I know this has little to do with family history/genealogy research, but since the question was posed, and NOT answered, here's my attempt. And my credentials are that I am in my 13th year of being a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the largest/busiest Public Safety Answering Point in Oregon. We handled 43,463 9-1-1 calls for March 2004, and 76,493 total calls (other emergency & non emergency). Should you call 9-1-1 to help locate a place or piece of information you're looking for? In a nutshell if it's not a life & death emergency, no. I won't comment on the retired officer's comments other than to say, not all 9-1-1 centers/dispatchers are the same, just as not all police officers are the same. Some agencies may have a non emergency #, and they may be able to give directions to folks. But there are other resources, libraries, schools, county offices, etc., to use instead of 9-1-1. Thanks, Tim