I want some good friends. What’s the address?

For those of a certain age it was 90 Bedford St, New York, NY 10014 in the West Village. For those even more of a certain age it was Z, double O, M, Box 3-5-O, Boston, Mass. 0-2-1-3-4. But maybe that’s not the kind of thing you’re talking about? Facebook claims to provide “friends,” but I’m dubious. Some humans I know speak wistfully about a place called MySpace. I’ve seen many people greet each other with friendly waves in my home, the O’Neill Library lobby at Boston College. I think the address is wherever you are.

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.