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ChaCha's Free Text Msg Reference Service and Some Indignant Librarians
April 25, 2008
Wall Street Journal personal technology columnist Walt Mossberg wrote a
column yesterday touting ChaCha's free reference service, allowing cellphone users to make a voice call, then get a response via text message, albeit from barely-paid guides. The column generated some indignant comments from librarians, such as, "There has always been a way to use your phone to get answers. It’s called your public library."
While I agree that librarians should keep reminding the public of the useful, free (at least at the point of use), and professional services they provide, I think they should keep in mind that ChaCha seems to be offering another level of convenience. Some libraries offer reference via text message, according to the
Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. But nearly all are academic ones, and they don't seem to offer the voice call to text sequence provided by ChaCha.
Also, the latter offers 24/7 service, while 24/7 library reference service exists, but is hardly universal. So this might not be an occasion for indignance but rather a moment to sense a threat--and an opportunity.
Posted by Norman Oder on April 25, 2008 | Comments (2)
