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Finding the Information You Need — Research Tips for Your Family, Business, or Personal Pursuits

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FINDING INFORMATION IN THE LIBRARY

The library has traditionally been the place to go to do research. Our Mail Network is a strong advocate of libraries. Through our Adopt-Your-Library Network, we donate a portion of the revenues from the sales of our e-books to support public libraries, and we encourage our customers to use and support libraries.

Using the Catalog

Generally, you access the library's catalog through a sophisticated computer database, although some of the older libraries still use the physical card catalog. Many libraries have both methods available, in case their computer system is down. You can search by title, author, ISBN (International Standard Book Number), publisher, subject, or keyword. If the library is part of a large system, you may be able to access the catalog from your home computer through the Internet. By doing this, you can find what books, CDs, and videos are available at various branches, and you can arrange to have these items transferred to the closest branch so you can pick them up for your research project.

Reference Desk/Librarians

However, you may still need to go to the library for some of your research. Certain reference materials cannot be checked out but must be used on-site.

Almost all libraries have a reference librarian who can help you, not only with finding the reference material but also with research in general. Reference librarians are invaluable, especially in the larger libraries, where information may seem overwhelming to the untrained researcher. The librarian can show you where everything is, help you search for what you need, and assist you in forming the best search queries for online databases, so that you will have the best chance of locating the material you need quickly and easily.

Many people make the mistake of not wanting to bother librarians. That's why they're there! Librarians are resources as well, so don't be shy about approaching them to help with your research. They can probably find the information you need much more quickly and easily than you can, and they'll enjoy helping you with your project. In some cases, you may even be able to call ahead to ensure that the library does have material useful for your research.

Interlibrary Loan

Even if your local library doesn't have the material you seek, the chances are good that the library can get it for you from another branch or system. Libraries in the US and Canada even share books and other items across the border. It does take some time, though, so don't count on an interlibrary loan if you're in a hurry. Waiting two to four weeks, and sometimes longer, is not unusual. When you need to do research for a project with a deadline, it's wise to plan ahead if you think you may need to use the interlibrary loan service.

Online Services

Your local library card may be your ticket to online library services as well. Many public libraries subscribe to services such as NetLibrary, and library patrons can access the online services by signing in with their library account. Often, patrons can access databases and online services from their home computers by using their library card number or some other code that the library has provided to them. You'll find a listing of some of these in the Resources section at the end of this report.

Types of Libraries

In addition to public libraries, academic libraries and specialized libraries (such as museum, science, patent, and genealogy libraries) are also sources for research. Many of these specialized libraries are very helpful for finding specific items that a public library may not have.

Researching difficult topics or looking for factual information that goes back a number of years is often easier in a specialized setting than it is in a traditional library. Also, many of the people who operate or volunteer at these kinds of libraries can help with your search, because they oversee a smaller collection of information and are very familiar with it. In fact, some of them may have written some of the materials you’ll be using, or they may have personal knowledge of the people or the area of interest to you.

Academic libraries, such as at a college or university, can be useful for several reasons. Often, they are larger and more varied in scope than the standard libraries, especially if you live in a small town where the public library system doesn't have much funding. They often subscribe to many different magazines, journals, and databases that public libraries don't have the funding or the space for.

College and university libraries are also great places to find thesis papers, doctoral dissertations, and other interesting information that a public library doesn't have access to. Sometimes, the authors of these papers are still available on campus as students or professors, and you can find and question them as you go about your research. This one-on-one interaction can be extremely valuable.

Many communities, however, don't have academic libraries, and public libraries are still great sources of information — if you know how to search them! And since most of the research projects you'll be undertaking probably won't require the extensive resources of an academic library, you should be able to find what you need.

If you're doing specialized research, like genealogy, you'll want to look into specialized libraries, such as the genealogy centers listed in the Resource section.

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