Answer boards

I think the idea of contributing to answer boards is a good one - many library staff comment that the number of "live" reference enquiries are falling as more and more people "google" whatever they want to know, so the idea that we can do more online reference enquiries is a good one to ensure that librarians keep their place as a premier information source.
It is also a good way to practice or improve your reference skills. Our library currently mans a spot on "Ask now" which offers an online reference service for precisely those reasons.

I like the tag of "Librarians--We eat questions for breakfast!" as it is a fun way to look at what we do but if we can convince the public that the tag"Librarians: Make them your FAVORITE search engines" is true we will go a long way to ensuring the permanency of our industry.

Regarding customer ratings - I think that many borrowers would like to see more of this in library catalogues as many people want to read what other people recommend rather than make their own choices. You only have to look at the number of items borrowed from the 'recently returned' trolleys in our library to know that if someone else read it it must be good.