How do I ask a question using Text a Librarian?

Ask us a simple or quick question from your phone using SMS text messaging.  Send your message to 66746 and start the question with the keyword npslib.  Example questions:     npslib do u have the book leadership challenge    npslib what time do you close tonight? What does the service cost? The Library does not charge for this service.  However, your regular cell phone text messaging charges will apply. Who can use Text a Librarian? The service is available to NPS students, faculty and staff.  We will respond to text messages from others only if they are simple and directly pertain to our Library’s collections and services.  We encourage those who are not from NPS to contact us using the email or phone options listed on our Ask a Librarian page. What kinds of questions should I ask using Text a Librarian? Text a Librarian is useful for simple, quick questions that can be answered in short responses (320 character or less).  Ask research questions requiring a detailed or lengthy response using one of the other options on our Ask a Librarian page.

What information should my question include?

In addition to asking your question, if space permits you should provide your name and nps email address (or other appropriate contact information if you are a distance student).  This will enable us to contact you if we need to follow up or provide a more substantial response than is possible with text messaging.

Note:  we may need to validate that you are an NPS student, faculty or staff member to respond to certain questions such as those requesting passwords, so providing us with your name and NPS email address up front will avoid the need for us to send a follow up text requesting that information.

What days and hours is Text a Librarian available?

You may send us your question at any time.  We will generally respond very promptly to questions received during our regular Research Assistance hours [Monday 0900-1600, Tuesday 0900-1500, Wednesday-Friday 0900-1600 (Pacific Time), and Sunday 1300-1700].  We will  normally respond to questions received outside of these hours on the next business day.

What type of response will I get?

Normally we will respond to your question by sending text messages to the phone you used to contact us.  Our responses will come as 2 messages if they exceed 160 characters.  If you ask a question that requires follow up or extensive research we may request that you work with us through one of the other options listed on our Ask a Librarian page..

My  privacy:  what happens to the data I provide?

This service is hosted remotely by Mosio Text a Librarian which stores both your questions and our responses.  As described in their Privacy Policy, they make every effort to safeguard the security of your data.  Messages sent to and from the Text a Librarian service go through standard telecommunication and Internet channels so observe the same precautions that you would any time you use cell phone or internet services.   Note that your data may be saved for statistical purposes but we will not share it with anyone else unless required to do so by law.