Silly questions

Have Google and Siri put reference librarians out of work? Apparently not, for public libraries still seem to have them on their staff, but I suspect their responsibilities may have changed. They may spend more time leading book discussions and planning library promotions than answering questions like, "Is the Easter bunny male or female?"

Snoopy's siblings

Sorting through some old papers recently I came upon a list of actual questions posed to reference librarians in Mansfield, Ohio, a number of years ago. The Easter bunny query is just one of them. Here are some others.

How do you draw an earthquake?

Is Hawaii a country?

How much does the state of Alabama weigh?

What are the names of Snoopy's seven brothers and sisters?

When is National Have a Bad Day?

I need information on how to embalm at home.

Does O come before R?

I need the amendments to the 10 commandments.

I'm trying to locate the book I had out before. It's fiction and has a peach-colored cover.

How would you answer such questions? Better yet, how would Siri answer them? Let's find out.

Siri quickly provided a list of Snoopy's siblings. Hawaii, it turns out, is in the United States of America. An explanation of the embalming process was provided, but Siri did not caution against trying this at home. Siri told me what an earthquake is but did not provide any drawings or photographs to show what one looks like. As for what Alabama weighs, all I got was web sites about Alabama's weigh stations and its division of weights and measures.

And as for the gender of the Easter bunny, there were differing answers, although most suggested it is female because it lays eggs. Hey Siri, do bunnies lay eggs?

I think actual reference librarians might do a better job, or at least understand the questions better, but one thing you can say for Siri is that it doesn't giggle after you hang up (as far as we know) and your stupid questions will never wind up in the newspaper.