What is Homework Now?

Know It Now is a live online information service provided free of charge for the citizens of Ohio by the State Library of Ohio and your local public library. Professional librarians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your reference questions and assist you in finding information. Once logged on with your Ohio zip code, you and a librarian engage in a "chat" session. The librarian “pushes” high quality, authoritative online resources to your screen. You can watch and participate as librarians skillfully navigate the Internet to find precise answers to your questions. At the conclusion of each session, you will receive a complete transcript of your session via email including links to all the online resources shared during that session. The service is made available free of charge to all residents of Ohio through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio.

Who staffs Homework Now?

· Librarians around the state staff the Know It Now service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During regular library hours staff working in Ohio’s public libraries monitor the service and respond to your questions.

· Specialists in the subjects of business, foreign languages, genealogy, government information, health, history, law, literature, music and art, science, technology and the social sciences are available from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday - Saturday. Questions in these specialties may be asked anytime but may be referred to specialists for next day response.

· Tutoring service from online professional tutors is available from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Some questions may be referred to the online tutors during this time.

Privacy: Information collected about any individual using this service will not be voluntarily published or shared with any other entity. Below we describe what information we request and how it is used:

• Zip code: The number of sessions for each zip code is tabulated for statistical reporting. This information will only be used to gauge the reach of this service.
• Name: The Name is used by the software to identify a session and in communicating with the user. While a name is required, it does not have to be the full or real name.
• Email address: An email address is not required to use this service. If one is provided, it will be used only in the provision of service from this site. No email addresses will be sold or given to any other entities. The Libraries may use the email address to:
• Send a transcript of the session for your reference
• Send a scanned document at a later time
• Follow up on an incomplete session
• Phone number: A phone number is not required to use this service. If one is provided, it will be used only in the provision of service from this site. No phone numbers will be sold or given to any other entities. The Libraries may use the phone number to contact a user during a session to further clarify a request for information.

Libraries may use session transcript information to:

• Follow up on an incomplete session
• Email to the user as a record of the session and a reminder of any resources provided during the session
• Monitor and improve the overall quality of service
• Develop aggregated statistical data for reporting on the number of requests received, the number of requests completed, and the average length of sessions.

In the course of clarifying the request for information the Librarian may ask for information regarding purpose (for instance, is this for a homework assignment?), or reading or grade level. Such incidental information will be used to identify appropriate resources only. Any information given to the Librarian will be stored in a session transcript.

Do you need to reach Homework Now? http://www.homeworknow.org/

Technical support: support@knowitnow.org Questions about the service: marketing@knowitnow.org