Al @ din
Al @ din (spoken: Aladin) was an internet-based information service of the public libraries in the Netherlands .
content
Al @ din was available to answer questions from all sorts of subjects, with the exception of questions about extending loan periods, pre-ordering books or other materials. Likewise, no medical diagnoses were given and no legal advice was given. Al @ din was based on the QuestionPoint digital information service .
organization
Questions could be asked via the web form or i-mode . On the website it was also possible to search the database, which contains answers that have already been given. Al @ din responded by email within five working days.
The answers were given by a nationwide network of librarians in public libraries. Among other things, websites, fee-based information services, books, encyclopedias, magazine articles and other sources were consulted.
Al @ din was structured in four stages. First of all, if you have a question, you should consult the database of questions that have already been asked and answered. The database was constantly updated. If it was a question that had not yet been answered, it was referred to the nearest library. Questions that required specialist knowledge to be answered were passed on to librarians with appropriate knowledge. In the last stage, external experts were also consulted. To this end, Al @ din worked together with the Naturalis Museum of Natural History ( Leiden ), the Royal Tropical Institute , the University of Amsterdam and the Dutch audio and braille library.
In the first year of operation (November 2003 - October 2004) Al @ din answered around 130,000 questions ( source: press release from the Association of Public Libraries ).
Chat
In autumn 2006, Al @ din was experimentally expanded to include a chat function in which questions were to be answered directly.
End of the project
In 2010 Al @ din was discontinued. The follow-up project was called ibi, which was also ended in 2012.