As I’ve said and written before – research is what writers do to postpone writing. But it’s also one of the fun parts of the job.
Last week I had the pleasure to spend the afternoon in my local public library conducting research for a new book. It felt familiar to be sitting at a library desk, surrounded by books. But research has changed since I sat in those library carrels at college.
Like everything else, our public libraries have embraced technology.
- I was able to access research papers from a university in another state through my library’s Inter Library Loan program. The papers were delivered directly into my email account.
- I was able find and check out books through WorldCat, short for World Catalog. WorldCat is the world’s largest library catalog with books, magazines, research papers and more.
- I was able to search for and find newspaper articles that appeared in my hometown newspaper 140 years ago just be typing a pertinent keyword into the library’s digitized archives. Gone are the days of microfiche – although I’m told that’s still an option for future research sessions.
But best of all, I was able to work with librarians! Librarians who specialize in research or digital archives are founts of knowledge. I’ve yet to stump any of them with a question. And they want to share that knowledge – I now can do some of that research at home or anywhere.
But I think I’ll be back in the library again soon.