation. The pay-back comes in the form of an increased expertise in reference work. In addition to giving personnel new experiences in the form of digital reference, especially chat, participating institutions have found that participation gives them new insight into the traditional, “in person” reference work. The result is that more and more personnel are actively using electronic resources in their reference work.
It is the intention of the project’s leadership that participation in the Biblioteksvar cooperative will create a network that enriches the participating institution and its staff, and encourages professional development. Cooperative services should raise the level of professionalism and the product’s quality. It is our hope that this cooperation will develop into a forum whereby participants can exchange ideas and experiences, especially in relation to the the technological newcomer, chat, and in relation to the craft of reference work in general.
Similiar services are available today via several libraries in Denmark (Biblioteksvagten), in Sweden (Fråga biblioteket) and in Helsinki, Finland, via Helsingfors stadsbibliotek (information Gas Station).