What is the meaning of life?

Truth is I can’t tell you what your meaning of life is; I think we all need to figure it out for ourselves. Did you know that a search of the phrase “meaning of life” in the library catalog produces 244 results? A lot of people are trying to figure this out. This online book provides one short introduction (bit.ly/meaningoflifeintro). And this book provides some different perspectives for you to think about (bit.ly/meaningoflife2). And then there’s always the Monty Python take on it: PN1997 .M424 2003 (but checked out right now, alas).

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.