AskUsNow! Holidays

Service to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year

QuestionPoint 24/7 Reference back-up staff work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They cover the holidays when some of our libraries may be closed. This allows Maryland AskUsNow! to always be open.

Note to academic libraries regarding Winter and Spring Breaks

Please write the Operations Assistant a month in advance of each break in order to communicate any dates that your library will be closed and not providing service.

Dates that Maryland libraries are assumed to be closed

It is assumed you are closed on the holidays listed in the following table. If your library is open on one of these days, please maintain your regular schedule.

In order to provide adequate local Maryland coverage, individual libraries must find another partner library to cover any planned closings (email the mdaskusnow@askusnow.info list to enlist substitution coverage). However, some holidays are excluded from needing Maryland coverage - they are listed below:

Holidays

Dates that no substitute coverage is needed by Maryland AskUsNow! libraries if your library is closed

Unplanned Closings

The unexpected does happen. We can't predict every snow, hurricane, fire or electrical outage. When your library finds that it cannot cover the service, make your best effort to contact the AskUsNow! admin.

Alert the MDASKUSNOW listserv (mdaskusnow@askusnow.info) only if you feel that your downtime could have a significant affect on other Maryland libraries.

If you cannot make contact, other staff in Maryland and at 24/7 Reference providing global coverage will fill the gaps in the interim. When the emergency event has concluded, let the AskUsNow admin know which scheduled hours your library did not cover.