ASK! Who? Librarian?

A question in mind

If you have a question in mind, what will you do? You may decide intuitively to search for the answers using Google search engine. You click on several links only to find out that the ‘answers’ are not useful. You decide to change the keywords, hoping that the results will be different. Definitely the results returned by Google will be different.

1. 
   
   Nevertheless, are those results relevant?


2. 
   
   Do the links lead you to the answers that you are seeking?

You may continue to perform another 1 – 2 hours of search. In the end, the search may remain a wild-goose chase.

What should you do to answer the questions that you have in mind (if you had spent hours searching in vain for the answers via Google)?

You may want to visit the advisory counters at any of the regional libraries (Woodlands, Jurong, and Tampines).

Why? What can you expect?

ASK! service

We (librarians) might be able to save you time and let you focus on using the information. We will search from reliable and authoritative library resources or other external sources. We will provide answers or point you in the right direction to get what you need.

Replies would be sent within 3 days.

Give the ASK! service a try. Submit your question to the ASK! service now.

Link to ASK! service: http://www.pl.sg/page/PlJustAskContent/Ask&_nfls=false

What questions can you ask?

Just about anything. Think you have a "wacky" question? Just ASK! As you may have suspected, we do handle a number of general questions about the library such as “What time does the library close”, “How many books can I borrow” and “Where is the toilet”. On the other hand, we do receive many interesting questions that really put our knowledge of the library collections (children, young people and adult) to the test.

If you are wondering what types of questions that librarians receive from library users, you may want to visit our ASK! Blog (http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/).

Below is a reply from our librarian (Ms Chen Wanying) to the question “Is the panda a bear”.

Well, that depends on the type of pandas! The giant panda, otherwise scientifically known as the Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is a bear! Physically, the giant panda does resemble a bear, with its stubby tail and bulky physique. It has “black and white fur and feeds on bamboo forests at high altitudes in western China”. Also, it can be found in the Himalayas as well.

However, the other type of panda, known as the red or lesser panda, the Ailurus fulgens , has “thick reddish brown fur”, “white face markings and a long ringed tail.” The lesser panda belongs to the raccoon family and unlike the giant panda which is a solitary animal, the lesser panda prefers to “live in pairs or small groups in bamboo forests.”

Sources: 1) Brittancia Online Reference Center: Giant Panda-Ailuropoda melanoleuca 2) Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia:Panda 3) Kids Infobits: Pandas

So what should you do if Google doesn’t miraculously provide you links to answers that you are seeking for your questions?

Do not hesitate further … Visit us at any of the regional libraries and ASK! ; )

p.s. For anyone who wishes to join the NLB Family (as a public librarian), it would be good to find out more about rest of the library services provided by Public Libraries Singapore.

1. http://www.pl.sg/page/PlJustBrowseContentBook2/ChildrenLibrarianServices&_parent=ChildrenLibrarianServices


2. http://www.pl.sg/page/PlJustBrowseContentBook2/TeensLibrarianServices&_parent=TeensLibrarianServices&_nfls=false


3. http://www.pl.sg/page/PlJustBrowseContentBook2/AdultsLibrarianServices&_parent=AdultsLibrarianServices&_nfls=false

p.p.s. Have a nice day. (Wei Meng)

Author Highlight: Diana Wynne Jones

Editor's note:

My colleague Jude shared with us on the passing of a British fantasy author, Diana Wynne Jones, recently and it led to me picking up some of her books. If you like magic - you might just like this one. Below is the article from Jude - posted with her permission of course ;).

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Diana Wynne Jones
The Departure of British Author of Fantasy

(1934 – 2011) 

The world of fantasy has lost one of its beloved authors, British writer Diana Wynne Jones, who succumbed to cancer on 26 March 2011 at the age of 76, leaving behind her husband, John A. Burrow, a Professor of English at Bristol University, her three sons and five grandchildren, as well as the many fans of her writings which include the Chrestomanci series and the Dalemark Quartet series.

Born in London on 16 August 1934, Jones had an unsettling childhood partly due to growing up during the World War II period. As good reads were hard to come by during those difficult times, she kept herself occupied by writing her own stories instead and sharing them with her sisters. It was then that she decided she wanted to be a writer when she grew up.

Jones was educated at Oxford where she met her husband-to-be and it was at Oxford that she had the privilege of attending lectures by the esteemed C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

To entertain her sons when they were growing up and beginning to read, Jones tried her hand at writing fantasy stories because that was what her children wanted to read, and so the journey began for her as she weaved magic and mythology into her 40-odd books that have captivated the imaginative minds of both children and young adults. She also wrote for the adults.

In 1977, Jones won the Guardian Award for Children’s Books for Charmed Life, the first book in the Chrestomanci series. In 1999, she was recognised for having made a significant impact on fantasy and was awarded the Mythopeic Award in the States and the Karl Edward Wagner Award in the UK, and in 2007, she was honoured with the Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Organization.

Despite her illness, Jones continued writing during her last days and has left us her final legacy, Earwig and the Witch, which will be published in 2011 / 2012.



By Jude, Children's Librarian

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