Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Rockin' the reference questions

Thadeus, one of the interns who uses the library quite regularly came in this morning looking a bit overwhelmed.  He explained that he had quite a bit of fact-checking to do and would likely spend a good deal of time in the library today.  He added that he may, in fact, need my help as well.  That is my job, I explained to him, and I would be more than happy, if not completely eager to aid him in his research.  He began his search on his own, but eventually turned to me for some assistance, though he didn't seem terribly optimistic about the library's resources or even our combined effort to locate the information he was seeking.  Needless to say, I accepted his challenge.

So you need to verify that a term was coined in 1950 but did not actually show up as a printed definition until 1952?  Ah, yes, here we are, almost those words exactly in a reliable dictionary of art term.

And you are looking for a 1951 article from an obscure French journal?  I believe this is the essay you were looking for, the full-text reprinted in a library book.  I do hope it is alright that it has already been translated to English.

There is some conflicting information concerning the dates of an exhibition and a gallery's opening, you say?  Well, this book quotes the artist directly confirming the dates of his exhibition at said gallery - will that be sufficient, good sir?

Ok, so it wasn't quite as simple as that, but it was very satisfying to be able to find the information he was looking for and present it to a very impressed library user.  That is why I love doing reference.

Today's mileage: 2.33 mi.

1 comment:

  1. You go girl. It IS very satisfying to help a patron find exactly what they need. I love that part of library work, too. Mommy

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