Hey AP,
Are there any other university libraries that have people like you? Do you know if you have any internet competitors out there, and if any of them are any good?
You’re the best, I’m sure!
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Thanks for the compliments! Sure, there are many Answer Persons at university libraries. We hold annual conventions (in a secret location, of course) where we attend programs with guest speakers such as Ann Landers and discuss issues such as how best to secure the Answer Book pen to prevent its theft.
But seriously, although many libraries have suggestion boxes where you insert your comment on a secretive little folded slip of paper, I don’t know of any other place where they’ve institutionalized the comments and answers in such a public manner. On the web, there seem to be several library-based “Answer Man” services (even though a majority of people working in libraries are women!). These seem to be for the purpose of asking legitimate reference questions, but this AP urges you to take such questions to a legitimate Reference department at one of the Duke libraries. I’ll listen to your gripes about the Perkins restrooms.