History

Answerland launched in April 2003 as a pilot project to provide online reference service to everyone who lives, works or goes to school in Oregon. 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 project was operated by Multnomah County Library through the generous support of the Oregon State Library.

Previously, from 1994-2003, the Oregon State Library had supported a program called Oregon Reference LINK, which served all Oregon citizens through regional referral centers. Answerland’s model is to connect Oregon citizens directly to reference librarians online. Working collaboratively ensures that we do this efficiently and effectively.

In 2004, Answerland was re-branded as L-net: Oregon Libraries Network, and was made available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By 2010, we had grown to serving over 35,000 people per year. In 2013, the service was again re-branded and re-launched as Answerland.

The Oregon State Library Board of Trustees met on December 5, 2014 and voted unanimously in support of moving the administration of Answerland from Multnomah County Library to the Oregon State Library. In July 2015, Answerland officially moved to the Oregon State Library.