Thing #34: Answer Sites

Why anyone would think that answer sites are competition for libraries, I have no idea. And here's why I think they aren't competition. These sites are used to ask different types of questions than what are asked at libraries, IMHO. I asked a simple question on WikiAnswers, Yahoo!Answers and askville: How many breeds of dog are registered with the AKC? A librarian could answer this simply by looking it up on the American Kennel Club's website: 161.

But when I asked this question on the answer sites, I actually got referred to all sorts of websites, some that weren't related to the question except for having AKC somewhere in the text of the site. On WikiAnswers, it looked like someone had already asked the question at one point. The answer given was a big fat I don't know. Not helpful. Librarian = helpful.

So, back to the issue of these sites being used for different types of questions. I believe these sites are taking the place of asking friends and family questions in regards to personal issues. For example, as a young mother without any family nearby, I would check issues online to see if others had run across problems that my babies were having. Nothing serious that really needed medical attention, just baby stuff. I could have called the library, but they would have just referred me to a nurseline. Librarians aren't medical personnel. And the nurses on nurselines are legally required to say certain things so that they don't get sued. So, personal advice, from people willing to give it online. Not a threat to librarians, just replacing those calls to family and friends when families are spread out all over the country, or even in other countries. Seriously, not a threat.