*Serious* homework help

It's a pretty amazing trend: public libraries providing free online tutoring and homework help in many subjects. There are 29 library systems in California doing so, as are the Seattle Public Library and the King County Library System in Washington (for students in grades 4-12 with library cards), the San Jose Mercury News and Seattle Times report. The service is also offered in some Arizona libraries and "in more than 800 libraries across the country through Tutor.com," based in New York, according to the Arizona Republic. The idea is to help students who don't speak English or can't afford expensive private tutoring. And there are other, non-library services on the Web, some free, some pay-per-query. The New York Times mentions Google Answers, Ingenio.com, and Wondir.com (which "fields about 10,000 questions a day"!). USATODAY points to sites and software offering help in spelling and writing, math and science, and history and geography.