In any newsroom, one of the late-night duties is fielding calls from folks tryng to settle a bar bet or finish a homework assignment: How many home runs did Babe Ruth hit? Who was Baltimore's mayor in 1980? Well, we can brace for more calls, now that the Enoch Pratt library's "Night Owl" Telephone Reference Service has fallen victim to budget cuts.

For 15 years, late night callers could ask librarians any bit of trivia, according to this story by Liz Kay of The Baltimore Sun. But that service ended on June 30. Here's an excerpt from Liz's story:

The Telephone Reference Service started more than 40 years ago, with reference librarians responding to queries for homework assistance or just the winning lottery numbers. They received about 250,000 calls last year, [Pratt spokesman Roswell] Encina said. Answers are usually delivered within five minutes.

"People are still using it even in the age of Google and Twitter," he said. However, only about 6,500 calls came in during Night Owl hours last year, the spokesman said.

Curious minds must now restrict their phone calls to the phone reference line between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

For those with Internet access, reference help is still available outside library working hours, however.

The Pratt still operates its "Ask-a-Librarian" service. Questions can be submitted via a form on the library Web site, and librarians usually reply within two working days. There is also 24-hour reference assistance available via the Maryland Ask Us Now!, a service that allows residents and students to chat online with librarians.