The Library of Congress' Public Service Collections Directorate (PSCD) and the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) of Dublin, Ohio, have developed a new collaborative online reference service, QuestionPoint, which was released on June 3.
The QuestionPoint service provides libraries with access to a growing collaborative network of reference librarians in the United States and around the world. Library patrons can submit questions at any time of the day or night through their library's Web site. The questions will be answered online by qualified library staff from the patron's own library or may be forwarded to a participating library around the world. Available to libraries by subscription at www.questionpoint.org, the service enables reference librarians to share their resources and expertise with each other and with their patrons free of charge in unprecedented ways. QuestionPoint is now in use in the majority of the Library's 21 reading rooms.