Cool Library Quote

[jeffreyab]

Via plaidlibrarian:

"For my money reference librarians are one of the most overlooked sources of expert information. Reference librarians are professional information hunters. I deserve a swift kick in the shorts for all the times I've stubbornly wound my way through the library stacks, my mule head leading the way, searching fruitlessly for information a librarian could put in my hands in a matter of minutes. Librarians not only know what's in the library and where to find it, they know what's NOT in the library and where to find it. Librarians are also an excellent source of pertinent tangents. I've been sent down many an unanticipated but productive path by a librarian who said, "Maybe you should consider looking under . . . " Finally, not only is it a librarian's job to assist you in your search, most of them enjoy it thoroughly. The best are tenacious informational gumshoes, happiest when they are on the case."

Michael Perry. Handbook for Freelance Writing, NTC Business Books, 1995.

Comments

[hoolypai.livejournal.com]

So true. My Branch Manager (who is also my friend) went crazy when I told her that I was thinking about getting a Pontiac Firefly Convertible. She started discarding books for me, looking up all these great reviews of the car and photocopying them for me. It's really a shame that more people aren't aware of these kind of services available to them!

[elmwood.livejournal.com]

I think all reference librarians should be canonized. They have found the most arcane information when I have been working on historical fiction. I think one of the most difficult I ever threw at them was to find out the origin of the phrase, "Steady the buffs!" and to confirm whether or not an ex-military man in 1801 would be likely to use it St. Charles, late of Hamilton Public Library, was the one who found out for me. I have only ever stymied my local reference librarians and that was recently. I wanted to know how long it would take to travel from Vancouver to Toronto by rail in 1926, and what the fare would be. In the end, I wrote around that one, although I still aim to find out some day.

[very-lost-boy.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you've seen this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1980961,00.html

but thought I'd post it anyway. There is a lot about it on the 'net -- Librarianism (is that a word?) and stress.