Online “Homework Help” - FAQ

1. What is online “homework help”?
   Online “Homework Help” is a special, free information service for elementary, junior high and high school students provided by Halifax Public Libraries. With just a couple of clicks of a mouse, students can log on and ask a question of library staff in “real time”. It’s just like having a chat!
2. Where do I go to find this service?
   Go to the Halifax Public Libraries website at www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca and click on the “Need Help With Your Homework?” icon on our homepage.
3. Is Homework Help available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
   No, unfortunately, we are not able to offer Homework Help on a 24/7 basis. It is available during the following hours:
   Monday - Thursday - 10 am to 8:30 pm
   Friday and Saturday - 10 am to 4:30 pm
   Sunday - 2 pm - 4:30 pm
   
   When the service is “offline”, you will be prompted to send in your question via e-mail, and we will send back a response within two days.
4. Do I have to give my name or any other personal information to use this service?
   No, your communication with our staff is completely anonymous and confidential. All we see is the IP address of your computer. If your question is a complex one, we may ask for your e-mail address so we can get back to you after we have done some research.
5. What kind of questions can I ask?
   There are two kinds of questions that are best for this type of service:
   • questions that involved short, factual answers, such as a word definition or “what is the population of Japan?” We will send you back the whole answer (and tell you where we found it )
   • questions that will allow us to send you some websites that will have information on your topic eg. Halifax Explosion, good sites for Math Homework Help. We can send you the link to the websites, or actually have them pop up on your screen!
   Basically, we will guide you to sources of information on the Web that may be helpful for your project - so we won’t do your Math homework, but we’ll send you some great Math help sites!
6. Will I get the answer instantly?
   No, we will get your question as soon as you type it and send it, but remember, we are real people on the other end, not a search engine like Google. Once we get your question, we then have to do a bit of searching (or a lot ) on the Web or in the library collection to find the best answer to your question. We will always tell you if you may have to wait a bit for the answer, so be patient - we are usually ready to send back an answer to most questions in just a few minutes (or less!) While you are waiting, you can always minimize the chat window and do something else on the computer - the chat window will pop back up when we are ready with your answer!
7. Are there other ways that I can get help with my homework?
   Yes! You can e-mail us a question anytime ( just go to “Ask a Question” after you click on the “Homework Help” icon and choose e-mail instead of “connect online”. ) You can also call your local branch or drop in and visit - our friendly staff are always ready to help - online or in person!
8. Do I have to have a library card to use Homework Help?
   No, you do not have to have a card to access Homework Help - you can get to us from any PC. However, if we are going to put library materials aside for you to pick up as part of our answer to your question, you will have to have a library card to borrow them.
9. Does this service have any other rules I should know about?
   There are two important things to keep in mind when using Homework Help that will help make your experience a positive one:
   • Be Patient! Remember there are real people on the other end who are working as fast as they can to find just the right answer to your question. We will always try to let you know if it will take us a while to find the answer, so please don’t hang up if you don’t get an “instant” answer. Give yourself (and us!) enough time to get the information you need.
   • We expect people using Homework Help to abide by the same rules of behaviour that they would use if they were in the library “in person”. Callers that use abusive, obscene or threatening language will have their session immediately terminated, and such calls may be traced.
10. Does it cost anything to use Homework Help?
    No, just like all of our other great library services, Homework Help is a free service.