Reference News
Jill Erickson, Head of Reference & Adult Services
Falmouth Public Library
Falmouth Public Library
Text-A-Librarian at Falmouth Public Library
Have a question? Send us a text message! The Falmouth Public Library now offers a free text message reference service. (Please note that standard texting rates apply to your phone.) Text us at 66746 and start your question with askfpl. For example: askfpl what are the library hours on Saturdays? We will respond as soon as possible. Save us in your contacts and text us questions when you're on the go. Americans are now texting twice as much as they are talking, so it made sense to us to give this a try.
This new service began in October, and our first question was asked by Gary Ingraham, our IT librarian. His question: “What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen African swallow?” Fans of Monty Python will recognize the question from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The question is asked of King Arthur by the bridge keeper in order to cross the bridge in Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail. He responds by asking the bridge keeper for a clarification: “What do you mean? An African or European swallow?” to which the bridge keeper does not know and is sent flying into the volcano below. Of course, our answer to Gary was: “I think you may mean the European swallow. Try looking at www.eol.org” (The Encyclopedia of Life Website.)
We expected we would be flooded with questions, but it was pretty quiet at first. As with any new service, getting the word out is often the most difficult question. So how did we attract users? Well for one thing we gave every kid that came over for a tour with their junior high class a text-a-librarian bookmark. We knew they were paying attention, because the questions started to pour in! You know just the kind of question I mean. For example: “How many books on pornography do you have?” and “How far away is your library from the moon?” We were just glad they were using the service and answered their questions as best we were able.
Our next step to get people to use the service was asking the question: “What two books would you bring with you to a desert island?” If they answered using our text service they got entered in a raffle for a gift certificate to a local bookstore. Much to our surprise we got answers! East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Naked by David Sedaris; Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman; A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein; Fortune’s Rock by Anita Shreve; and She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. This was encouraging! They now knew how to use the service, but would they send us any questions?
One afternoon a Falmouth Enterprise reporter was roaming the library looking for a story, and one of our reference librarians suggested he take a look at our new service. Much to our surprise, two weeks later, we had a cover story in the newspaper, above the fold! The questions started to come in for real. Who knew? What kind of questions? Some having to do with our hours, but one person asked how a stapler worked, while another was curious as to the large police presence outside the Gus Canty Community Center one day. We’ve been asked the population of Falmouth and how many people watched President Obama’s State of the Union address. So gradually it is becoming just another way for people to contact us in whatever way is most convenient for them. We hope the word will continue to spread, and the community will embrace this new service as just another way to connect at their library. If you have any questions about the new service, just text us!
