October 11, 2016

Hi,

Answerland is a virtual reference service coordinated by the State Library and staffed by volunteer librarians. Because of a software transition, the service was not available over the summer, but Answerland is back in action. There’s a link to it on the elementary and secondary Find Information pages on OSLIS, so that’s why I’m announcing this on OSLIST. Oregon students can use the service to ask questions related to a research project, get reading recommendations, and more.

Answerland’s return is just in time for Digital Citizenship Week, which runs October 16^th – 22^nd. Common Sense Media encourages parents and educators to have “the talk” (about digital citizenship) with kids, and they offer some suggestions, including parent tips in English and Spanish.

With that in mind, I am asking you to please remind teachers and students about proper protocol and etiquette when they use Answerland. There have been issues with inappropriate behavior from students in the past. The Schools page has great info for teachers and library staff on how to use Answerland with a class. There’s a section called Using Answerland in the Classroom and one called Information to Share with Students. Please review both.

Answerland is a great tool to help students with research projects and more. Please promote it, and please help teachers and students understand the best way to use it.

Questions? Please ask.

Thanks,
Jen

Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Oregon State Library