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about our service

What it is

Ask Librarians Online enables you to ask questions online and receive answers via e-mail and chat. This project was initially funded with the support of Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to The New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Who answers your questions

The professional staff of the New York Public Library will receive and answer your questions.

When to expect a response

Upon receipt of your question, you will receive e-mail verifying that your question has been submitted. The minimum turnaround time is 24 hours (Monday to Friday). If you need an answer by a certain date, please be sure to specify this on the question form.

Questions for which we can provide sources only

  • Medical or law-related questions
  • Used car values
  • Crisscross or reverse telephone directory information
  • Product evaluations
  • Contest or puzzle questions

What our service does not provide

  • We are unable to fax or send material at this time. To receive copies of documents held by the library please contact NYPL Express at (212) 592 7201.
  • We do not renew materials via this service. For renewals, call the LEOLine at (212) 262-7444. Materials can also be renewed using our online catalog, LEO.
  • We do not do detailed research or provide bibliographies.
  • If you require in-depth research, contact NYPL Express (212) 592-7201. NYPL Express is the Library's fee-based research and document delivery service.

E-mail

If you are unable to fill out the Ask A Question Form, please e-mail your question to ask@nypl.org.

Terms and Conditions

Prior to submitting a reference question, please make sure you read About Our Service and our Privacy Policy so that you know how your questions may be used. If you agree with the provisions of this agreement, welcome. If you have any questions about these terms and conditions, please send an e-mail to ask@nypl.org.

In order to achieve our purposes, we need you to follow certain rules. You will find some of our rules here and also under Copyright, Disclaimer and Other Legal Matters. Most importantly, as set forth more fully below, you understand and agree that your question and the answer we provide may be posted on our Web site. We will post any changes to our rules on this page.

Rules

  • At our sole discretion, we may refuse to answer any question, and we may refuse to post any question on this site.
  • At our sole discretion, if we determine that you are not using this site for its intended purposes, we may prevent you from using the site in the future.
  • You agree not to send any question that is illegal, harassing, libelous, threatening, harmful, obscene or otherwise objectionable or that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulations.

Ownership of Materials

You agree that your question will enter the public domain, and you will retain no ownership rights to your question. This means that anyone, including the Library, can reproduce, copy, modify or otherwise use your question without your permission. In addition, your question may be displayed, distributed, transmitted and broadcast without your permission. As part of its public service mission, The New York Public Library provides information for NON-COMMERCIAL, PERSONAL or RESEARCH USE ONLY. Pursuant to the fair use provisions of federal copyright law, the Library may also provide short excerpts from material that is subject to copyright protection. You should be aware that such material may be subject to restrictions, including but not limited to copyright, in favor of parties other than the Library. You are solely responsible for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions, and paying any associated fees, which may be necessary for any proposed use. The Library may also provide links to other Web sites. The Library does not monitor or control information accessible through the Internet and is not responsible for its content, for changes in content of the sources to which the Library pages link, or for the content of sources accessed through secondary links.

Disclaimer

The following disclaimer must be noted:

WHILE EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION AND MATERIALS PROVIDED HEREIN, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. THE LIBRARY, ITS TRUSTEES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, COMPENSATORY, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO USE OF THIS WEB SITE OR THE INFORMATION AND MATERIALS PROVIDED HEREIN.

Privacy Policy

As part of your participation in the New York Public Library's Ask Librarians Online, the Library would like to know your name, e-mail address, and current mailing location. This allows us to better serve you in answering your question. The Library will not publish this information or provide it to other organizations. The Library will compile this information for its own internal purposes, including determining the number of people asking questions.