Background

L-net, Oregon's statewide digital reference service, began in January 2003 as a pilot project called Answerland.

The idea for the pilot project came from the Oregon State Library's 2002 E-reference task force and the Oregon Library Association's Vision 2010 Call to Action.

The Vision 2010 Committee believes that the citizens of Oregon are best served if libraries remain at the center of our communities and campuses as primary providers of information services.

The premise for the service is that Oregon's libraries can serve our communities well by connecting Oregon citizens directly to reference librarians online. Collaboration ensures that we do this efficiently and effectively.

Previously, the Oregon State Library funded a library-to-library reference service, Oregon Reference Link, where reference questions asked at small libraries could be "escalated" to regional centers with strong reference collections. Libraries may still use this service by visiting www.oregonlibraries.net/ask.