During library hours you can contact a librarian by:
Phone: 815-478-3987
Email: questions@mpld.org
or you can contact a librarian 24/7 at Ask?Away
Have a question? Need an answer?
Librarians available whenever you need information
24/7/365!
Have you ever found yourself in need of quick information from the Internet but get lost among thousands of possibilities? The Internet can be difficult to navigate, and good information can be hard to find. Sometimes the information you need is only available in a library resource. But through Ask?Away, Illinois librarians are now online to help! They are also in partnership with librarians around the state and the world so that you can have your question answered online and in real-time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Ask?Away is a partnership among different types of librarians, including public, school, medical, and college and university. Information seekers need different kinds of information. Different types of libraries working together can offer the broadest possible Internet help service.
Ask?Away is part of the 24/7 Reference Consortium, a group of hundreds of librarians across the country and world who work together to provide this service. Local Illinois librarians contribute time to the consortium and local residents benefit from the expanded service.
Ask?Away uses QuestionPoint, which was developed by OCLC Online Computer Library Center, the Library of Congress and the 24/7 Reference Cooperative. This global network of librarians enables your questions to be referred to local and national, and international experts for further follow-up when appropriate. If you have an obscure question about New Zealand, you could actually get your answer from an expert in New Zealand.
Librarians are much more than just human search engines. Unlike a search engine, they use their extensive expertise and knowledge to point people in the right direction. There is no need to check out 20 different websites. Once a user reaches the Ask?Away website, he or she just types in a question and a librarian responds to the query. With Ask?Away Illinois, librarians meet you at your point of need - right here, right now - Online, anytime.