Text or Chat with Helen Matthes Library

Responding to the popularity of online chat and text messaging, anyone can now ask Helen Matthes Library questions by chatting online at effinghamlibrary.org or by texting questions to 217-666-7586 during weekly library hours and receive a response from a library staff member.

Library staff are available to chat instantly with anyone browsing the library’s website, and this feature will soon be added to the online catalog.  For users who are unable to ask a librarian in person or online, or those who simply prefer texting over talking, Helen Matthes Library’s texting service provides a convenient option for getting info on their mobile phone.

Americans text message almost twice as much as they talk on mobile phones, according to a recent Nielsen Mobile Survey.  “Recognizing the increased use of text messaging, we felt it important to offer a way to communicate with the library via text messaging,” said Shannon Wascher, Library Information Coordinator.  

To chat with or text the library, please visit www.effinghamlibrary.org and click on the orange “Ask a Question” tab on the right-hand side or text “START” to 217-666-7586 for instructions.  Message and data rates may apply.