Who Has the Answers?
Law, Duke libraries take on questions big and small
In the hot, slow days of summer, when minds wander and questions never before contemplated arise, where can one go to ask, "If I had never worn glasses, would my eye sight be as bad as it is now?"
The Duke Libraries Answer Person isn't the only on-campus suggestion box. Duke Law Libraries has its own version. Click here to catch the latest video from the suggestion box, starring Melanie Dunshee, the deputy director of the Law Library.
The answer is Duke Libraries' Answer Person, who will tell you that the wearing of glasses has no effect on the deterioration of your eyes. The Answer Person will also explain to you under what conditions gelatin used in children's cereal can be kosher and that if you have a California cell phone and dial 911, you get connected to local emergency services.
The Answer Person is one of the highlighted features of the revised Duke Libraries website, which is scheduled to be launched today. (Click here for information about the redesign.)
The printed version of the library suggestion box started in 1982 and transferred over to the web in 2000. But through it all, the identity of the Answer Person remains a mystery. Questions about all aspects of life are answered, but straight-forward questions about the running of the library are also accepted.
Click here to submit a question.
Click here to read a 2003 interview with the Answer Person in Duke Libraries Magazine.