I’ve just posted the draft of Chapter 4 of The Transfigured Lady, for those of you reading along. The lovely thing that has happened this past week, while working on the novel, was that I got to make a trip to the North Portland Library and spend the day in the Black Resources Center perusing the Fisk University Collection.
Actually, the part that was really great was talking with Patricia Welch, the manager of the library. I had called the library earlier in the week to ask if there were a reference librarian that I could meet with. I’d been doing research on my own for the past year, but was running into some trouble as I started to get more specific in the things that I needed to know. To my surprise, Ms. Welch agreed to be the librarian helping me with this project.
Not only did she spend a chunk of time just asking me about the story, she also found books which were exactly what I needed.
Writers: Reference librarians are your best friends.
In part because they know their material and they are trained in how to search for other items. Don’t expect them to do your homework for you, but when you need help finding that one key piece of information, they are the first place to turn. I know it seems wacky, but the internet does not hold all knowledge.
I’m lucky in that Multnomah County has an excellent collection overall and an enthusiastic staff.
One of my friends used to be a reference librarian! It sounded like they really love good, thoughtful questions.
We have such a lovely library.
Oh so true. I needed to find out about, of all things, blackberries in Minnesota, so I called a reference librarian in Stillwater. She was awesome!
Mary,
Thank you for the kind words. A colleague forwarded your entry to me.
As I’m sure any reference librarian would tell you, actually, the joy was mine. This is especially true since, as the branch manager, I sometimes do more administrative tasks than research. So, to be able to stop and do what I truly love: connect someone with the information that seek, just made my day.
Keep those questions coming –
Patricia