Ask a Librarian
Talk to a Penn Hills Staff Member
Give us a call at 412-775-4700 and we will do our best to answer any questions you have.
Email us at phlibrary@pennhillslibrary.org and we will do our best to respond within 1-2 business days.
Submit a Reference Question
When filling out the form, please keep the following in mind:
- Be as specific as possible about what you need. A reference question is looking for information or sources.
- If you are looking for a book recommendation, please see our recommendation form here.
- We cannot give you advice, we can only give you resources.
- If you have more than one question, please send each question separately.
- If you have asked a specific, fact-based question, you will get a brief answer. Otherwise, you may get a list of places to check or to start your research. We will give you a source for an answer, and it may or may not be an Internet site. Some questions are best answered by print sources.
- We may ask for you to elaborate on your question by asking more questions to steer us to the right answer or sources.
Pennsylvania’s Virtual Reference Desk
Welcome to PA’s 24/7 virtual reference service where experienced librarians help Pennsylvanians find factual answers and provide them with research guidance. These services are offered through PA Power Library and connect to libraries throughout the state.
Chat With a Librarian
24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Chat with a Librarian is great for:
- Asking general questions
- Getting help with databases
- Finding peer reviewed sources
- Learning about citations
- And more!
Email a Librarian
Monitored 10am-8pm Mon-Thu and 10am-5pm on Fri
Email a Librarian is great for:
- Questions that don’t need an immediate answer
- Topics that could take a lot of time to research
- Getting book recommendations
- Library-specific questions
- And more!
Text a Librarian
Monitored 10am-8pm Mon-Thu and 10am-5pm on Fri
Text a Librarian is great for:
- Quick questions
- Random Trivia
- On-the-go information
- Finding library locations/hours
- And more!
Text your question to: 717-527-3866