Text A Librarian is a component of Sims Memorial Library's Ask A Librarian service that enables Southeastern students, faculty and staff to send questions to and receive answers from librarians at Sims Library by using the text message feature of their cell phones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can use the service?
This service is available to all Southeastern students, faculty and staff.

When should you use the service?
The service is good for asking quick, simple questions that can be answered in short responses (160 characters or less). Questions that require lengthier responses should be directed to the Ask A Librarian e-mail reference service. Questions that require immediate answers should be directed to our 24/7 Ask A Librarian Live chat reference service. These services are available at http://www.selu.edu/library/askref/.

What do you need to use the service?
To use the service, you will need a cell phone that is capable of sending and receiving international text-messages.

What does the service cost?
Sims Library does not charge for this service or receive revenue from any cell phone provider. Cell phone providers generally charge customers for sending and/or receiving text messages. These charges vary from plan to plan and from telephone provider to provider. Your cell phone provider will treat all messages to and from the Ask A Librarian Text Messaging number as international text messages. Generally, international text messages are priced at 5-25 cents per message. For details on charges, check with your cell phone service provider.

What information should I supply?
All that is required is a question typed as a text message on your phone. However, for best results, you should also supply your W# along with your question. This will enable us to send an e-mail to your campus e-mail account when we have additional information, URL's and documents to send to you that exceed the limited text message space.

How long does it take to get a response?
We will try and respond to your question within 2-3 hours (during library hours). Questions received when the library is closed will be answered after the library reopens. If you do not receive a response to your request within 24 hours, it may be due to a telecommunication problem, so you may want to resubmit your question to Ask A Librarian via chat or e-mail. The Library is not responsible for text messages that are not received by the Library or delays due to telecommunications carrier or Internet connectivity delays or failures.

What type of response will I get?
When you request information by sending a text message to the Library's Ask A Librarian service, you give permission to Sims Memorial Library to respond to your request by sending you text messages. Responses will be sent as text messages to the phone you used to initiate the request. All text message replies from the Library will show on your cell phone as coming from 011 6142 898 7358. Responses will also be sent to your e-mail account if you supply one. Text message replies from the Library to your cell phone may arrive as multiple text messages. However, any responses that would exceed 2 text messages in length will generally be sent to your e-mail account if you provide one.

Privacy Statement
Your privacy is important to us, and Sims Library is committed to protecting the privacy of users of our collections and services. The Ask A Librarian service collects limited personal information in order to respond to questions submitted by patrons and gather general usage and quality statistics. All text messages sent to and from the Ask A Librarian service are directed through standard telecommunication and Internet channels. The EmailSMS server that hosts the Ask A Librarian text messaging service is made available by Redcoal, an Australian based wireless Internet provider. Redcoal's Privacy Policy is available at http://www.redcoal.com/privacy.htm. Concerns about your privacy should be directed to Beth Stahr.

Your Technology Fee at Work
The Text A Librarian service uses a dedicated text messaging telephone number and EmailSMS conversion software. Startup and first year subscription costs for the text messaging service have been funded through a 2005 Student Technology Fee Small Project Grant.

Feedback
We welcome your comments and suggestions about the service. Please let us know what you think of this service by completing our Ask A Librarian Questionnaire.