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Just Ask!

Just Ask! library chat service launches September 19, 2011.

Vancouver, BC - Starting September 19th, library users in southwestern British Columbia will be able to connect with their local library through Just Ask!, a chat-based service available from public library websites.

Just Ask! is a cooperative service provided by Public Library InterLINK and its partner libraries.  You can ask your library questions using chat from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Thursday, and 10am to 5pm on Fridays.  Public libraries from the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland to the Sunshine Coast and along the Highway 99 corridor are providing the new service.   What do people ask the library using chat?  Questions people ask include:

  • Where can I find job listings in my area?
  • Where can I find information about disposable income for the target market for my small business?
  • Where's my nearest library branch?
  • Can I renew my books online?

British Columbia's libraries provided chat service from 2006 to June 2010 with funding from the provincial government.  Library staff in Public Library InterLINK's parnter libraries worked collaboratively to create a new chat service this year, restoring a popular way to get help from your library.

"We are very pleased that our partner libraries are able to provide the Just Ask! chat service" says Public Library InterLINK Board Chair Sharon Freeman.  "This free service puts a world of information just a mouse click away".

Public Library is a federation of 18 public libraries.  InterLINK's partner libraries provide access to their collections to anyone in InterLINK's service area who has a library card, regardless of where they live.

InterLINK also works with its partner libraries to develop cost-effective collaborative services that benefit library users throughout southwestrn British Columbia.

For more information about Just Ask! contact your local public library and look for a chat box or link on your library's website.   The following InterLINK libraries are offering the Just Ask! chat service:

Bowen Island
Burnaby
Coquitlam
Fraser Valley
Gibsons and District
Lillooet
New Westminster
North Vancouver City
North Vancouver Didstrict
Pemberton
Port Moody
Sechelt
Squamish
Surrey
Vancouver
West Vancouver
Whistler

Richmond is providing an independent, complementary chat service.