About the library > News Releases > 2006 > Librarian of the Year brings online answers to Oregonians
Librarian of the Year brings online answers to Oregonians
April 6, 2006
Contact:
- Penny Hummel, Public Relations Manager, 503.988.5498
PORTLAND, OR – Oregon's newest Librarian of the Year doesn't fit the staid librarian stereotype — instead, he's on the cutting edge of emerging technology, ensuring that when an Oregonian has a question, there's a librarian ready to answer it, 24/7. Multnomah County Library librarian Caleb Tucker-Raymond, 30, was honored today by the Oregon Library Association for his outstanding work overseeing L-net, Oregon's statewide online reference service.
"Caleb exemplifies the creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and customer focus that are so essential to libraries today," said Director of Libraries Molly Raphael. "As a librarian with more than 30 years of experience, I'm thrilled to see the work of one of our younger colleagues receive this well-deserved level of recognition."
Tucker-Raymond was hired three years ago by Multnomah County Library to coordinate L-net, a live chat service that connects Oregonians to online answers. Funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Oregon State Library, L-net is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is staffed by librarians from 22 libraries across Oregon.
Available at www.oregonlibraries.net, the free service is available to anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Oregon. Since 2003, L-net has answered over 25,000 questions like:
- Do you have any books on how to build a dog house?
- I need pictures of flowers in the Rogue River area.
- I want to buy a digital camera; which brands are recommended?
On L-net, librarians exchange messages with users in real time and simultaneously show them useful websites or database articles. More complex questions can also be answered by e-mail within 48 hours.
"Since it's sometimes hard to find what you need on the Internet, L-net is a great way to use a trained librarian as your guide," said Jim Scheppke of the Oregon State Library. "Caleb has done a wonderful job of making this service easy to use, so if you've got a question you want answered, try L-net!"