What A Librarian Can Do For You
To be honest, the thought of doing any kind of in-depth research for a book that is screaming to be written is a bit daunting. Picturing myself walking into the main library back home with its multiple floors and endless supply of books is intimidating. I would not have a clue where to start. I would end up not being found until 2030 and by then I will have forgotten what I was looking for. But I realize that in order for my work to be authentic, it needs to be properly researched and a librarian is exactly the sort of person to help me.
I spoke to a lovely librarian named Kathy from the eBranch system of the Buffalo-Niagara county library system and these were some of the things she had to offer about using a librarian to help do research for your work-in-progress (WIP). Please note, it will be the patron (that’s you buttercup) and not the librarian who does the research. They do not do the research for you and hand it to you gift-wrapped. They will show you how to do proper research; their role is almost a semi-teaching capacity.
Here are some of the things a librarian could help you with:
- learning all the different topical points of your research field
- how to be analytical in your research and putting the patron in touch with original sources to review wherever possible
- show the patron how to be cautious with sources whether those sources are hard copy or digital and how to investigate them to determine if they are a primary reliable resource.
- pinpoint resources that may not be immediately available to the patron as well as gather materials from other libraries including academic ones
The librarian will be there step by step to assist, guide and suggest, but most of all they will teach the patron how to do research themselves. As she so aptly put it: “We don’t give them the fish, we teach them how to fish.”