Thing 34: Is this Our Competition? Online Answer Sites

I don't really feel like Answer Sites are our competition and that with the advancing Internet age people will still be using the library. Ultimately, the questions we are getting asked have changed. People seem to want to find their own answers to questions and answer sites allow them to do that. I also feel like it gives people a feeling of safety especially if they feel embarrassed about the question they are asking. Sometimes I even use Answers Sites to answer patrons questions. The only real problem I have with these site is a validity of the answers. Now for some questions the answer is fairly simple and I feel like I can trust people's answers. However, sometimes you get strange answers to questions and that I really think is the problem with Answer Sites. Also, I took a look at the Slam the Boards Wiki and some of the questions that where asks seemed silly.