Created 10/10; updated 01/15

Answerland is a 24/7 chat and e-mail reference service provided by the Oregon Libraries Network. Patrons have the option of chatting online with a reference provider or create an e-mail reference session. If more reference assistance is needed, chat sessions can be converted to e-mail reference. There is a 48 hour turnaround on e-mail reference, with most questions answered within 24 hours. For circulation issues, it is best that they contact their home library directly by phone, or through the home library's e-mail service.

This is an excellent service for a variety of users. The home-bound can access librarians at any time for reference transactions in the comfort of their own home, and materials can be mailed to them, either directly through e-mail, surface mail, or LOS.

Answerland is a great resource for patrons who are Deaf or hard of hearing.  They were early adapters of chat and e-mail services, so let patrons know about this service.  Text messaging service is available also; just text the word multcolib and your question to 66746 (sms) or 503-616-2223 (sms),.

People who are blind use text to speech software to read websites, while people with low vision often use magnification software. Multnomah County Library provides access to JAWS text reader and ZoomText magnification on the ADA stations. While most functions of the Answerland chat client, Spark, work with these programs user testing has shown that the current chat widget is very difficult for visually impaired people to navigate. Answerland is currently (December 2014) beginning the search for new chat software. Compliance with accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0) will be a requirement for the new chat software. Spark file-sharing/document delivery does not open with either ZoomText or JAWS. To send a file, please convert the question to e-mail, then attach the document to the answer.