The Open Shelf Good Protocols
Reading settings

The Reference Desk · two ways to ask

Ask the desk.

There are two ways to ask at this desk. A librarian, a real person, writes back to anyone with two or three books chosen for you. And for grown-ups who want an answer tonight, an instrument reads the shelf and points the way. Both point back to the same shelf, and nothing here is saved, scored, or assigned.

The librarian · for everyone

A person writes back.

Write one sentence about what you are looking for, or what you are worried about. That is the whole ask. Within a few days a real person will write back with two or three books from the shelf, chosen for you, and the doors out to borrow them. If what you need is heavier than a book, the same person will help you find the right help.

If you are under 18, this is your box, and we are glad you are here. A person reads your note and a person answers it. No program will ever answer you at this desk.

This box is also for any grown-up who would simply rather ask a person.

Your note goes straight to the librarian's mail. It is not saved, scored, or assigned.

If the form does not fit your hands, write directly: hello@goodprotocols.org

A quick pull · for grown-ups · answers in minutes

Ask the instrument.

For parents, caregivers, and other adults who want a pointer tonight. Tell it what you are looking for, in your own language, spoken or typed, and it will point you to two or three real books on the shelf and the doors out to borrow them. There is no account and nothing is remembered; close the tab and the conversation is gone. It is not therapy or medical, legal, or clinical advice, and it will point you to a real person when a worry is heavier than a book.

This instrument's human successor sits in the box beside it. When the librarian's desk can carry the whole load, the instrument retires. That is the plan, not the failure.

This tool is for adults. If you are under 18, the librarian's box is yours, and it is the better box anyway.

Two ways to ask, one shelf to point to. The desk answers only when asked.

First languages

Four of the languages carried here are ones this desk does not speak, and will not try to. They are dormant or reawakening, and they belong to the nations bringing them home. We name them in their own writing, point to the people doing that work, and stand behind their agency in it: anything in these languages will come from them, in their voice. And the offer is wider than one map. Any Native nation or community, in this region or beyond, is welcome to shape this interface and use it as their own.