Ask Ontario (askON) is a realtime chat and SMS-based research information service that connects students of Ontario, Canada to staff at college libraries across the province, for instant-messaging and SMS-based reference help online. askON's mandate is to help visitors find better information than they can on their own, and to raise the profile of Ontario's libraries as providers of services and tools, responsive to the needs of an increasingly digitally literate society. As of March 2021, 12 libraries are participating in the service.