Sam Wood, the Answer Man

Western Technical College Library, La Crosse

Link to April 16 La Crosse Tribune article, "The answer man: Reference librarian’s work is all Q & A".

Excerpt: Wood became a reference librarian six years ago. Since he started working at Western’s library reference desk in February, he has fielded 218 questions and tracked them based on the subject and time they take.

“It’s a means to justify our existence,” he said.

Questions ranged from the diabetes rates of inner-city youth to the location of the restrooms. Some questions take Wood an hour, others 10 seconds.

But most questions are reference-related and those are his favorites.

"That's the nice thing about being a reference librarian, you get to learn all the time,” he said.